Gov. Jim Doyle announced today that he will not seek reelection for a third term, leaving a wide open field for the 2010 governor's race.
\I have won seven statewide races in the last 20 years,"" Doyle said, but said he wanted to give other candidates time to prepare for the expected competitive primaries in both parties.
Doyle cautioned against paying too much attention to political pundits or insiders.
""Running for governor is not about inside politics, it is about very hard work,"" he said.
""I fully intend to serve my entire term. I am going to work as hard as humanly possible over this time to help the people of Wisconsin.""
Doyle said that the next year and a half would still be time to accomplish some of his goals, touting that Wisconsin provided more health insurance than almost every other state except for Massachusetts.
He said the statewide smoking ban and domestic partner benefits registry, passed in the last year, showed a lot could be accomplished in a year.
Doyle said he looked forward to the completion of the UW-Madison Institute's for Discovery during the end of his term.
He said there was a lot of work to do in the environment based on the recommendations of his Global Warming Task Force and said that he still wanted to complete a high-speed rail system in the state.
Despite speculation earlier this year about Doyle being offered a position in President Obama's administration, Doyle said he was not interested in being considered.
According to a poll conducted in June by Public Policy Polling, Doyle's approval rating had dropped to 34 percent. Earlier this month, Doyle's legal counsel resigned after it was discovered she was not licensed to practice law in Wisconsin. Doyle faced additional difficulties in trying to close a $6.6 billion budget gap this year.
Charles Franklin, a UW-Madison professor of political science, said a reelection bid for Doyle looked harder for 2010 than it did in 2006.
Franklin said he was surprised by the timing but expects ""both Republican and Democratic purses to open up"" with more than 15 months left until the 2010 gubernatorial election.
""I think the situation economically gives the Republicans an opportunity to rebound '¦ [but] I think the flip side is that a Democrat other than Doyle can run and simultaneously disagree with some of Doyle's policies,"" he said.
Reince Priebus, chairman of the Republican Party of Wisconsin, said Republicans are ""well-positioned to take back the governor's office"" in a statement following the reports that Doyle would not seek re-election.
Milwaukee County Executive Scott Walker and former U.S. Rep. Mark Neumann have announced their plans to compete for the Republican nomination.
Franklin said four Democrats' names continue to come up as possibilities for the Democratic bid. Lt. Gov. Barbara Lawton and U.S. Rep. Ron Kind, D-Lacrosse, are believed to seek election. Speculation has also surrounded Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett and state Sen. Jon Erpenbach, D-Waunakee.
Following Doyle's announcement, Kind issued a statement saying he will focus on his work in Congress but will make a decision about entering the race in the coming weeks.
""Since Governor Doyle's decision has become public, people from around the state have contacted me and urged me to run for Governor. I thank them for their support and I am considering it,"" he said.
Doyle said he was not aware of who would enter the race on the Democratic side.
According to Franklin, it is too early to tell who will seriously consider risking their current office to run in the 2010 race.
Charles Brace and Kelsey Gunderson contributed to this report.
