State Sen. Spencer Coggs, D-Milwaukee, confirmed in an exclusive interview with The Daily Cardinal that he will run for lieutenant governor in the 2010 election Monday.
Coggs has not made a formal announcement but said he has formed an exploratory committee. He said he will make a formal announcement within the next two weeks.
Upon hearing current Lt. Gov. Barbara Lawton had plans to run for governor, Coggs discussed the possibility of running for lieutenant governor with several friends.
""I began to think about it, and again, it makes sense to me. I've been in office for 26 years,"" he said.
He said the lieutenant governor position would allow him to continue economic initiatives and small business developments Lawton is currently focusing on.
Coggs said being from Milwaukee will positively affect his campaign. He said though no elected governor has been from Milwaukee, several lieutenant governors, including Martin Schreiber who was elected in 1970 and James Flynn who was elected in 1982, are from the Milwaukee area.
According to Coggs, his relationship with the progressive community and his history of working with labor groups will help him network during his campaign.
""My advantage would be the fact that I have an excellent record with the progressive community ... and no one has a better labor record than I,"" he said. ""I just have a wealth of relationships across the state.""
—Hannah Furfaro
