Advertisement In the Democratic primary, Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett appeared last week to have consolidated the nomination 10 months before the primary, though an Oconomowoc businessman and political neophyte joining the race over the weekend could change that. But if not, voters might be left with little say in who the two major party candidates are in the first wide-open race for the state’s highest office since 1982.
The biggest unknown: Can Walker’s main GOP challenger, former U.S. Rep. Mark Neumann, turn his private sector experience in the home-building industry and personal wealth into a winning formula?
While Neumann says he’s committed to staying in the race, he’s revealed little so far about how he expects to catch up with his rival after Walker, whose head start included a 2006 bid for governor. Brandon Scholz, president of the Wisconsin Grocers Association, said he’s talked with Walker about the governor’s race and his trade group’s concerns several times in recent months.
"I’ve not heard one iota from Mark Neumann," said Scholz, who along with the Grocers Association is still neutral in the race. "It makes you wonder what’s going on with his campaign."
So far, Walker can point to easy wins in straw polls held by Republican groups around the state and endorsements that include all seven of the former chairmen of the state Republican party and 50 of the 61 GOP lawmakers in the state Senate and Assembly. Neumann campaign manager Bruce Pfaff said he wasn’t ready to release his candidate’s endorsements yet.
Jim Klauser, the former top cabinet aide to then-GOP Gov. Tommy Thompson and one of Neumann’s most prominent backers, said in an interview last week that he had withdrawn his support for Neumann, though he declined to say why. His wife, Shirley Klauser, has also withdrawn as the campaign’s treasurer, Klauser said.
As of the end of June, Walker had $1.1 million in cash on hand while Barrett had $840,000. Neumann has not yet had to report how much he has raised, though Pfaff said fundraising is going well and Neumann is committed to supplementing the donations with his own money.
Walker has three full-time campaign workers along with several others who work part time, spokeswoman Jill Bader said. Pfaff declined to say how many staffers Neumann has.
"At this point it does not look like we have a serious (GOP) primary," said UW-Madison political science professor Ken Goldstein, who’s done polling on the governor’s race.
Neumann said he can still win the primary, noting that polls showed around half of voters still don’t know who any of the three major candidates are. He said voters worried about the economy would gravitate to him as the one candidate with significant private sector experience.
"They’ve got a choice between two career politicians and someone from the business world," Neumann said.
Getting a head start
Walker dropped out of the 2006 gubernatorial primary to give then-U.S. Rep. Mark Green a better chance in his ultimately failed bid to unseat Gov. Jim Doyle. Walker then spent years laying the groundwork for his current run, declaring his candidacy officially on April 28, while Neumann only started pursuing a run seriously this year, officially declaring on Sept. 9.
Whatever happens in next year’s GOP primary, Walker said he would stay focused on selling his experience and his vision for changing the state’s business climate and government.
"We haven’t changed our message one iota from where we started: jobs and the economy," Walker said.
A poll released Friday by Public Policy Polling found that 60 percent of state Republicans had a favorable impression of Walker while 28 percent had a favorable impression of Neumann. Both candidates did similarly in a general race matchup, however, with Barrett and Walker each getting 40 percent of the vote and Barrett with only a slight 41 percent to 39 percent lead over Neumann that was within the poll’s margin of error.
Barrett, who declared his candidacy earlier this month after finishing the city budget and a series of surgeries brought on by an August attack at the Wisconsin State Fair, is moving forward with fundraising and is expected to name a campaign manager soon, spokesman Jeff Fleming said.
"He’s been very active in making sure all the pieces are in place," Fleming said of Barrett.
Tim John of Oconomowoc, a great-grandson of Miller Brewing Co. founder Frederick J. Miller, announced this weekend he would run in the Democratic primary. Speaking earlier this week before John entered the race, State Democratic Party chairman Mike Tate said he was confident that "Tom Barrett’s going to be our nominee for governor," but acknowledged the party would need to remain neutral if another major candidate surfaced.
State Democratic Party chairman Mike Tate said he was confident that "Tom Barrett’s going to be our nominee for governor."
Primary a help - or hindrance
Republican operatives were split on whether a primary would help their party’s chances in the 2010 general election, given that Democrats aren’t likely to have one.
State Republican Party executive director Mark Jefferson said that a primary could focus attention on candidates and help them get their message out to the public, but could also make it difficult to raise and hold on to enough money to compete well against Barrett in the general election.
Mark Graul, who ran Mark Green’s unsuccessful 2006 run for governor, said he believed a primary would help Walker by drawing media attention.
"It’s better for Scott because he has a primary on paper but not in reality," he said.
