As Doyle's polls plunge, state Democrats try to stand clear (Wisconsin)

[WillParkinson]

As Doyle's polls plunge, state Democrats try to stand clear

"Only one told Gov. Jim Doyle to stop wasteful spending," reads a recent mailer to voters from the freshman senator touting himself as the "only Democrat to say no to Governor Doyle's billions in higher spending and taxes."

The mailer, which Sullivan's opponent Rep. Leah Vukmir (R-Wauwatosa) calls misleading, shows how some Democrats in tough races are trying to distance themselves from the head of their party and politics as usual.

"I don't think anyone could accuse us of being too close to Jim Doyle," Kory Kozloski, executive director of the State Senate Democratic Committee, said at a recent round-table discussion in Madison hosted by the website Wispolitics.

Except, of course, Republicans such as Vukmir, who are sharply criticizing votes that Sullivan and other Democrats did take with Doyle to raise taxes. This year, pocketbook issues such as jobs, taxes and spending are capturing the most attention in state legislative races. But the contests will have another less noticed impact - determining which political party gets the power to reshape legislative districts that will influence the outcomes of races for Congress and the Legislature for the next decade.

http://www.jsonline.com/news/statepolitics/105229798.html