Doyle will not run for re-election

MADISON (AP) - Wisconsin Gov. Jim Doyle announced Monday that he will not seek re-election next year and does not want to be considered for any positions within President Barack Obama's administration at this time.

Doyle's decision not to seek a third term greatly improves the Republican party's chances of winning the governor's office in Wisconsin, traditionally a Democratic-leaning state that Obama won in 2008.

Flanked by family, members of his cabinet, political supporters and old friends at the elementary school he attended as a child, Doyle said he intends to serve the remaining 16 months of his term and does not want to be considered for any Obama administration positions during that time.

Obama, as well as two former governors and current members of his administration - Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack and Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius - were quick to praise Doyle.

"His tough and fair leadership enabled him to work across the aisle to strengthen education and spur economic recovery," Obama said in a statement.

Doyle said he is focused on getting more done in his final months in office and not what he will do once he leaves. "I'm not even thinking about it," he said of his plans.

His friend and University of Wisconsin Regent David Walsh said he expected Doyle to work as a consultant on energy and education issues.

Doyle said his intention always was to serve just two terms and he wanted to announce his plans to give other Democrats enough time to build campaigns.

"As much as I love the job, as hard as I work at it and as much as my team and I have to contribute to a third term, I believe that a governor should limit him or herself to two terms," Doyle said.

The Wisconsin Republican Party called Doyle out on that comment, wondering why he continued to raise money over the past two years if he supported "self-imposed term limits." State party chairman Reince Priebus said the real reasons Doyle was not running included low approval ratings and failed policies. Doyle had raised more than $2 million for a potential race.

His departure sets up the first open governor's race in Wisconsin since 1982.

"With him out, it actually allows national forces to come play a bigger role," said University of Wisconsin-Madison political science professor Charles Franklin.

Doyle was the first Democrat re-elected as governor in 32 years. His departure creates a scramble for Democrats who would never dared challenge the incumbent and Republicans who weren't otherwise considering a run.

Some of the more prominent potential Democratic candidates include U.S. Rep. Ron Kind of La Crosse, who said Monday he was considering a run and Lt. Gov. Barbara Lawton, whose aide said she was running. Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett, who was recovering from getting beaten by a metal pipe over the weekend, has been mentioned as a candidate but has not commented on it.

Republicans already running are Milwaukee County Executive Scott Walker and former U.S. Rep. Mark Neumann. Other Republicans who now may decide to jump in include Attorney General J.B. Van Hollen and former Gov. Tommy Thompson.

Doyle did not immediately endorse a candidate.

"It's time for them to go out and make their case," he said.

Doyle, 63, comes from a prominent Democratic family. His father, James E. Doyle Sr., was a federal judge and his mother, Ruth Bachhuber Doyle, was one of the first women ever elected to the state Assembly.

A Harvard law school graduate, Doyle met his wife Jessica in the Peace Corps in the 1960s before returning to Wisconsin and serving three terms as Dane County district attorney.

Doyle has never lost a statewide election and served three terms as attorney general between 1990 and 2002 before defeating incumbent Republican Gov. Scott McCallum to win his first race for governor. In 2006, Doyle beat then-U.S. Rep. Mark Green.

As governor, Doyle championed stem cell research and expanding health insurance coverage, frequently trumpeting Wisconsin's status as the state with the second-highest percentage of citizens covered.

He made public education a priority and created the Wisconsin Covenant program, which guarantees a spot in a state college or university for middle-school students who pledge to meet certain benchmarks.

But his seven years as governor have been overshadowed by the economy. He inherited a $3.2 billion deficit in 2003 and this year his budget balanced the worst shortfall in state history at $6.6 billion.

The budget Doyle signed into law less than seven weeks ago angered Republicans and many in the business community because of more than $2 billion in taxes and fees. Doyle also ordered all state workers to take 16 unpaid days off over the next two years.

Even under the budget Doyle just signed, the state is expected to face at least a $2.2 billion shortfall for his successor to deal with.

Doyle will be remembered for the budget problems he faced, said Franklin.

"At this point I don't see a huge policy legacy he can point to," he said. "He was so constrained by circumstances."