Allan Edward "Ed" Thompson was an American businessman and politician. He served as Mayor of Tomah, Wisconsin for two non-consecutive terms, and was the Libertarian candidate for Governor of Wisconsin in 2002, receiving nearly 11% of the vote in that race.
Tommy George Thompson is an American politician who served as the 19th United States secretary of Health and Human Services from 2001 to 2005 in the cabinet of President George W. Bush. A member of the Republican Party, he previously served as the 42nd governor of Wisconsin from 1987 to 2001 and as the Republican leader of the Wisconsin State Assembly from 1981 to 1987.
James Scott McCallum is an American businessman and former politician. A member of the Republican Party, he was the 43rd governor of Wisconsin, ascending from the Lieutenant Governorship when Tommy Thompson resigned in 2001 to accept appointment as U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services. Prior to becoming Governor, McCallum served 14 years as Thompson's Lieutenant Governor and 10 years in the Wisconsin State Senate.
Peggy Ann Lautenschlager was an American attorney and Democratic politician who was the first chair of the Wisconsin Ethics Commission from 2016 to 2017, the 42nd Attorney General of Wisconsin from 2003 to 2007, the United States Attorney for the Western District of Wisconsin from 1993 to 2001, a member of the Wisconsin State Assembly for the 52nd district from 1989 to 1993, and the Winnebago County District Attorney from 1985 to 1989. Lautenschlager was the first woman to serve as Attorney General of Wisconsin.
Neil Patrick Crooks was an American lawyer. He was a justice of the Wisconsin Supreme Court from 1996 until his death in 2015. He was appointed as a county judge by a Democratic governor, later professing conservatism as a Supreme Court candidate in 1995 and 1996. In his later years, Crooks gained notice as a perceived judicial moderate and swing vote on a court otherwise divided into two ideological blocs.
Barbara Lawton is an American businesswoman and politician from Green Bay, Wisconsin who is the President and CEO of Americans for Campaign Reform. A member of the Democratic Party, Lawton was the 43rd Lieutenant Governor of Wisconsin. She became the first woman elected to the position in 2002, as the running mate of former Democratic Governor Jim Doyle. Lawton was re-elected on November 7, 2006. She was co-founder and Director of External Affairs for Issue One, a nonprofit whose goal is to reduce the influence of money in politics.
The Republican Party of Wisconsin is a conservative political party in Wisconsin and is the Wisconsin affiliate of the United States Republican Party (GOP). The state party chair is Brian Schimming. The state party is divided into 72 county parties for each of the state's counties, as well as organizations for the state's eight congressional districts.
The attorney general of Wisconsin is a constitutional officer in the executive branch of the government of the U.S. state of Wisconsin. Forty-five individuals have held the office of attorney general since statehood. The incumbent is Josh Kaul, a Democrat.
United States gubernatorial elections were held on November 5, 2002, in 36 states and two territories. The Republicans won eight seats previously held by the Democrats, as well as the seat previously held by Minnesota governor Jesse Ventura, who was elected on the Reform Party ticket but had since renounced his party affiliation. The Democrats won 10 seats previously held by the Republicans, as well as the seat previously held by Maine governor Angus King, an independent. The elections were held concurrently with the other United States elections of 2002.
Jeffrey T. Plale was an American politician and stockbroker. Plale served as the Wisconsin Railroad Commissioner. Earlier in his career he represented South Milwaukee in the Wisconsin State Senate (2003–2011) and Wisconsin State Assembly (1996–2003).
James Edward Doyle Sr. was an American lawyer and jurist from Madison, Wisconsin. He served 22 years as a United States district judge for the Western District of Wisconsin, from 1965 until his death in 1987. Earlier in his life, as a former member of the disbanded Wisconsin Progressive Party, he played an important role in reshaping the Democratic Party of Wisconsin in the 1950s, and was the father of Jim Doyle, the 44th governor of Wisconsin.
Ruth Bachhuber Doyle was an American educator and Democratic politician. She served two terms in the Wisconsin State Assembly, representing the city of Madison during the 1949 and 1951 sessions. She was the wife of federal judge James Edward Doyle and the mother of Jim Doyle, the 44th governor of Wisconsin.
Gary R. George is an African American lawyer and former politician from Milwaukee, Wisconsin. A Democrat, he represented Milwaukee in the Wisconsin Senate for nearly 23 years. He faced a series of ethical and criminal controversies throughout his political career before finally being recalled from office in 2003. He subsequently plead guilty to federal conspiracy charges in which he admitted receiving kickbacks from individuals and organizations after he had directed state or federal funds to them; he served three years in federal prison. He was also implicated in the Vang Pao Laotian coup plot, but was never charged.
The 2002 Wisconsin gubernatorial election was held on November 5, 2002. Incumbent Republican Governor of Wisconsin Scott McCallum, who had assumed office upon the resignation of Tommy Thompson, ran for his first full term in office. McCallum won his party's nomination by defeating two minor candidates, and Attorney General of Wisconsin Jim Doyle won the Democratic primary with a little more than a third of the vote in a highly competitive primary election. In the general election, the presence of Ed Thompson, former Governor Tommy Thompson's younger brother, the Mayor of Tomah, and the Libertarian Party nominee, held both McCallum and Doyle to under fifty percent of the vote, enabling Doyle to win with 45% of the vote, defeating McCallum. As of 2022, this is the last gubernatorial election in which the Democratic candidate carried Taylor, Langlade, Marquette, Manitowoc, and Racine counties, and the last in which Juneau County did not vote for the Republican candidate, instead voting for Thompson.
David G. Deininger is a retired Republican politician and jurist from Wisconsin. He served as a judge on the Wisconsin Court of Appeals for eleven years, from 1996 to 2007, and now serves as a reserve judge. He was the first chairman of the Wisconsin Government Accountability Board, appointed by Democratic Governor Jim Doyle. Earlier in his career, he served three and a half terms in the Wisconsin State Assembly, representing parts of Green and Rock counties, and was a Wisconsin Circuit Court Judge in Green County.
Kevin Shibilski is an American businessman and former Democratic politician from Wisconsin. He served 8 years in the Wisconsin Senate (1995–2003) and served briefly as secretary of the Wisconsin Department of Tourism (2003) under governor Jim Doyle. He also served as register of deeds for Portage County, Wisconsin, and served on the county board of supervisors. In 2022, he pleaded guilty to a number of federal tax crimes arising from his ownership of a waste-recycling business, and was sentenced to 33 months in prison.
Paul B. Higginbotham is a retired judge of the Wisconsin Court of Appeals. He was the first African American to serve on the court.
Frank Edward Bachhuber was an American lawyer, businessman, and Democratic politician from Wausau, Wisconsin. He served one term in the Wisconsin State Assembly, representing the northeast quarter of Marathon County during the 1933 legislative term. His father, Andrew Bachhuber, and grandfather, Max Bachhuber, also served in the Assembly, as did his daughter, Ruth Bachhuber Doyle. He was also a grandfather of Jim Doyle, the 44th governor of Wisconsin.
Maximilian J. "Max" Bachhuber was a German American immigrant, farmer, businessman, and politician. He served three terms in the Wisconsin State Assembly, representing Dodge County. His son, Andrew Bachhuber, grandson, Frank E. Bachhuber, and great-granddaughter, Ruth Bachhuber Doyle, also served in the Wisconsin State Assembly. He was also a great-great-grandfather of Jim Doyle, the 44th governor of Wisconsin.
The 2014 Wisconsin Fall General Election was held in the U.S. state of Wisconsin on November 4, 2014. Wisconsin's Governor, Lieutenant Governor, Attorney General, Secretary of State, and State Treasurer were all up for election, as well as Wisconsin's eight seats in the United States House of Representatives. The November general election in 2014 also featured a statewide referendum on an amendment to the Constitution of Wisconsin. The 2014 Wisconsin Fall Primary Election was held on August 12, 2014.
