“I got a call this morning shortly before the email went out and I was as surprised as everyone else,” Democratic Party Chair Mike Tate said of Lt. Gov. Barbara Lawton’s decision not to run for governor in 2010. “I think it was a big shock.”
Tate said he didn’t speak to Lawton personally, but her chief of staff reiterated during the phone conversation that Lawton’s decision was personal.
“I asked if she was sick or if her husband was sick and was told no,” Tate said. “That was my first thought--is she OK? But that is all I know.”
Does this mean Barrett’s in?
“I don’t know what it means,” Tate said. “I think Tom Barrett would be a great candidate for governor and that he would be a great governor. He said he’s working through his decision to run or not in a very thoughtful way and I’m going to respect that process.”
Tate said he hadn’t talked to Dane County Executive Kathleen Falk since Lawton’s announcement, but that he has spoken to her recently and “she’s keeping her options open.”
