Jim Doyle really did a number on Peg Lautenschlager.
Lautenschlager’s drunk-driving conviction made her vulnerable, but the voters might well have forgiven one mistake. This is a state, after all, whose people have been known to hoist a few. But soon after this came the revelation that she was using a state car for more than what appeared to be official use – even her husband was using the car. At that point, there appeared to be some kind of pattern to Lautenschlager’s questionable actions. And Lautenschlager never recovered.
The information on her use of a state car came from Doyle’s people, who apparently wanted to make an example of Lautenschlager for bucking the governor on some issues. Then Doyle encouraged Madison County Executive Kathleen Falk to enter the race. Her victory in the primary was a victory for Doyle as well.
But will there be any bad blood over this? Falk has run well in Madison as county executive, yet ran behind Lautenschlager in the attorney general primary. That suggests that Democrats in Madison were still loyal to Lautenschlager and just possibly annoyed with Falk for running against the Democratic incumbent. But these voters are unlikely to vote for a conservative Republican in the general election just to punish Falk for being mean to Lautenschlager. Indeed, you’d have to favor Falk over JB Van Hollen at this point.
That leaves just the issue of Lautenschlager herself and whether her office would find some way to go after Doyle and embarrass him prior to the election. But Lautenschlager has already made a point of showing that she is behind the Democrat effort for this November and avoided the sort of whining that Republican Paul Bucher engaged in after his defeat, sniping that Van Hollen had bought the election. She may want to go down as a team player.
All of which suggests that Doyle has gotten what he wanted. The result was doubtless a stronger candidate for Democrats, but it remains to be seen if we get a better attorney general.
