Burke photo by Adam Ryan Morris.
This afternoon Democratic gubernatorial candidate Mary Burke
will join President Obama at North Division High School, where students decked out their gym
in colorful welcome banners. The President is the latest high-profile
Democrat to campaign with Burke. First Lady Michelle Obama appeared both in
Milwaukee and Madison with Burke in early October and, just last week, former
President Bill Clinton came to the Hyatt Regency hotel to aid her campaign and
take a couple jabs at her opponent Gov. Scott Walker.
At the Clinton appearance, the former president declared that “The whole
country is watching this race because [Burke’s] opponent got a lot of headlines
the last four years all related to conflict…She didn’t make so many headlines
because in her business and her public service she’s all about
cooperation.”
And he’s partly right. Even Burke admits in an interview earlier this afternoon
that race has received such a high profile in part because of Walker’s highly
publicized history. But when it comes to embracing that national spotlight and
the public figures within it, she has had to walk a cautious line.
“Having the President here today or having the first lady here is great,
because it increases awareness around the importance of voting, and I think
that’s true regardless of who you’re going to vote for,” Burke tells Milwaukee Magazine. She takes a relatively neutral
tone considering Obama’s the highest ranking Democrat in the country.
When Obama attended Labor Fest in September, Burke did not appear with him and was
promptly criticized by the Walker campaign. Today,
Walker called Burke “the candidate of
Washington,” because of
her roster of national co-campaigners, which also includes Sen. Elizabeth
Warren (D-Mass.).
Beyond the reactive nature of political news, it’s hard to debate the
benefits her campaign has received from the national attention. In fact, it has
helped her raise a reported $15 million (she donated $5 million
herself), with a reported $750,000 coming from national pro-choice
group Emily’s List and $1.1 million from the American Federation of State,
County and Municipal Workers, donated to the liberal-leaning Greater Wisconsin
Political Fund. The group’s president went as far as telling The Washington Post, “We have a score to settle with
Scott Walker.”
The spotlight has also meant that more journalists have been digging through her personal and professional
history. For example, when I followed her campaign around the northwest part of
the state for a July profile, I was
joined by reporters from the Wall
Street Journal and U.S. News and World Reports. A Google search for “Mary
Burke governor campaign” returns 20 percent more results than “Tom
Barrett governor campaign,” despite Barrett’s three gubernatorial bids. In
mid-September, Buzzfeed reported that parts of Burke’s “Invest for
Success” plan had been plagiarized by a consultant, who was
promptly relieved of his duties. And most recently, Meet The
Press’ moderator Chuck Todd came to the Third Ward to speak with Burke,
as we reported last
week.
In his report, Todd
says that Burke is “one of a few Democrats who wants the current
president by her side.” But when he asked her why she’s
“comfortable” having the president campaign with her, her response
was tepid.
“It’s going to be a tight race,” she said. “Turnout’s going to
be important. And yeah, I welcome the president here.”
The national press attention, she tells the magazine,
“doesn’t really affect me at all.”
Yet in the next week, her plan to win over undecided voters includes traveling
the state, getting “in front of people,” and doing interviews with local print
and radio outlets. “I believe if people know me, my qualifications and my plans
for leading Wisconsin… they will vote for me.”
