Doug La Follette campaigns in Green Bay

WLUK TV

Updated: Apr 13, 2012 5:38 PM

GREEN BAY — Democratic candidates vying to challenge Republican Governor Scott Walker in the recall election are crisscrossing the state campaigning Friday.

Kathleen Falk spent the morning in Milwaukee before attending events later in the day in Wausau.

Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett started in Superior and worked his way down to Rice Lake and the Eau Claire area.

State Senator Kathleen Vinehout stopped in Abbotsford and Eau Claire.

Wisconsin Secretary of State Doug La Follette made a stop right here in Green Bay at the Brown County Courthouse.

"I’m not a Madison liberal, I’m not a big city mayor," La Follette said during his speech.

La Follette explained what sets him apart from the rest of the Democrats running against Governor Scott Walker in the recall election.

"I’m doing it a different way. I'm not going to spend a large amount of PAC money and out of state interest funds. I'm not going to run attack ads on television,” he said.

La Follette says his support has come from small donations made through his website.

He says people want an independent voice to restore Wisconsin.

"I love Wisconsin... and most of all, I love the progressive tradition," he described.

His family name may seem familiar. His great-grandfather and Robert M. “Fighting Bob” La Follette’s father were brothers. Robert M. La Follette, Sr. held the governor’s office from 1901 to 1906, and later went on to serve in the U.S. Senate until his death in 1925.

La Follette took office as Secretary of State in 1983. He was most recently re-elected in November 2010. Before holding elected office, he helped organize the first Earth Day with Governor Gaylord Nelson in 1970.

La Follette says the environment remains part of his platform. He also wants to restore powers to certain state offices, including the Secretary of State’s. La Follette says the Walker administration has taken several responsibilities away from his office, such as the power to issue trademarks and corporations.

"If we're going to be open for business the way we should be, the Secretary of State no matter who is in office, should have those important business functions," said La Follette.

And though almost all of his opponents have more fundraising dollars, this distant relative of fighting Bob says he's not going down without a fight.

Governor Walker was out of the state Friday giving a speech at the NRA convention in St. Louis.

The Democratic primary for the recall election is on May 8th. The general election is on June 5th.

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