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MADISON, Wis. — Former Wisconsin Lieutenant Governor Rebecca Kleefisch conceded to Tim Michels in the Republican primary for governor Tuesday night, setting the businessman up to take on incumbent Democratic Gov. Tony Evers in the fall. Michels defeated primary rivals Rebecca Kleefisch and Tim Ramthun in the primary. As of 11:35 p.m., Michels had 47% of the total votes cast, while Kleefisch had 42.5% and Ramthun had 5.8%. In his victory speech, Michels said the race is about standing up for hard-working people and that jobs and the economy will be his top priority if he makes it to the...

Top political scientist: U.S. voters are 'pretty damn stupid' Political reporters often rely on University of Wisconsin political scientist Charles Franklin for expertise. In just the past few months, his insights have appeared in articles in the New York Times, Washington Post, USA Today, Associated Press, Politico, Boston Globe, Christian Science Monitor, and many other publications. He's also a co-founder of the influential website Pollster.com, as well as co-director of the Big Ten Battleground Poll. So Franklin answered with considerable authority when he was asked, at a recent forum on the November 2 election results, why Republicans emerged victorious in...

WASHINGTON - A year ago, an activist group from the Seattle area gave Howard Dean (news - web sites) a thin, golden statue of a backbone. The Oscar-like award honored the former Democratic presidential candidate and Vermont governor for standing up against the Iraq (news - web sites) war and other Bush administration policies. Now, as Dean settles into his new role as head of the Democratic Party, that golden spine has come to represent, for many liberal Democrats, Dean's potential to develop a tougher, take-no-prisoners attitude among the party faithful. "There's no gut-check required for Dean. Dean just needs...