The pieces behind Lieutenant Governor Barbara Lawton’s decision to suddenly pull out of the Democratic governor’s race continue to shift around:
- The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel’s crowing over ousting Lawton includes a juicy tidbit from (former) supporter Sen. Jim Sullivan (D-Wauwatosa) – “He said she gave no indication at the time (Saturday when he traveled to La Crosse to campaign for her) that she might not run but called him Monday to say she was stepping aside because of what he called ‘family challenges.”
- The Wisconsin State Journal quoted both former Democratic Attorney General Peg Lautenschlager and former DPW chair Matt Flynn as saying it was for “family reasons”.
- In an interview with the Associated Press (via WTMJ-AM), Lawton said that not only was the decision reached after talking to her husband and adult children, but that she would also not run again for her current job of Lieutenant Governor.
- While taken together, that would tend to give legs to a possible pending leak of an intraoffice extramarrital affair involving Lawton first reported by WTAQ-AM’s Jerry Bader, he, or more likely WTAQ-AM management, has pulled the text explanation as well as the in-house link to the “Bonus Listen” audio off the WTAQ website. Accordingly, the direct link to that audio has been pulled from yesterday’s post about Lawton.
Revisions/extensions (11:50 am 10/27/2009) – In an interview with WIBA-AM, Barbara Lawton flatly denied any extramarital affair. I apologize to the Lawton family.
