Burke Debuts John Doe Ad On Same Day As Release Of Documents From First Probe

Milwaukee County Executive Chris Abele Releases 16K Emails From First John Doe Probe

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Mary Burke signs an autograph outside the Madison City Clerk's office. Photo: Shawn Johnson/WPR News.

Democratic gubernatorial candidate Mary Burke has started attacking Gov. Scott Walker over a John Doe investigation that resulted in the conviction of some of Walker’s aides from when he was Milwaukee County executive.

While Burke has hardly gone soft on Walker this campaign, she’s largely steered clear of a now-closed John Doe investigation into Walker’s first campaign for governor. Not to be confused with another state investigation into Walker’s campaign activities during the recall elections, that first investigation resulted in guilty pleas from two top Walker aides in Milwaukee for embezzling veterans’ funds and campaigning on public time.

Burke started running a TV ad mentioning the investigation on Tuesday, the same day that Milwaukee County Executive Chris Abele released a new batch of documents from the first John Doe investigation. Burke told reporters she did not talk to Abele about those documents.

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“The timing wasn’t determined based on that,” she said. “The timing is about that people, when they go to the polls, need to consider Governor Walker’s entire record.”

Burke made her comments outside the Madison City Clerk’s office on Tuesday, where she was voting early. Burke said she was hoping turnout would be up this year compared to Walker’s first election.

“Certainly bigger than 2010,” she said. “I would be surprised if it hit 2012. But there’s a lot at stake. This is about Wisconsin’s future, and I hope people do get out and make sure their voice is heard.”

Walker’s campaign issued a statement calling Abele “highly partisan,” and accusing Abele of releasing old emails to try to distract voters from Burke’s record.

Watch Burke’s new campaign ad below: