Governor’s Race Update: Democrats Criticize Walker On Gay Marriage, Walker Unveils New Ad

In the governor’s race today, Democrats called on Gov. Scott Walker to drop the state’s appeal of the gay marriage ruling, while Walker attacked Democrat Mary Burke for outsourcing jobs.

The call from Democrats came on the heels of comments Walker made at the National Governors Association, where he told the Associated Press, “I don’t think the Republican Party is fighting (gay marriage).”

In a conference call organized by the Democratic National Committee, U.S. Rep. Mark Pocan (D-Madison), who is gay, said Walker was talking out of both sides of his mouth on this issue.

“At the end of the day, we know Scott Walker’s actions, not his remarks, are what fair-minded Wisconsinites and Americans will judge him by,” said Pocan. “And right now, saying the Republican Party is not fighting gay marriage is both disingenuous and false.”

Pocan said what made Walker’s comments most shocking is that they came just days after Walker joined Attorney General J.B. Van Hollen in appealing the ruling that struck down Wisconsin’s gay marriage ban. More than 40 Democratic state lawmakers sent a letter to Walker and Van Hollen calling that appeal a waste of taxpayer dollars.

Meanwhile, Walker’s campaign continues to take aim at Mary Burke’s record with a TV ad showing a woman reading to two kids from a children’s book with doctored pictures of Burke. Picking up on attacks that have so far been lobbed by other Republicans, the ad blasted Burke for getting rich as an executive at Trek Bicycle at a time when the company had outsourced jobs.

The attack by Walker comes just a week after WKOW-TV, the ABC affiliate, in Madison reported that two companies that received grants from Walker’s Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation had outsourced jobs to other countries.

You can watch the new ad launched by Walker’s campaign below: