Seeking his second consecutive term as governor is incumbent Democrat Jim Doyle.

Born in Washington, D.C. and raised in Madison, Doyle earned an undergraduate degree from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 1967 and a law degree from Harvard University in 1972.

After serving three terms as Dane County District Attorney and spending several years building a private law practice, Doyle was elected Wisconsin Attorney General in 1990, and re-elected to the position in 1994 and 1998.

In 2002, Doyle defeated Republican Scott McCallum for the governor's office. McCallum had been appointed to the position a year earlier to replace Tommy Thompson, who was named Secretary of Health and Human Service by President Bush.

Health care, education and embryonic stem-cell research investments have been prominent among Doyle's stated priorities through his first term and in his re-election campaign.

In October 2004, Doyle and Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich helped launch the I-SaveRx prescription drug importation program, one of the first programs designed to allow citizens to purchase cheaper versions of prescription drugs from Canada and Europe.

In 2005, Doyle reached an agreement with U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services Mike Leavitt to allow Wisconsin's SeniorCare program, which helps senior citizens pay for drugs, to be funded through at least June 2007. He has recently pursued efforts to have the program extended through 2010.

In 2003, Doyle formed the Governor's Task Force on Educational Excellence, which examines education financing, teacher attraction and retention and classroom opportunities for students.

In July 2005, Doyle vetoed a budget he said would have forced the state to lay off thousands of teachers and cut hundreds of millions of dollars in education funding.

He has also proposed the expansion of the Student Achievement Guarantee in Education program, which aims to establish lower class sizes and more rigorous standards in classrooms.

In November 2004, Doyle announced Wisconsin will invest up to $750 million in biomedical research over the next several years, much of which he said will go to embryonic stem cell research.

The plan calls for new multimillion-dollar research institutes in Madison and at the Medical College of Wisconsin.

Doyle has stated a goal of the state capturing 10 percent of the stem cell market by 2015.

Another notable veto by Doyle came in November 2003, when he vetoed a Defense of Marriage Act that would have reinforced existing Wisconsin laws that define marriage as between a man and a woman.

When Doyle first took office, he inherited a record $3.2 billion budget deficit. His handling of the deficit and the question of whether the state has balanced the budget have become a point of contention in this year's race.

Doyle has been married for 39 years to Jessica Laird Doyle, whom he met at Madison West High School. The couple spent two years in Tunisia with the Peace Corps. They have two adopted sons – Gus, 27, and Gabriel, 23.