Exiting Wisconsin Governor Proud of Health Insurance Achievement

Wisconsin Gov. Jim Doyle, who served as governor longer than any Democrat in the state’s history and along the way expanded health insurance access to nearly every state resident, didn’t always play well in the political sandbox to get what he wanted.

He doesn’t care.

Doyle leaves office on Jan. 3 having never lost an election over a political career that spans more than 30 years. He also leaves with his lowest-ever approval ratings, a Democratic Party that’s in disarray and a state that’s suffering under higher unemployment than when he took over in 2002.

In office when the recession hit two years ago – like other governors across the country – Doyle was faced with skyrocketing unemployment, a record-high budget shortfall and angry voters who ultimately put all of state government in the hands of Republicans starting in 2011.

“I don’t think I’m a victim of the times,” Doyle said in a wide-ranging interview with The Associated Press at the governor’s mansion. “I’m hardly a victim. That’s not how my mind would ever go.”

Doyle points with pride to perhaps his biggest achievement: 98 percent of Wisconsin residents, including all children, now have access to health care thanks to expansions he pushed. Republicans appear unlikely to undo that part of his legacy. Senate Republican leader Scott Fitzgerald called Doyle’s push to ensure all citizens have access to health insurance a “laudable goal.”

“I’m very, very proud that every child in Wisconsin has health insurance,” Doyle said. “I would hope everyone understands it’s really a good thing to have children with health insurance. The merits of it stand on their own.”