Jason Stein

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

MADISON - A former federal prosecutor and son of former Attorney General Peg Lautenschlager is following in his mother's footsteps and running to be Wisconsin's top attorney.

Josh Kaul, 36, who prosecuted federal cases in Baltimore before returning to Wisconsin, is the first Democrat to announce a run against GOP Attorney General Brad Schimel. A first-time candidate, he announced his bid on Twitter Monday.

Until recently, Lautenschlager had served on the state's Ethics Commission, which tracks the campaign finance filings of state candidates like Kaul. On Friday, however, Lautenschlager stepped down from the agency, a move that helps clear the way for a bid from Kaul.

In an interview Monday, Kaul said Schimel has become too focused on challenging actions of former President Barack Obama and hasn't done enough to protect the environment or consumers, he said.

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Kaul also pointed to Schimel spending $10,000 for coins with his informal motto for the Department of Justice of "K.A.E.D.," which stands for "Kicking Ass Every Day." Daniel Bice of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel first reported on those coins.

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"Far too much of his focus has been on politics," Kaul said of Schimel.

Alec Zimmerman, a spokesman for the Republican Party of Wisconsin, pointed out that Kaul has also been involved in politics and represented Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton during the statewide recount here after her November loss to President Donald Trump. Marc Elias, a top attorney at Kaul's law firm Perkins Coie, served as general counsel to the Clinton campaign.

"Josh Kaul has built his career as an attorney for liberal special interests and Washington insiders like Hillary Clinton,” Zimmerman said. "By contrast, Attorney General Brad Schimel has fought for Wisconsin families by improving public safety, upholding the rule of law and stopping federal overreach from Washington.”

Kaul graduated law school from Stanford University, where he was president of the Stanford Law Review. While as assistant U.S. attorney in Baltimore, Kaul served in the narcotics section and prosecuted cases involving homicides, gangs and racketeering.

In 2014, he returned to Wisconsin to work for Perkins Coie and take on election law cases. In that role, Kaul recently matched up against Schimel and the state Department of Justice in a major case over voting access.

Kaul's side in the case won a July ruling from a federal judge in Madison that struck down parts of Wisconsin's voter ID law, limits on early voting and prohibitions on allowing people to vote early at multiple sites. An appeal in the case is now awaiting a ruling from the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals in Chicago.

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Lautenschlager served as attorney general from 2003 to 2007 after serving in the Assembly, as Winnebago County district attorney and as a U.S. attorney. She lost the Democratic primary for re-election in 2006 after being arrested for drunken driving in a state vehicle.

Kaul said he loved and supported his mother but the race was about why he'd do a better job as attorney general.