Governor-elect Scott Walker celebrated his victory over Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett, Tuesday, at the culmination of a long-fought gubernatorial campaign.
After winning 52 percent of the vote, according to the Associated Press, he thanked his supporters for their votes, but also expressed his commitment to everyone in the state, including supporters of his opponent.
""To all those others who may not have voted for me let me be clear: I intend to be governor of the entire state of Wisconsin,"" he said. ""We all live in Wisconsin together and we're going to move this state forward together.""
After his victory, Walker said he will not hesitate to put his campaign promises of cutting taxes and eliminating business regulations into action, adding that he will begin working with lawmakers within the next week to work on his job agenda.
""Those things we do in the first days will show how serious we are to kick start our plan to create 250,000 new jobs by the end of our first term,"" Walker said.
Despite the state's high unemployment amid a two-year long recession, Walker expressed optimism in the state's economic outlook.
""Tonight I want to tell every worker, every family, and every business, big or small, in the state, that you have an ally in the governor's office. Wisconsin is open for business,"" he said.
Barrett said in his concession speech he respects the decision Wisconsin voters made, but ""will never stop believing in the state of Wisconsin."" He said, as mayor of Milwaukee, he will continue to work on the city's challenges of poverty and education.
He said there is a ""collective struggle"" throughout the state to improve education and health care and insure fair property taxes. ""I will never stop fighting for those issues, and I hope you never stop fighting for those issues,"" he said.
Governor Jim Doyle congratulated Walker on his election in a statement and said he intends to facilitate a smooth transaction for his office. ""I have spoken to Governor-elect Walker to let him know that my administration is prepared to begin this process,"" he said.
Walker's election was among the many GOP victories the UW-Madison College Republicans had to celebrate Tuesday night.
Sean Rao, UW-Madison senior and volunteer for Students for Scott Walker, said he thinks Walker will improve the job outlook for college graduates as governor.
""With Walker in charge, people are going to be able to come here and invest and we're going to be able to get hired,"" he said.
UW-Madison junior Ashley Burns, a member of UW College Republicans, said there was an ""enthusiasm gap"" between Republicans and Democrats that was not obvious on UW-Madison's historically liberal campus, pointing out that Republican supporters have been campaigning ""since day one.""
Evan Giesemann, Chair of UW College Democrats, said it was a ""tough night for Democrats,"" but said he was happy to see that college students came out to vote Tuesday.
In other gubernatorial races, close elections in Minnesota, Illinois and Florida remained undecided as of press time.
