Romney to Green: Do Your Own Campaigning

There's no question the Republican Governors Association (RGA), led by Massachusetts governor and 2008 presidential hopeful Mitt Romney, has put some money into the Wisconsin gubernatorial race.

Based on a count of ads listed at Wispolitics, the RGA has put together three separate spots attacking Governor Doyle since mid-August, with the latest being released just yesterday.

But how high on the priority list -- or, to put it differently, the list of close races the RGA thinks it has the best shot of winning -- is Wisconsin?

If you read the Spivak & Bice column today and stuck around for the last few lines, then you saw this tidbit of news:

Finally, there is a letter Romney sent to supporters earlier this month, according to The Associated Press and the Rocky Mountain News, offering free airfare and lodging to those interested in campaigning in the key states of Iowa, Maine, Oregon, Illinois, Arkansas and Michigan as the only states with targeted races.

Noticeable by its absence: Wisconsin.

I'm not saying that this is evidence the RGA is giving up on Wisconsin -- the group's newly released ad shoots that theory right out of the sky.

But the absence of Wisconsin from the list of "targeted races," as deemed by the RGA brass, is noteworthy.

According to the latest polls, the Wisconsin gubernatorial race is tighter than many of the races targeted by the RGA, and Wisconsin is seen as a particularly useful state for either party to have a foothold in heading into 2008 because of its swing-state status.

So what does the RGA see in Wisconsin that keeps it off the targeted list?