Then-Democratic nominee for governor Tony Earl waves to supporters during an election night gathering in Madison in 1984. Earl, a Democrat who served one term as Wisconsin's governor in the 1980s and later bemoaned the increasing partisanship in politics, has died. He was 86. (A. Craig Benson/Wisconsin State Journal via AP) By SCOTT BAUER Associated
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Former Wisconsin Governor Tony Earl, who couldn’t overcome a sour economy and was turned out by voters after a single term in the 1980s, has died. The Democrat was an advocate for gay rights but he also got the nickname “Tony the Taxer” from political foes for tax hikes he signed into law to deal with a state budget deficit. Earl was 86. Earl served only one term as governor, from 1983 to 1987, before being beaten by Republican Tommy Thompson. Earl’s political career ended after he lost a Democratic primary race for U.S. Senate in 1988 to Herb Kohl.