It was supposed to be a sleepy, low-turnout election with few headline-making races, but yesterday’s primary election provided a shot in the arm for the state’s progressives and just might be the tipping point at which Wisconsin recaptures its sanity.
The big news is that state Sen. Chris Larson beat Milwaukee County Executive Chris Abele by 1% in a grassroots race in which the underdog was the victor.
Abele has already poured almost $2 million of his own money into the race, a massive sum for a primary in which he was the incumbent and should have cakewalked through on the way to the general election. But Abele’s early and heavy campaign spending showed that he was desperate for support and last night we found out that his dad’s money couldn’t buy him enough votes to get over the finish line first. Then again, Abele hired former Democratic Party of Wisconsin chair Mike Tate, who helped to turn a blue Wisconsin into a solid red one. Tate’s losing streak continued last night, unsurprisingly.
Larson, on the other hand, continued his winning streak of running to the left of corporate Democrats in a grassroots campaign with a great ground game. He knocked off Jeff Plale in 2008, helped defeat a slew of Lena Taylor-backed conservative Dems in 2012, then took on Abele in this campaign, even though Abele is a major Democratic donor, hired national political operatives and has essentially bought the silence of local elected officials and various politicos.
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Larson proved yet again that knocking on doors and being confident in one’s progressive message is a winning formula. I mean, has Abele ever knocked on a door? Can he relate to the average Milwaukeean? Despite being in office for five years, he simply hasn’t formed a relationship with Milwaukee County residents, and his record as Walker-Lite simply isn’t popular in Milwaukee these days. Abele would have better luck in Brookfield or River Hills, I’m sure.
I’d be remiss if I didn’t acknowledge the role played by Wisconsin Working Families Party in its first real campaign season in the state. The party backed Larson and a couple of candidates who won tight races last night, such as Khalif Rainey and Chevy Johnson. Again, a solidly progressive message and a great ground game won over more muddled messages. Expect the party to play a bigger role in the general election and again in the fall. And expect the state Democratic Party to become more reflective of the Working Families Party and run candidates who act like Democrats once elected. A Working Families Party endorsement is a stamp of approval for voters who are looking to elect true Democrats, not tea party sympathizers like Abele.
Now, onward to April 5, when Abele and Larson will face off in the general election.
It will be a very different race.
First off, it’ll be a different electorate, but I don’t know how just yet. Both parties will hold their presidential primaries on that date. I’m willing to bet that the races will be unsettled on both sides and Wisconsin voters will turn out in droves to vote for their nominee, whether it’s a Democrat or Republican.
Second, a lot can happen during the next seven weeks. It’s pretty safe to assume that Abele’s mishandling of the Domes is not going to play well in April and was in voters’ minds yesterday. I’m not quite sure what’s going on in the executive’s suite, but Abele and his team have really bungled this one. You don’t indefinitely shut down a local landmark, spin it as a way to have a “conversation” about the Domes’ future and imply they need to be razed and rebuilt to the tune of $75 million, then evade that conversation by not scheduling a public hearing, and expect to win a tight election. Especially when Abele has worked behind the scenes to give up the Marcus Center, sell the Park East for $1, put the county on the hook for $80 million for the Bucks arena and take near-unilateral control of county land sales—people simply don’t trust him to be a good steward of county assets.
Third, last night’s Larson win is a political game-changer. If he’d come in a close second to Abele, he would have simply met expectations. But his win over a massively funded conservative incumbent gives progressives a shot in the arm when they need it badly. Larson’s win energizes the local left in a way that simply can’t be bought through endless campaign ads and political donations. Abele’s defeat yesterday, when Democrats are reminded of how badly the 5-year-old Act 10 and everything else afterwards has stung, is a sign that the pendulum is swinging away from Walker-style austerity and toward a more inclusive, progressive future. Larson’s primary win will have ripple effects throughout other campaigns this spring and beyond.
Finally, I also want to thank the many good people who took a chance and ran clean campaigns this winter, especially Milwaukee County Circuit Court Judge Joe Donald, who was up against two candidates—Rebecca Bradley and JoAnne Kloppenburg—with statewide name recognition and built-in support around the state. Donald ran a positive campaign and drew a lot of support and last night’s loss should be seen as a temporary one. There are already calls for him to run in the next Supreme Court elections and I hope he’s seriously considering it.
Likewise, I also want to congratulate the many candidates who lost last night but who were willing to get involved in the electoral process and become community leaders. After many years of cynicism and polarization, it’s heartening to see so many people give politics a chance and try to improve our community.
