Wisconsin Politics Group Chat: Campaign chaos in the Democratic gubernatorial primary
The Recombobulation Area is a19-time21-TIME!Milwaukee Press Club award-winning opinion column and online publication founded by Milwaukee journalist Dan Shafer. Over the past two weeks, the Democratic primary. . .
The Recombobulation Area is a19-time21-TIME!Milwaukee Press Club award-winning opinion column and online publication founded by Milwaukee journalist Dan Shafer. Over the past two weeks, the Democratic primary in the race for governor has turned into absolute chaos. Candidates are out, candidates are in, politicians are making endorsements, people are freaking out about the establishment, and this is all very discombobulating. Nobody knows anything, but the Wisconsin Politics Group Chat —Dr. Kristin Lyerly,Patrick Kreitlowof UpNorth News,Kate Duffyof Motherhood for Good, andDan Shaferof The Recombobulation Area — is here to try to make sense of all of it. ShareWe talked about all that’s happened over the past two weeks, the upcoming Marquette University Law School Poll (which may have a giant asterisk to go with it), an upcoming poll fromUpNorth News(👀👀👀), Kelda Roys’ campaign, Francesca Hong’s campaign, Mandela Barnes’ campaign, David Crowley’s campaign, Tony Evers’ endorsement, and much more. Oh, and we also talked about the guy on the other side of the aisle, Tom Tiffany, and why he’s an especially problematic candidate, maybe the most far-right candidate who has ever run a statewide race in Wisconsin. We also talked about some of the news as it was breaking in real time about whether people who may have already voted absentee can change their vote. Molly Beck@MollyBeckNEW🧵: The Democratic Party of Wisconsin sent a letter to state elections commissioners today asking them to immediately rescind guidance that bars absentee voters from requesting a new ballot if their preferred candidate drops out. 4:31 PM · Jul 21, 2026·22. 6K Views20 Replies·16 Reposts·50 LikesEPISODE DETAILS:00:00 — “Democrats in Wisconsin are going through it”01:54 — The two-week recap: Crowley out, Rodriguez implodes, Crowley back in03:33 — Why the Marquette poll will be confusing (+ a new poll is coming)07:29 — Endorsements: which ones actually move votes?11:41 — The Kelda Roys puzzle: doing the right things, not breaking through15:42 — Does anyone outside Milwaukee know David Crowley?17:16 — Where are all the TV ads?19:42 — Has Francesca Hong pulled ahead?25:31 — Could Fran actually govern in a divided state?30:18 — Mandela Barnes: dark horse or falling stock?33:52 — What to watch for in the Marquette poll35:54 — The 70,000-ballot problem: spoiled ballots & the WEC ruling 44:22 — Tom Tiffany: the record behind the folksy ads51:07 — Embrace the chaos + debate preview (July 28, WISN 12)In case you’ve missed a previous episode, you can find them all here. Dan Shafer is a journalist from Milwaukee who writes and publishes The Recombobulation Area. He worked with Civic Media from 2024 to 2026. He’s written for The New York Times, The Daily Beast, Heartland Signal, Belt Magazine, WisPolitics, and Milwaukee Record. He previously worked at Seattle Magazine, Seattle Business Magazine, the Milwaukee Business Journal, Milwaukee Magazine, and BizTimes Milwaukee. He’s won 24 Milwaukee Press Club Excellence in Journalism Awards. He’s on Twitter at@DanRShafer. Subscribe to The Recombobulation newsletterhereand follow us onFacebookandInstagramat @ therecombobulationarea. Already subscribe? Get a gift subscription for a friend. Give a gift subscriptionPart of a group who might want to subscribe together? Get a group subscription for 30% off!Get 30% off a group subscriptionFollow Dan Shafer on Twitter at@DanRShafer, at BlueSky at@danshafer. bsky. social, and on Threads at@danshafer.