The Recombobulation Area is a 19-time 21-TIME! Milwaukee Press Club award-winning opinion column and online publication founded by Milwaukee journalist Dan Shafer.
Mark Pocan served 14 years in the Wisconsin State Assembly before being elected to Congress in 2012, and is now in his seventh term representing Wisconsin’s 2nd Congressional District.
Congressman Pocan is running unopposed for re-election this year, and is getting to work helping other candidates in Wisconsin as part of Democrats’ quest to flip the House of Representatives. The 3rd Congressional District contest between Republican incumbent Derrick Van Orden and Democratic challenger Rebecca Cooke has always been considered especially competitive, but now, given the national environment, the 1st Congressional District is very much in play, Pocan says. A Kenosha native himself, Pocan sees a real opportunity for Democrat Mitchell Berman to unseat Republican Bryan Steil.
Along with the 1st District — and Bryan Steil’s unique electoral vulnerabilities, particularly around stock trading — Pocan discussed his often contentious relationship with Rep. Derrick Van Orden, and what might happen if Democrats take the House in the midterms.
Plus: As someone who was part of the majority the last time Democrats controlled the Assembly, he offered his thoughts on key downballot races and the potential for the first Democratic trifecta in more than 15 years.
For a beat-by-beat breakdown of this episode, check out our timestamps below:
00:00:14 Welcome and Meet Congressman Mark Pocan
00:00:45 Running Unopposed in the Midterms
00:02:46 Why This Election Is “Definitional”
00:05:07 Trump’s Slipping Approval in Wisconsin
00:05:51 Wisconsin’s 1st District: Mitchell Berman vs. Brian Steil
00:07:53 The Congressional Stock Trading Ban Fight
00:10:31 Crypto Money and Steil’s Regulatory Role
00:12:17 Inside Steil’s “Stop Insider Trading Act” Loopholes
00:18:49 Can Democrats Flip the House? Red to Blue and Iowa
00:20:44 Wisconsin’s 3rd District: Rebecca Cook vs. Derek Van Orden
00:22:30 Pocan on Van Orden’s Controversies
00:26:49 Tom Tiffany, the Governor’s Race, and the Wisconsin Delegation
00:29:50 What a Democratic House Majority Would Mean
00:33:12 Medicaid Cuts and Health Care as the 2028 Issue
00:35:56 The Shot at a Democratic Trifecta in Wisconsin
00:38:31 Down-Ballot Races: Assembly District 51 and Senate District 17
00:41:09 Three Billionaires and Wisconsin Republican Funding
00:43:15 Pocan on D.C. Consultants
00:44:52 “Democrats Take Billionaire Money Too”: Citizens United and Campaign Finance Reform
00:48:44 Final Thoughts: “The Most Important Election of Our Lives”
Watch this episode on The Recombobulation Area’s YouTube Channel here:
For audio-only listeners, you can find The Recombobulation Area podcast on Spotify and Apple Podcasts. Here’s this episode, embedded below:
Dan Shafer is an independent 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 newsletter here and follow us on Facebook and Instagram at @ therecombobulationarea.
Already subscribe? Get a gift subscription for a friend.
Part of a group who might want to subscribe together? Get a group subscription for 30% off!
Follow Dan Shafer on Twitter at @DanRShafer, at BlueSky at @danshafer.bsky.social, and on Threads at @danshafer.
