Recombobulating on Election Day Eve (with Angela Lang!)

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.

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It’s the day before the election, and I sat down with my friend Angela Lang, the co-executive director of Black Leaders Organizing for Communities (BLOC), for one last conversation before Wisconsinites head to the polls.

We talk about:

• Why Milwaukee is feeling the Brewers’ World Series run, and why “Milwaukee sucks” is a losing campaign message

• David Crowley’s Brewers deal, his favorability in the city, and why he’s such a strong retail politician

• Why Republican attacks haven’t landed, and the power of a candidate’s story

• The rise of millennials in Wisconsin politics and a generational shift that’s bigger than one race

• The Senate and Assembly districts where your vote could flip the legislature and produce a Democratic trifecta

Plus Angela’s election-eve homework: schedule five texts to friends for 7 a.m., share a nonpartisan voter guide, check your sample ballot at myvote.wi.gov, and go “start a band.”

Then join us tomorrow night after the polls close at 8 p.m. for the live coverage of election results with the Wisconsin Politics Group Chat.

For a beat-by-beat breakdown of this episode, see below.

• 00:00:15 – Welcome and Election Eve Check-In with Angela Lang

• 00:01:00 – “Tired Is a State of Being”: GOTV Weekend and Polling Place Energy

• 00:03:02 – Brewers World Series Fever Meets Election Season

• 00:05:44 – Crowley, the Brewers Deal, and the Inside Story on Stadium Financing

• 00:08:34 – “Milwaukee Sucks” Politics: Tiffany’s Anti-Milwaukee Campaign

• 00:10:53 – Milwaukee Pride, Spite Turnout, and Past Backfires

• 00:12:43 – Republicans’ “Lose by Less” Strategy and Milwaukee’s Turnout Record

• 00:15:23 – Crowley’s Favorability in the City vs. Mandela Barnes

• 00:16:54 – The Silent Canvas: Crowley as Someone Voters Actually Know

• 00:19:21 – Crowley the Retail Politician: “Let David Be David”

• 00:20:51 – Ericka Crowley and the Relaunch Rally

• 00:24:19 – Why Republican Attacks Haven’t Landed (Data Centers, Sales Tax)

• 00:26:28 – “Boring Wins”: Evers Comparisons and a Clean Record

• 00:27:43 – The Power of a Candidate’s Story and Authenticity

• 00:29:46 – Bridge Building and Uniting Democratic Factions

• 00:31:44 – A Generational Shift: The Rise of Millennials in Wisconsin Politics

• 00:34:16 – Millennial Candidates Breaking the Consultant-Class Playbook

• 00:36:45 – Down-Ballot Millennials and Polished Long-Shot Campaigns

• 00:38:49 – Evers Passes the Torch to Crowley

• 00:39:38 – How Young Would Crowley Be? Governors Under 50 Across the Country

• 00:41:31 – Younger Candidates, Digital Creativity, and the Mamdani Model

• 00:45:12 – Analog and Digital: Millennials Between Two Worlds

• 00:47:07 – Final Thoughts: Voting, Nonpartisan Guides, and Texting Your Friends

• 00:49:36 – “Start a Band”: Velvet Underground Analogy and Ways to Get Involved

• 00:51:26 – Swing Districts and a Possible Democratic Trifecta

• 00:52:55 – “Everyone Has Power” and Closing Remarks

• 00:53:35 – Sign-Off and Wisconsin Politics Group Chat Live Show Preview

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Watch this episode on The Recombobulation Area’s YouTube Channel here:

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For audio-only listeners, you can find The Recombobulation Area podcast on Spotify and Apple Podcasts. Here’s this episode, embedded below:

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PLUS: If you missed it, be sure to read Angela’s column on Question 3:

Don’t fall for the sneaky language: Why you should vote NO on Question 3

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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.

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Follow Dan Shafer on Twitter at @DanRShafer, at BlueSky at @danshafer.bsky.social, and on Threads at @danshafer.