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.
After a discombobulating primary election night, Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley is now the Democratic nominee for governor.
And while we knew this was coming — she was uncontested in her run, after all — Secretary of State Sarah Godlewski is now the Democratic nominee for lieutenant governor.
Godlewski is off on the Democratic Party of Wisconsin’s “Unity Tour,” which started with a breakfast-turned-brunch in Madison on Wednesday. She joined us from the road, just before the tour’s Thursday morning event in Oshkosh, and shared a few stories of that breakfast, and, in particular, an exchange with State Rep. Francesca Hong.
“When I got to the “Unity Brunch,” the first person that I saw was Fran,” said Godlewski. “And I gave her the biggest bear hug because I was just…I’m so proud of her. I mean, she came from an underdog position — nobody thought she would ever get this far; they were writing her off before she even started — and she just put her head down and went to work. She wasn’t lobbing any ugly statements at people, she just put her head down and talked about what she was going to do for the people of Wisconsin — and it’s why she built a coalition of 7,000 (volunteers). That’s more than what we’ve seen in a presidential primary. It was incredible.”
Godlewski also talked about being on the ticket with David Crowley, reacted to the chaos of the last few weeks, talked about what her role on the campaign is going to be, the efforts to elect Democrats up and down the ballot, and much more.
For a beat-by-beat breakdown, check out our topics and timestamps below:
00:00 – Introduction: primary election recap, David Crowley wins Democratic nod for governor, Godlewski’s unopposed run for lieutenant governor nomination
02:49 – Wednesday morning: confirming Crowley, first call, and “who’d play him in a movie” joke
05:02 – The Unity Brunch and genuine unity among former rivals
05:32 – Reconnecting with Francesca Hong: her underdog campaign and their friendship
08:20 – Bringing Hong’s coalition and supporters into the fold
09:46 – What resonated in Hong’s campaign that Crowley could adopt
11:36 – Godlewski’s role on the campaign for the next ~83 days, including reproductive freedom
13:33 – Reaching Western Wisconsin swing voters (the key issue: healthcare)
16:00 – Tom Tiffany’s week: Trump alignment and the “MAGA extremism” pamphlet
18:25 – Godlewski’s role as Wisconsin Dem Party vice chair
20:04 – Building unity across the party, flipping legislative seats, the path to a Democratic trifecta
21:43 – Closing thoughts: the Unity Tour ice cream tradition and sign-off
Watch this episode on The Recombobulation Area’s YouTube Channel here:
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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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