The next few weeks at The Recombobulation Area

After an especially busy and discombobulating 6+ weeks since returning to our roots as an independent publication, we’re doing some recombobulating of our own before ramping up our election coverage.

Aug 19, 2026

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.

Folks, it has been an especially wild six(ish) weeks since The Recombobulation Area returned to being an independent publication.

We knew we’d be running through the tape to cover the Aug. 11 election and the Democratic gubernatorial primary, but we never could have predicted the utter chaos that unfolded in July and August as we covered this race.

We announced our big news on July 2, celebrated with our Independence Day Sale, and then the news cycle surrounding the primary began to accelerate, with David Crowley dropping out and endorsing Sara Rodriguez on July 8. That was just the start of it, as, soon after, it felt like the Earth was about to spin off its axis with the abject insanity of what happened next. From the moment that changed everything on the evening of Sunday, July 12, through the wee hours of the morning on Aug. 12 when Milwaukee’s central count results were finally reported, this was about as discombobulating a campaign as one could possibly imagine.

We’re on the other side of that now.

After winning by a less than 1% margin, David Crowley is the Democratic nominee. Crowley is a terrific candidate who has an impressive record of accomplishment as Milwaukee County Executive, and I’ve thought of him as a rising star in Democratic politics with a world of potential for quite some time.

Crowley could prove to be a transformational governor at a critical moment — a pragmatic, results-driven bridge-builder who could bring people together and overcome ideological divides to deliver meaningful progress for Wisconsinites in every corner of the state.

Like anyone, he has his flaws — he’d be better off adopting Francesca Hong’s position on data centers, for one (even as his position on these developments is being wildly misrepresented, and he is far from a moderate on the issue) — but Crowley brings so much to the table as a leader and I am genuinely thrilled he is the nominee. He could lead the top of the ticket into a Democratic trifecta in 2027 and help bring the dawn of a bold new era in Wisconsin.

There are just about two-and-a-half months until the Nov. 3 general election, and — given how these last six weeks have gone — we’re all going to be living several political lifetimes between now and then. There’s going to be much for us to write and podcast and report about in the coming weeks and months.

But before we do, I have some of my own recombobulating to do.

Over the next few weeks, I will be taking a short break from publishing new content, but will be returning after Labor Day to cover the final months of the 2026 midterm elections — from Crowley v. Tiffany at the top of the ticket to the Wisconsin State Legislature, and beyond. Yes, that will include our preview of every last race in the State Senate and State Assembly, as we’ve done every election cycle since 2020.

Between now and Labor Day, however, we have some actual business to attend to here at The Recombobulation Area — being an independent publication once again requires as such — along with some long-planned family travel, and a few other things in the mix, too. So we are taking a beat to reset and recombobulate before what will surely be a busy time from September through November.

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In that time, though, we will be sharing a few things from our archives, and you will continue to be able to find new episodes of the “Wisconsin Politics Group Chat” podcast on our feeds.

But one thing is for sure: The support you have shown this publication since we returned to independent ownership has been phenomenal — and well beyond our wildest expectations. The number of subscribers, both free and paid, have grown by the hundreds, the response we’ve experienced has been overwhelmingly positive, and that support is going to be powering us through November, as we look to cover this landmark election for Wisconsin the way only we can.

So, hopefully, the increased volume of content you’ve seen in your inbox over the last few weeks will sustain you for all your recombobulatory needs over the next few weeks. Soon, we’ll be back with all the commentary and analysis and podcasting and interviews and video and original reporting and more that we plan to bring in the final months of the midterm election campaign and beyond.

See you after Labor Day, folks.