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.
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 Kreitlow of UpNorth News, Kate Duffy of Motherhood for Good, and Dan Shafer of The Recombobulation Area — is here to try to make sense of all of it.
We 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 from UpNorth 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.
You can also watch on YouTube here.
Listen on Apple Podcasts here, on Spotify (embedded below) or on the Substack app.
EPISODE DETAILS:
00:00 — “Democrats in Wisconsin are going through it”
01:54 — The two-week recap: Crowley out, Rodriguez implodes, Crowley back in
03:33 — 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 through
15:42 — 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 poll
35:54 — The 70,000-ballot problem: spoiled ballots & the WEC ruling 44:22 — Tom Tiffany: the record behind the folksy ads
51:07 — 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.
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Follow Dan Shafer on Twitter at @DanRShafer, at BlueSky at @danshafer.bsky.social, and on Threads at @danshafer.
