The Wisconsin Politics Group Chat podcast features Dr. Kristin Lyerly, Pat Kreitlow (The View from UpNorth) of UpNorthNews, Kate Duffy of Motherhood for Good, and Dan Shafer of The Recombobulation Area.
There is so much happening in the Wisconsin political universe, and your friends at the “Wisconsin Politics Group Chat” podcast are here to break it all down.
And this week, there’s obviously a whole lot to talk about because DAVID CROWLEY WON THE RACE FOR GOVERNOR AND DEMOCRATS FLIPPED THE STATE LEGISLATURE!
Along with talking about the remarkable results from Tuesday — Crowley’s 8.2% win, three-for-three flips in the Senate, eight-for-eight flips in the Assembly — we looked ahead to what might be in store for a Democratic trifecta.
This episode aired live on Motherhood for Good’s YouTube Channel on Friday, Nov. 6, at 11 a.m.
For a beat-by-beat breakdown of the episode, see below:
0:00 – Going Live and “Retired” Anchor Banter: Kreitlow trades flannel for island wear, with Brewers championship gear on the way
0:49 – Election Night in Milwaukee, Together at Last: The first in-person show, and the hunt for a bar after midnight
2:35 – Livestream Chaos and a Shoutout to Producer Chris: Tech troubles and thanks to the election-night crew
3:17 – Local Election Commentary as a New Media Model: Why the hosts think more local, loosely produced coverage is needed
4:36 – Real-Time Reactions: Kate’s reflexes versus Dan’s “need more data,” and an eight-for-eight Assembly night
6:07 – The Biggest Midterm Wave Since Watergate: Cook Political Report results and Republicans’ red-wave predictions
8:15 – How Did the Polls Do?: Marquette’s Crowley +7 versus the 8.2-point result
9:23 – Crowley Dominates Milwaukee County and City: 76% countywide and 85.1% in the city, ahead of Obama’s marks
11:59 – The Northern Wisconsin Map Problem: The “new Kansas” and where the shifts were smaller
13:44 – Fox Valley Flips: Crowley wins Brown and Winnebago counties
14:08 – Rural Messaging Gap: Gillett’s failed school referendum and the case for county-level organizing
15:25 – Young Men Swing Left: Shifts among men 18–44 in key Senate states
16:45 – Why Voters Moved: ICE, women’s health, health care, and gas prices, plus MAHA women as a possible opening for Democrats
18:23 – “Tired of the Assholery”: Republicans’ own postmortems and what they say about Trump
20:20 – Trump’s Record and the Republican Party’s Responsibility: Whether a fiscally conservative GOP can reemerge
21:36 – Republicans Aren’t Getting the Message: Ron Johnson’s reaction and “this isn’t just Trump”
24:22 – What Happens Now in the Legislature: Leadership elections and what Democrats can actually get done
25:34 – Kreitlow’s Watchlist for Democrats: Low-hanging fruit, the overreach trap on the minimum wage, and 2028 messaging
27:49 – Better Messaging: The Mamdani team’s social approach and bringing in storytellers
28:51 – Chorus and Creator-Driven Progressive Media: The influence of creators and a young campaign staff in Texas
31:24 – Crowley’s Budget Headline and the Need for Context: Misleading coverage and the role of independent journalists
32:48 – Delivering Results Voters Can Feel: The to-do list for Hesselbein, Neubauer, and the new trifecta
35:17 – Connect the Dots: Gas prices, tariffs, shovel-ready projects, and lead pipe remediation
37:23 – Eye-Popping Down-Ballot Results: Assembly flips, SD25, and the 25-point swing in AD21
40:27 – Republican Leadership Bails and the AI Slop Ads: Why attack ads may have backfired
41:51 – Will the Mega-Donors Keep Spending?: Musk, Uihlein, and Hendricks, and campaign finance reform
43:22 – The Blue Ribbon Commission Debate: Whether Crowley’s school funding commission is needed
46:33 – Crowley the Bridge Builder: Governing for all of Wisconsin versus moving fast
50:51 – Democratic Tensions and the Voucher Dilemma: Milwaukee Democrats versus the rest of the caucus
52:58 – “Wisconsin Is a Blue State”: Tommy Thompson’s quote and how gerrymandering weakened the GOP bench
56:12 – A 53-Seat Assembly Majority: The biggest Democratic majority since 1992
57:02 – Redrawing Congressional Maps: WI-1, WI-3, and the anti-competitive gerrymander case
59:35 – Structural Reforms: Walker loophole, early absentee counting, automatic registration, and nonpartisan redistricting
1:00:39 – Why Redistricting Reform Didn’t Happen Last Time: Kreitlow’s account of the 2009–10 trifecta
1:01:45 – Stevens Point Early Voting Lines: Three-hour waits for students
1:02:55 – What’s Next for the Group Chat: A short hiatus, budget listening sessions, and audience requests
1:04:23 – Content Plans and Sign-Off: Substacks, podcasts, budget explainers, and a goal of universal health care
If you missed our live Election Night broadcast from Tuesday, see here.
Watch this and every episode of the “Wisconsin Politics Group Chat” on The Recombobulation Area’s YouTube Channel:
You can find every episode of the “Wisconsin Politics Group Chat” on The Recombobulation Area’s podcast feed, available on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and right here on Substack.
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Follow Dan Shafer on Twitter at @DanRShafer, at BlueSky at @danshafer.bsky.social, and on Threads at @danshafer.
