It was a theoretically nonpartisan race, although everybody is aware how the candidates lean.
If I knew nothing else about Kelly, this would be enough for me to crawl over broken glass to vote against him. Freaking evil Uihleins make the Koch Brothers look almost benign. Well, not really, but I hate them even more. (from the Times’ piece).
Justice Kelly, whose campaign did not spend any money on television advertising during the primary campaign, has used his deep-pocketed supporters as a reason to vote for him. He told conservatives gathered at a Republican Party dinner this month in Sawyer County that they should back him because he had the support of the billionaire Uihlein family, whose super PAC has spent $2.8 million to back him so far and pledged to spend millions more on his behalf.
A superhero.
He’s done amazing things as Wisconsin Democratic Party chair. Fantastic organizer and fundraiser – WisDems have had some really cool online events, like a Princess Bride reunion and a Veep/West Wing crossover livestream with Julia Louis Dreyfus and other stars.
As this is (technically) a non-partisan election, there was no crossover voting. It was simply the top two vote getters.
I believe they said it was clear within 35 minutes of the polls closing that Janet was going to be the one going on. Kelly and Dorrow were closer. In her concession speech, Dorrow pledged to stand behind Kelly and work to ensure his election. Kelly was already voted off the Supreme Court once.
What did Mitchell say in his concession speech, after receiving only 7% of the vote? He’s going to go back to Milwaukee and keep working on his special project for troubled teens. No mention of supporting anyone.
He needs to be there. When you compare the votes from Janet to the total for the conservatives - she can’t win without the rest of those votes.
Oh, and notice that State senate race? Not my district, but this is an absolutely critical must win for the Dems. The person who vacated the position was GQP. It is, like other gerrymandered districts, red. However the Dem opponent is using her maiden name, Habush, for a reason. Her family are probably the most successful personal injury lawyers in the state of Wisconsin. Every day you’ll see multiple commercials for Habush, Habush and Rotier. “We have more National Board of Trial Advocacy certified trial lawyers than any other law firm in the United States.”
She just might have a chance. If the seat remains GQP, they will have a super majority for the Senate. They are only 3 or 4 away from that in the Assembly. The Democrats can never ever have more than a couple of guys out sick. The GQP has already mentioned what they’ll do if that happens.
Dynamics between the two conservatives became acrimonious at the tail-end of the race, as Kelly refused to say if he’d endorse Dorow, should she best him in the primary.
Dems had a monster night in elections held yesterday. Won the US House special election in VA-04 by Assad margins (close to 48 points) far exceeding Biden’s margin in '20 (+36). Similar result in New Hampshire for a State House seat. In WI, Dem candidates totaled around 56% of votes cast. These special election over performances indicate that the Dems ability to persuade GOPers to vote for them that we saw in the 2022 midterms is a continuing trend. Additionally we are getting much better Dem participation. A lot of that has to do with the Media not beating a ‘red wave’ narrative into our heads, and optimism among Dems about Biden and his chances of re-election. In addition, MTG and Santos being the face of the GOP drives more Dems to the polls, especially with Trump and the equally ghoulish DeSantis lurking.
It’s almost as if you thought the problem was the existence of lawyers, not the vast sums of right wing billionaire money unleashed by Citizens United.
My biggest concern with Judge Protasiewicz is that “nobody likes a candidate whose name they can’t spell”, from the song Politics and Poker in the play Fiorello.
My second biggest concern is her being from Milwaukee. Much of the rest of the state for some reason dislikes Milwaukee and that makes it difficult for someone from Milwaukee to win a state wide race.
But if, as is very possible, the election becomes a referendum on abortion, Judge Protasiewicz will win.
Pretty much assured, I think. She couldn’t have a better opponent than Kelly, who has already lost a seat on the court. Not only lost, but beaten by ten points as an incumbent. He has also taken money from the local chapter of false electors and has any number of skeletons in various closets.
But he does win the easy-spell name contest by a landslide.
As you may know, the Madison area has become a powerhouse for Democratic votes in the state; it’s the fastest growing part of the state and turnout is high. Yesterday, even though Everett Mitchell is a Madison guy, Janet P. easily won Dane County (home of Madison metro area). With Dane County, Milwaukee, and western Wisconsin (Janet P. did great in La Crosse and Eau Claire—and, yes, I’m calling her Janet P.), we might be okay. And the Milwaukee suburbs may not turn out for Kelly like they did for Dorow)
Not to take anything away from Jennifer McClellan’s win, but this district has always been blue - always and always. I don’t know that she’s persuaded any GOPers …
