It's Election Day, Wisconsin. GO VOTE!
PLUS: Join us LIVE at 8 p.m. on Civic Media for our special Election Night broadcast.
The Recombobulation Area is a thirteen-time Milwaukee Press Club award-winning weekly opinion column and online publication founded by longtime Milwaukee journalist Dan Shafer. The Recombobulation Area is now part of Civic Media.
Here we go, Wisconsin. It’s Election Day for yet another everything-on-the-line statewide race, this time for Wisconsin Supreme Court, with majority control on the line.
The race has taken heightened national importance, with Elon Musk spending more than any donor to a judicial election in U.S. history backing Brad Schimel in this race, and this election happening just 71 days into Donald Trump’s second term. Many have suggested this election is a referendum on Musk and on Trump 2.0, and it’s easy to see how that’s proving to be the case.
In an Election Day Eve canvass kickoff event at the Majestic in Madison yesterday, Judge Susan Crawford took to the stage and said, “I never thought as a little girl growing up in Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin, that I’d be going up against the richest man in the world to fight for justice in our state but here we are.”
Crawford also added that Elon Musk’s spending in the race was now “over $25 million,” just a staggering sum. And who knows if, in final reporting, that number will surpass $30 million?
Poll numbers are one thing, media narratives are another, but votes carry with them an added weight that will resonate further. Wisconsin has an especially unique opportunity to send a message about Musk, about the damage he’s doing to the federal government, about the obscene (and possibly illegal) spending he’s brought to this race that goes orders of magnitude further than any other donor in the race.
If Wisconsin voters defeat Elon’s onslaught, it will send an extraordinarily powerful message that will reverberate nationally.
It’s up to us, Wisconsin
While the fight might not be coming from national Democrats, Wisconsin voters have a unique opportunity at this moment to send a message to the Trump-Musk administration.
So, let’s get down to it Wisconsin. It’s Election Day, and I’m confident that you — the intelligent, good-looking, civically-engaged Recombobulation Area reader that you are — are well aware of this race and have a plan to vote, and may have already voted.
But we need you to spread the word to the people in your life who might not be as tuned into this race as you are.
And that’s a lot of people in Wisconsin. In the 2024 presidential election, 3.34 million people voted. In the 2023 Spring Election, which featured the race for Wisconsin Supreme Court between Janet Protasiewicz and Daniel Kelly, about 1.85 million people voted. Even if that turnout number is at 2 million or higher for this year, that likely means that about a million people who voted last fall will not be voting in the election today. Who turns out of that group will go a long way toward determining the outcome of this race.
MyVote Wisconsin has the information you need to share — where to find your polling place, what’s on your ballot, etc. Check that all out here.
And an important reminder: Wisconsin has same-day voter registration. So, if you haven’t registered or recently moved or anything like that, you can register at your polling place (with ID and proof of residence) today.
Every state should do this. It’s great that Wisconsin does this. Don’t let anything stop you from voting today. GO VOTE!
After you vote (and tell others to vote, and spread the word on your own channels), JOIN US TONIGHT ON CIVIC MEDIA, where we’ll be coming to you LIVE with a special broadcast beginning as soon as polls close at 8 p.m.
Todd Allbaugh and I — yep, I’ll be there! — will be anchoring coverage from Civic Media’s headquarters in Madison, while reporters stationed all over Wisconsin bring you the latest updates as the results roll in. We’ll be covering the race for Wisconsin Supreme Court, Superintendent of Public Instruction, constitutional amendment referendum, and the many other school referenda and local races happening all over as part of the Spring Election. You’re not going to want to miss this.
There are several ways you can tune in. You can tune in on the Civic Media station in your community (find yours here), you can listen live on the Civic Media website, you can download the Civic Media app, or you can find the show streaming on Civic Media’s YouTube channel.
Let’s recombobulate on these election results together. See you then!
With that, let’s round up some of our coverage of this race here at The Recombobulation Area and Civic Media, going in reverse chronological order.
Yesterday, I guest-hosted “The Maggie Daun Show” and was joined by Ben Wikler, Eric Holder, Ari Berman, Todd Allbaugh and Angela Lang.
Listen to or watch that full show here.
Last week, I wrote about Brad Schimel’s abysmal record on opioids in Wisconsin, from his time as state Attorney General. Schimel refused to join multi-state lawsuits to take on opioid manufacturers, and was the only candidate in Wisconsin politics to take campaign money from Purdue Pharma.
Here’s more from me on this and other Spring Election races over the last few months.
You can also find more on this race from Recombobulation Area contributors Emily Mills, Angela Lang and more.
Dan Shafer is a journalist from Milwaukee who writes and publishes The Recombobulation Area. In 2024, he became the Political Editor of Civic Media. He’s also 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 18 Milwaukee Press Club Excellence in Journalism Awards. He’s on Twitter at @DanRShafer.
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Follow Dan Shafer on Twitter at @DanRShafer and at BlueSky at @danshafer.bsky.social.