The Recombobulation Area is a 19-time Milwaukee Press Club award-winning opinion column and online publication founded by longtime Milwaukee journalist Dan Shafer. The Recombobulation Area is now part of Civic Media.
The first Marquette University Law School Poll of 2026 was released this week, and this survey of political opinion of Wisconsin voters included a ton of information about our state’s ever-evolving political landscape.
Charles Franklin, the longtime executive director of the poll, joined The Recombobulation Area to talk about the results.
After the poll results release program, Franklin talked with the media about the poll, saying “It used to be that all politics was local. Now, all politics are national.”
All politics now being national is a major theme of this poll, where about two-thirds of voters are disconnected from major upcoming state elections and primaries, but have strong views on national political issues.
Franklin discussed this and many of the other results from this poll, including rapid shifts in public opinion on data center developments, how the details matter in questions on immigration and mass deportation, and so much more.
And if you missed it, my super-sized analysis of the latest poll is available here, with much available for free subscribers and the full breakdown available for paid subscribers.
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 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 23 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.
