The Recombobulation Minute

Last week, Democrats notched a number of big victories in elections across the country, with important wins in states like New Jersey, Virginia, Georgia and California. And while Wisconsin did not have an election on November 4 of this year, these results can tell us something about November 3 of next year, the day the 2026 midterm elections will be held.  While races like the one for mayor o...

We are just about one year away from the 2026 midterm elections, and after some recent big announcements, the Democratic field in the race for governor is very nearly set. Just one major decision looms, and that’s the one from former lieutenant governor Mandela Barnes. Barnes seems likely to run for governor. And because of that, his 2022 run for U.S. Senate warrants a fresh re-examination. So, in...

The Wisconsin Department of Transportation just announced the official start date for one of its biggest ever construction projects, the I-94 East-West project, which will reconstruct and widen a 3.5-mile stretch of interstate highway in the city of Milwaukee and Milwaukee County. This is a massive project with an estimated cost of more than 1.7 billion dollars. And with this official start date a...

In recent weeks, the level of activity from Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or ICE, has increased quite a bit. There was a raid in Manitowoc at a Walmart parking lot where dairy workers were known to congregate, a series of arrests in Madison, and in Milwaukee, ICE is looking to expand its operations significantly by seeking office space downtown to go along with a new field office on the cit...

Tom Tiffany, Republican congressman representing Wisconsin’s 7th Congressional District, has finally made it official: He’s running for governor.  The election for governor in 2026 is the state’s first open race for the office since 2010, and it’s sure to invite many candidates to run. And on the Republican side, Tiffany’s is the most significant announcement yet. There’s a very good chance t...

We’re taking a little bit of a detour this week on The Recombobulation Minute so I can tell you about a brand new project we’ve been working on here at Civic Media, that we’re really really excited about.  Here at the Civic Media network, we produce a tremendous amount of content on any given day. From our news team all over the state, to our daily lineup of political talk and commentary show...

This year’s Wisconsin state budget included a rather unfortunate cut: The Republican-controlled budget committee eliminated funding for the Veterans Housing and Recovery Program that would have kept two facilities, in Green Bay and in Chippewa Falls, open and operational.  This state program aims to provide temporary housing, training, and supportive services to military veterans who are expe...

Big political news dropped the Friday before Labor Day weekend in Wisconsin, with right-wing state Supreme Court Justice Rebecca Bradley announcing that she will NOT be seeking re-election to another 10 year term on the court.  In her statement announcing the decision, Bradley bemoaned a "shift from thoughtful, principled judicial service toward bitter partisanship, personal attacks, and poli...

Look, it’s probably too early to have a conversation about the 2026 race for governor in Wisconsin. But our readers spoke, and they asked for our take on this, so we delivered an extensive breakdown of who is running and who might be running in both the Democratic and Republican primaries for the first open race for governor in 16 years.  In that breakdown, I identified the top 4 potential co...

In early August, massive flooding hit southeastern Wisconsin after what some are calling a “thousand-year rain event.” One Milwaukee County official even likened it to experiencing a hurricane. So many people are going to be struggling to recover from this cataclysmic event . Because of that, it is imperative that elected officials and public institutions step up and help people in this hour of ne...

This week Wisconsin Republican lawmakers called on Mayor Cavalier Johnson to urge Police Chief Jeffrey Norman to "temporarily reorganize MPD to allow for the maximum amount of available sworn officers to be assigned to our streets." The Mayor’s office pushed back and  said "We thank the state legislators for offering their opinions on police staffing. What they neglect to acknowledge is that...

With Gov. Tony Evers choosing not to run for a third term, that means we’re going to have the first open race for governor in 16 years.  We already know who some of the candidates will be. On the Democratic side, Lt. Gov. Sara Rodriguez launched her campaign and Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley said he’s running. On the Republican side, Washington County Executive Josh Schoemann and s...

After weeks of speculation, Gov. Tony Evers has finally made his decision: He is not running for a third term. Evers has had an accomplished career as a dedicated public servant for five decades and has been a terrific governor for the state of Wisconsin these last six-plus, and we should be grateful for his time in office. It’s been a job well done.  But all things must pass. In making this...

In February of 2024, Gov. Tony Evers signed new maps for the Wisconsin State Legislature into law, putting an end to one of the most extreme partisan gerrymanders anywhere in the country. While that was a momentous achievement for democracy in the state, that wasn’t the end of the story.  Since then, for more than a year, fair maps advocates and pro-democracy activists have been looking to ta...

In a chaotic and somewhat discombobulating end to the process, Wisconsin lawmakers passed a state budget and Gov. Tony Evers signed it into law at about 1:30 a.m. on July 3.  What made this budget different from the others signed in this era of divided government — with a Democratic governor and a Republican-controlled legislature — is that Democratic votes were needed to pass the budget in t...

Ever since I launched The Recombobulation Area, I have written an in depth breakdown of every new edition of the Marquette University Law School Poll. The newest poll asks about a range of topics — whether Tony Evers should run for a third term, where people stand on Donald Trump’s economic policies, and a host of issues relating to the state budget.  The poll paints a picture of a polarized...

For the last few months, Gov. Tony Evers has said repeatedly that he would make a decision about whether or not to run for a third term after the state budget process is completed. In a recent opinion column at The Recombobulation Area, I made the argument that the decision the  Evers should make should be to NOT seek a third tern as Wisconsin’s governor. This argument is not one of ideologic...

In discussions over the so-called “big beautiful bill” backed by Donald Trump that’s making its way through Congress, none other than Wisconsin Senator Ron Johnson has emerged as the most prominent Republican critic of the bill, saying at a recent Milwaukee Press Club event that it is “not even close to adequate.” Johnson has said he wants spending cuts to go even further, including making cuts to...

I’m Dan Shafer. Let’s recombobulate. We are in a rare moment right now in Wisconsin politics. Why, you ask? Well, it’s because we are not actively in the middle of a campaign cycle. It’s been more than six weeks now since any of us have seen a campaign ad. It’s been pretty nice, hasn’t it? This moment we’re in is as close as we’re going to get to a political offseason here in Wisconsin. And we nee...

I’m Dan Shafer. Let’s recombobulate. The biggest thing that happens in Wisconsin's state government every two years is the state budget, and last week at the state capitol, Republican lawmakers took a step forward in the process, by voting out more than 600 measures from Governor Tony Evers’ proposal. This is now the fourth budget proposal that Evers has put forward, and each one has been met with...

I’m Dan Shafer. Let’s recombobulate.  There’s been a whole lot happening in the political universe these past few months. Much of it has been rather discombobulating, you might say. From the first 100 days of the Trump administration to the high-stakes race for Wisconsin Supreme Court and everything else that went into the Spring Election in Wisconsin, it’s been a lot to wrap our heads around...

I’m Dan Shafer. Let’s recombobulate.  On April 22 in the Wisconsin State Senate, something happened that you don’t see too often — a high profile bill passed with overwhelming bipartisan support. The Republican-controlled chamber voted 32-1 to extend Medicaid coverage for new moms from 60 days to 12 months. Wisconsin is one of only two U.S. states to not have already extended this critical po...

I’m Dan Shafer. Let’s recombobulate.  In recent months, Milwaukee health officials have uncovered significant lead hazards in city schools, mostly due to lead-based paint. Several schools have been closed as the problem has been found to be more widespread. In late March, city officials formally requested help from the CDC  , but in doing so, they learned that the CDC’s entire lead progr...

I’m Dan Shafer. Let’s recombobulate.  In the April 1 Spring Election, Susan Crawford won the incredibly expensive race for Wisconsin Supreme Court. And she didn’t just win, but won decisively, gaining 55% of the vote, a 10-point margin ahead of her opponent, Brad Schimel. It is a remarkable victory.  In so many ways, this race became a referendum on Elon Musk, from his prominent position...

I'm Dan Shafer, let's recombobulate. In the race for Wisconsin Supreme Court, so many issues are on the line, from reproductive rights to redistricting, to even just basic checks and balances. For right-wing candidate Brad Schimel, though, one issue deserves more scrutiny, and that's his record on opioid settlements. Here in Wisconsin, it seems like we all know someone who has been directly affect...