The annual Wisconsin Democratic convention is happening in La Crosse this year, in person for the first time since 2019 and about five months ahead of the 2022 midterm elections, which include big races for governor and U.S. Senate.
WisPolitics.com editor JR Ross says Democrats are going to try and present a unified front and show they are fired up and enthusiastic about the midterms. "Look, you know, Democrats are in kind of a tough spot right now," says Ross. "Looking at polling for President Biden, he's not doing particularly well. The party in power, the White House, often struggles in midterm elections."
He says in addition to that normal midterm dynamic, add high gas prices, inflation, crime and the headwind coming out of Washington, DC. "So, Democrats want to kind of shrug that off and focus on positives. This is like a bit of a rally for supporters to try and get them little juiced up going into the final six months of the year and get prepared for the fall."
Ross says Democrats will also try and use hot topics like gun control and abortion to fire up their base.
“Democrats are making a conscious effort to try to paint Republicans as extremist as threats to rights A, B, and C. ‘And that's why you should make sure you vote’ because they can't afford to have the base dispirited or not excited to be out there.”
He says Democrats will also want to put forth solutions to those and other issues. "[Democrats will say] we've got a plan to, for example, address a baby formula shortage, right?" says Ross. "They voted for this bill in Congress that would help address this. Republicans opposed it. They've got this bill that would address gas price gouging. They're gonna try to say, 'We're working on solutions to these problems and trying to help people.'"
Ross says Democrats want to paint Republicans as focused on 2020 and conspiracy theories or as a party beholden to Trump, which goes against Wisconsin values. He points out that a significant segment of the GOP base is still unhappy about 2020, and thinks the election was stolen or was not run properly, including major candidates for governor on the Republican side. This is despite recounts in Dane and Milwaukee counties and multiple failed lawsuits from Republicans.
“Democrats want to make the argument of ‘Republicans are more focused on that than anything else,’” says Ross. “Republicans, [on the other hand] they'll say look they can walk and chew gum at the same time and that they're talking about election integrity, which is in their minds, more secure elections. And they want to focus on a problem that Democrats have, which are, again, gas prices, inflation, things like that.”
Wisconsin Republicans endorse candidates at their convention, so if 60% of delegates vote for a candidate, they win the endorsement. But in May this year, there was a no endorsement box to check, and none of the GOP candidates for governor got an endorsement.
Democrats don't do endorsements, so it's not that kind of a convention, says Ross. "But what you do see are opportunities for campaigns to show that they are organized, like if there are straw polls, for example, like we at wispolitics.com do straw poll every convention. You'll see campaigns try and marshal supporters to go vote in the straw poll to show that they've got organization, that they've got support." There's also the opportunity for visual promotion of candidates at conventions, whether it's photo ops or crowds with signs.
Democrats are unifying around Gov. Tony Evers, who's running for reelection. But it’s a complicated question to know who’s the favorite in the Democratic primary for U.S. Senate at this point.
The front runners, in alphabetical order, are Mandela Barnes, the lieutenant governor; Sarah Godlewski, the state treasurer; Alex Lasry, who's on leave from his job at the Milwaukee Bucks; and Tom Nelson, the Outagamie County Executive.
Ross says in polling, depending on which poll you look at, it could be a two or three-person race. Lasry and Godlewski have deep personal pockets, which Ross says has allowed them to heavily fund TV ads. Meanwhile, says Ross, Barnes, who has been the front runner and is the most well-known, isn’t raising as much money as the others can put in personally. “So, it’s an interesting dynamic,” says Ross.
“We'll see the Marquette Poll coming out this week, I believe,” says Ross. “That may give us an idea where things are going or if there's been movement. It’ll be interesting to see who projects strength at the convention this weekend.”
