Primary Alert: It's August 14th This Year, With Consequences

Dom Noth explains:

For much of Milwaukee, the election is over August 14. Only the residents don’t realize it.

In seven contested Assembly districts and one contested Senate district for the Madison legislature, it’s only Democrats against Democrats – and winner takes all Aug. 14...

Redistricting games have turned familiar polling locations into shuffleboard. Whose district are you in? Bet many citizens don’t know. (The Government Accountability Board is scrambling to update databases so that Wisconsin voters can learn where to vote at vpa.wi.gov.)

Distinctive ideological differences? Even those don’t wait until November, when the top Democrat and top Republican face off in other races. There are ideological differences among candidates bearing the same party label, quite noticeable this August.

That means a lot of citizens will wake up August 15 dismayed that they lost a chance to create more aggressive representation, or failed to keep the good fighters from equally strong-minded company -- especially in a year when people finally noticed that who they elect to the Madison legislature makes a profound difference in their daily lives.

Credit Scott Walker and his minions for being the best recruiting tool the opposition ever had. The GOP heavy hand – heavy to even people in its own party -- broke the historic pattern of just letting the state legislature putter along. Social Darwinism stepped hard on natural evolution.