November
2006
Sullivan Wins! Reynolds pouts.
Wauwatosa Alderman Jim Sullivan pounded State Senator Tom Reynolds last night in an impressive victory. Sullivan managed to win nearly every ward in Wauwatosa — a feat unheard of for a Democrat.
Even in his home ward, Reynolds lost with his neighbors soundly rejecting his divisiveness.
It shouldn't have posed too much of a shock that this was one of the most divisive races in the state with Reynolds constantly attacking Sullivan with the simple catch phrase "liberal lawyer Jim Sullivan" on most of his campaign literature.
This was a race that Reynolds brought a lot of anger to and his campaign materials showed it. There was no soft edge to Reynolds — no connection that the majority of this well educated district could make to their own senator.
On election night, there was no difference with Reynolds. He failed to make the phone call that all decent candidates, regardless of how divisive the race, make — the call to concede the race.
Now the difficult work begins for Sullivan — not only legislating from the center as many voters asked him to, but working to win the hearts and minds of voters for a term four years from now. The district was gerrymandered to make it a safe Republican seat and in four years Sullivan won't be running against an opponent with as much baggage as Reynolds brought to the race. While the seat is changing more Democratic all the time (Feingold carried Wauwatosa), it's a district that has a huge GOP base. The question for the next four years is whether Sullivan will be able to hold on to the moderates.
Jim McGuigan
Jim McGuigan, Watchdogging Campaigns
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Is there a more politically split district in the state than the 5th State Senate District?
The moderates clearly lean to the Dem side, but the Reynolds side — 48% of voters — are bedrock conservatives. It is disconcerting to think that a guy like Reynolds, whose views are in line with Tigerton and Clintonville, could ever be elected to represent one of the most densely populated yet solidly middle-to-upper-middle class areas in Wisconsin. The economic disparity in SD 5 is relatively minor, depending on how you look at West Allis.
Leah Vukmir, the Assemblywoman representing half of Wauwatosa, Elm Grove, the town of Brookfield and parts of the city of Brookfield, is no moderate conservative — and she won a landslide reelection Tuesday. Vukmir and Sullivan clash on two of the top four voter issues — education and methods of taxation — even as they are both very emblematic of the area politically, culturally, economically, and in their respective physiologies.
More to come as we look back on the election day results and begin to look ahead. …
Great analysis guys. I would suggest progressives and moderates think strategically about how to engage in a four year campaign to expose Vukmir’s hard right ideology. I hope this site can help thoughfully and strategically discuss how to do this.