# The Recombobulation Area Dan Shafer's award-winning political opinion column and online publication on the discombobulating politics of Milwaukee and Wisconsin. Page: Feed: --- ## [The next few weeks at The Recombobulation Area](https://www.therecombobulationarea.com/p/the-next-few-weeks-at-the-recombobulation) _2026-08-19 · Dan Shafer_ After an especially busy and discombobulating 6+ weeks since returning to our roots as an independent publication, we’re doing some recombobulating of our own before ramping up our election coverage. ## [Wisconsin Politics Group Chat: Moving from the primary to the general](https://www.therecombobulationarea.com/p/wisconsin-politics-group-chat-moving) _2026-08-18 · Dan Shafer_ Primary post-mortem, breaking down results by region, fake polls and real polls, the big data center issue, Chris Taylor’s investiture, and much more. [Listen](https://api.substack.com/feed/podcast/211773332/1a454afef815d410b4ef88644ee72175.mp3) ## [COMING SOON: 'Brick By Brick: What it takes to rebuild the Blue Wall'](https://www.therecombobulationarea.com/p/coming-soon-brick-by-brick-what-it) _2026-08-17 · Dan Shafer_ Dan Shafer joins a panel of journalists and political experts for a post-primary conversation on Wednesday, Aug. 19, at 12 p.m. CT. ## [David Crowley, Francesca Hong, and the electability conundrum](https://www.therecombobulationarea.com/p/david-crowley-francesca-hong-and) _2026-08-17 · Dan Shafer_ Yet another conversation about the top two candidates in Wisconsin's Democratic primary being unfortunately oversimplified. ## [The moment in Wisconsin's Democratic primary campaign that changed everything](https://www.therecombobulationarea.com/p/the-moment-in-wisconsins-democratic) _2026-08-17 · Dan Shafer_ The full story of Wisconsin’s discombobulating Democratic primary cannot be told without the key turning point — the campaign finance crisis that derailed Sara Rodriguez's campaign. ## [5 takeaways from downballot results in Wisconsin's August primary](https://www.therecombobulationarea.com/p/5-takeaways-from-downballot-results) _2026-08-17 · Dan Shafer_ There were many competitive primaries in state legislative elections, particularly in the Milwaukee area, where incumbent Sylvia Ortiz-Velez lost big and Dem challenger Ben Brist won a key primary. ## [We desperately need to fix Milwaukee’s central count process](https://www.therecombobulationarea.com/p/we-desperately-need-to-fix-milwaukees) _2026-08-17 · Dan Shafer_ The votes were counted accurately in the end. Legislative Republicans keep blocking an obvious, important fix. But there still needs to be more accountability in Milwaukee. ## [WISGOP-endorsed candidates fall flat in August primary](https://www.therecombobulationarea.com/p/wisgop-endorsed-candidates-fall-flat) _2026-08-17 · Dan Shafer_ The Republican Party of Wisconsin endorsed candidates in statewide races for Lieutenant Governor and Secretary of State. Both lost. ## [Let Her Cooke: The now-Democratic nominee in the 3rd Congressional District wins big in primary](https://www.therecombobulationarea.com/p/let-her-cooke-the-now-democratic) _2026-08-17 · Dan Shafer_ It's going to be "Van Orden vs. Cooke: Part II" in western Wisconsin, in a district that could determine control of the U.S. House of Representatives. ## [Countdown to Getting Paid (Sponsored)](https://crawlproof.com/a/fl3kMkP9zlef) _2026-08-17 · **Sponsored**_ Create a shareable wallet timer — deposits buy back time and pay debt down ## [Did Kelda Roys win Dane County votes that could have gone to Francesca Hong?](https://www.therecombobulationarea.com/p/did-kelda-roys-win-dane-county-votes) _2026-08-17 · Dan Shafer_ The State Senator from Madison outperformed her statewide vote share of 7.5% in one key part of the state -- Dane County, where she gained 11%.