Brenda Konkel has some interesting news about the County Executive race. The Madison Area Builders Association has endorsed Zach Brandon, rather than the avowed conservative, Eileen Bruskewitz.
MABA = Madison Area Builders Association. Usually MABA, the Realtors, Apartment Association, Chamber, Smart Growth Madison (developers) go for the same candidates. It'll be interesting to see how Bruskewitz fares . . .
Whether the business community gets behind Bruskewitz depends largely on whether it perceives her as a viable candidate. Although I'm not too familiar with MABA's political relationships, it seems that Bruskewitz, who is a landlord and a longtime member of the county board, would have ties to the group, which makes its endorsement of Brandon surprising.
The fact that Bruskewitz is the only candidate with clear Republican ties remains relevant. Unless Brandon can find some allies in the business community, for instance, to make the case to conservatives to support him, then there is a very good chance that right-leaning voters will unite behind Bruskewitz, allowing her to get through the primary.
The MABA endorsement might be a sign that Brandon's strategy of focusing on business and development is paying off. Why try to win the fight against three other candidates on the left, all of whom have loyal constituencies? Going the largely untapped center-right electorate could be a wise move in liberal Dane County.
Correction: Earlier, I wrote that Eileen Bruskewitz was a Republican. She has never been a member of the party, however.
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