David Michael Miller
Bernie Sanders is coming into tonight’s Wisconsin-based debate on a high note. After pretty much tying Hillary Clinton in Iowa, Sanders won by a very healthy margin in New Hampshire on Tuesday.
Of course, the road ahead isn’t necessarily as promising for Sanders. Unless his impressive showing creates a major shift in the polls, Clinton is still the favorite to win the majority of the upcoming primary states, give or take an oddball like Nevada.
But Sanders’ win in New Hampshire means his campaign will have the momentum to stick it out for a while. Even though Wisconsin is late to the primary game, Sanders polls extremely well here, only a few points behind Clinton. While some Democrats might be wary of the continued social media sniping between Sanders and Clinton supporters, this is very good news for Wisconsin Democrats.
Every Wisconsin Democrat, whether a Clinton or Sanders supporter, should hope and wish that Sanders stays in the race until Wisconsin’s presidential primary on April 5. A competitive Clinton-Sanders race would boost Democratic turnout and that could have a major impact on the other races on the ballot.
Down-ticket from the presidential primary is the Wisconsin Supreme Court race. In that race, Walker appointee Justice Rebecca Bradley will likely face either Judge JoAnne Kloppenburg or Judge Joe Donald. Kloppenburg has regularly connected herself to progressive groups. Donald doesn’t identify as liberal, but my gut instinct tells me his voting record will probably be closer to the liberal justices than the conservatives.
The court currently has a 5-2 conservative majority. In just the last few years, they have made decisions that include gutting our state’s campaign finance laws, shutting down the state-level John Doe II investigation, allowing cops to pull you over when you’ve broken an imaginary law and upholding the voter ID law. The majority acts as a rubberstamp for the Republican-controlled Legislature and the governor.
This is a prime opportunity to take that 5-2 majority and turn it into a much slimmer 4-3 majority. As with every election in Wisconsin, it all comes down to turnout. The presidential primaries, even in their waning months, attract far more attention than a state judicial race. That seems absolutely ludicrous to me, but I admit I have an unhealthy obsession with Wisconsin politics.
Even if the Democrats and their associated groups manage to leverage Walker’s low approval ratings and paint Bradley as Walker’s pawn to the majority of Wisconsinites, that won’t matter if there isn’t a competitive primary. Elections are decided by the people who show up. If the Republicans are still slugging it out between Trump, Rubio and Cruz, a lot of conservatives in Wisconsin are going to come out and vote. If Clinton has this race all sewn up by April, there’s less incentive for Democrats to show up at the polls.
A competitive Democratic presidential primary is the best shot at chipping away at the conservative majority that currently dominates the Wisconsin Supreme Court. Clinton supporters in the Badger State don’t need to #feelthebern, but they should probably #toleratethebern until April 5.
