Caffeinated Politics

We all have our reasons for supporting this candidate or that candidate in the Democratic August primary for governor. Over the past months, I have pressed for a pragmatic choice in the primary so we can win and hold this most important elective office in the state. While data centers, childcare, and sound schools are very important issues, I have stressed that we need a Democratic governor in 2028 to ensure our state’s election machinery holds up when national politics turns toward autocracy.

After the pressure campaigns we witnessed in 2020, false‑elector schemes, and administrative chaos, it became painfully clear that state‑level officials grounded in basic civics matter. Not because they can “flip” an election as Donald Trump requested be done in Georgia, but because state officials control the guardrails that keep the process from being bent by outside actors undermining the will of the people as expressed by the ballot box.

I want a Wisconsin governor to make wise choices for the two members he/she can select for the Wisconsin Elections Commission. The commission became a battleground in 2020 over absentee ballots, drop boxes, and pandemic‑era procedures. A governor’s appointments and public stance shape how resilient the system is when national bad actors attempt to bend it.

Then there’s the veto pen. Wisconsin’s governor holds one of the strongest in the country, including the partial veto that has been the stuff of political folklore for decades. In 2023, Gov. Tony Evers vetoed bills that would have changed election administration rules, including measures affecting absentee ballot procedures. During the post‑2020 fallout, the legislature advanced bills altering how WEC operates and how clerks handle ballots. The governor’s veto prevented those changes from becoming law. Even though there is a very good chance that the state senate will flip to a Democratic majority, let us not forget that Governor Evers proved to be a powerful line in the sand as a defense against legislative changes that would have undermined our state’s election processes.

The governor also signs the certificate of ascertainment for presidential electors, which is the official document recognized under federal law. This became nationally relevant when false slates of electors were submitted in multiple states after the 2020 election. In Wisconsin, ten Republicans secretly signed and submitted fraudulent electoral documents to Congress claiming Donald Trump won the state, despite Joe Biden’s certified victory. It is imperative that we have a solid person of character who will ensure the state’s official documents reflect the actual vote rather than political chicanery, or worse.

Finally, governors appoint judges to fill vacancies, and those judges can rule on election disputes. The Wisconsin Supreme Court has issued major rulings on drop boxes, absentee balloting, and legislative maps. Lower courts handle recount challenges, procedural disputes, and lawsuits filed during election crunch time. It may not seem like a sexy issue to contemplate in the heat of summer, but we must not forget that a governor’s judicial appointments can shape the legal environment in which possible election fights unfold.

So, yes, I strongly repeat it is imperative that Democratic voters elect a pragmatic nominee for governor who can win the entire state in the fall campaign. We must have as a state leader someone who can navigate seamlessly the administrative, legal, and emergency‑response infrastructure that determines whether Wisconsin’s election system bends or holds. In 2028 (and who would have predicted 2020?) when the national freakshow of a circus will undoubtedly roll back into many states, we need someone who grasps a foundational truth. The next governor needs to know and operate on the basis that democracy doesn’t collapse in one dramatic moment. It erodes through procedural shortcuts, pressure campaigns, and officials who shrug at norms. As such, let us select a pragmatic democratic nominee for governor who knows the importance of keeping the election guardrails bolted down.