Another Sign of an Impending Blue Wave?

A liberal Democrat won an important judicial seat on the Wisconsin Supreme Court yesterday. Rebecca Dallet easily defeated conservative Michael Screnock in the race, and it was the first time a liberal candidate who wasn't an incumbent had won a seat on the the state's highest court in 23 years.

Last night after the race was called for Dallet, Gov. Scott Walker who is running for a third term next Fall tweeted:

"Tonight's results show we are at risk of a #BlueWave in WI. The Far Left is driven by anger & hatred -- we must counter it with optimism & organization. Let's share our positive story with voters & win in November."

The problem, of course, is that the "positive story" narrative that Walker refers to is a bit of a mystery. Trump won with an "everything is awful" campaign message, and nothing that has happened since has motivated Trump Republicans to show up at the polls. And Walker's attacks on public sector unions, while popular in WI, is old news and may not motivate his base to turn out again for him.

But, Democrats shouldn't celebrate just yet. The special elections for House and Senate seats and the Governor's race in Virginia provide us some insight into how Democrats might win back the House and capture many new state legislative seats in November, but the results have not pointed to a uniform strategy. As Nathaniel Rakich points out in an article for 538, properly allocating limited resources to winnable races may be the Party's greatest challenge. Party leaders will be poring over last night's Wisconsin results for more clues to developing that strategy.

#fallelection #politics