Previewing tonight’s debate…

Earlier in the week a reporter asked me a series of questions about tonight’s GOP Debate. Here is what I sent her in response…

Trump will consume all of the oxygen in the room, and will be rewarded with a majority of the post-debate press coverage no matter what actually happens Thursday. With Trump in the debate, the regular expectations of debate decorum are out the window. That’s in part why the media loves Trump and gives him so much coverage. It will be interesting to see if any of the competitors try to mix it up with Walker, or if they ignore him. Trump has tried to say that Wisconsin is a mess, but his reliance on failed, generalized lefty talking points hasn’t hurt Walker. Perhaps Trump or others seize on specifics to which Walker would feel compelled to react. How he responds is important.

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Playing Up Unemployment Numbers in Wisconsin

Over the weekend the Wisconsin State Journal’s Matthew DeFour asked for my thoughts on how Wisconsin’s declining unemployment numbers might impact upcoming elections. Republican strategist Brian Fraley said for many voters trying to gauge how the broader economy is doing, the unemployment rate provides an easily understood statistic similar to the Dow Jones industrial average:…

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