The good news: State Sen. Jeff Plale is being challenged in the Democratic primary by County Supervisor Chris Larson, left, a much more progressive Democrat.
The bad news: Two liberal Democratic state reps from the district, Chris Sinicki and Jon Richards, back Plale.
Incumbency is thicker than ideology, apparently, and that's disappointing.
Larson's bid is an uphill one in the distict, which includes Milwaukee's East Side and Bay View and the suburbs of St, Francis, Cudahy, South Milwaukee and Oak Creek.
In previous liberal-conservative Dem primary matchups when the seat was open (Rosemary Potter v. Dick Grobschmitt and Joel Brennan v. Plale), the liberals won the city of Milwaukee portion of the district, but the conservatives (Grobschmidt and Plale) won by big enough margins in the suburbs, which also had a higher turnout, to win the elections.
The dynamic could change this year, with a hot Republican primary for governor that could mean only hard core Democrats vote in the Dem primary. That would help Larson.
Plale's already busily re-writing his record to blur the distinctions between himself and Larson on issues like the Clean Energy Jobs Act, where Plale is a pro-nuclear, pro-utility vote. If you're in doubt, watch where the utilities and their money come down in this race. Plale's their guy.