After a discombobulating primary election night, Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley is now the Democratic nominee for governor. And while we knew this was coming — she was uncontested in her run, after all — Secretary of State Sarah Godlewski is now the Democratic nominee for lieutenant governor. Godlewski is off on the Democratic Party of Wisconsin’s “Unity Tour,” which started with a breakfast-turned-brunch in Madison on Wednesday. She joined us from the road, just before the tour’s Thursday morning event in Oshkosh, and shared a few stories of that breakfast, and, in particular, an exchange with State Rep. Francesca Hong. “When I got to the “Unity Brunch,” the first person that I saw was Fran,” said Godlewski. “And I gave her the biggest bear hug because I was just…I’m so proud of her. I mean, she came from an underdog position — nobody thought she would ever get this far; they were writing her off before she even started — and she just put her head down and went to work. She wasn’t lobbing any ugly statements at people, she just put her head down and talked about what she was going to do for the people of Wisconsin — and it’s why she built a coalition of 7,000 (volunteers). That’s more than what we’ve seen in a presidential primary. It was incredible.” Godlewski also talked about being on the ticket with David Crowley, reacted to the chaos of the last few weeks, talked about what her role on the campaign is going to be, the efforts to elect Democrats up and down the ballot, and much more. For a beat-by-beat breakdown, check out our topics and timestamps below: * 00:00 – Introduction: primary election recap, David Crowley wins Democratic nod for governor, Godlewski’s unopposed run for lieutenant governor nomination * 02:49 – Wednesday morning: confirming Crowley, first call, and “who’d play him in a movie” joke * 05:02 – The Unity Brunch and genuine unity among former rivals * 05:32 – Reconnecting with Francesca Hong: her underdog campaign and their friendship * 08:20 – Bringing Hong’s coalition and supporters into the fold * 09:46 – What resonated in Hong’s campaign that Crowley could adopt * 11:36 – Godlewski’s role on the campaign for the next ~83 days, including reproductive freedom * 13:33 – Reaching Western Wisconsin swing voters (the key issue: healthcare) * 16:00 – Tom Tiffany’s week: Trump alignment and the “MAGA extremism” pamphlet * 18:25 – Godlewski’s role as Wisconsin Dem Party vice chair * 20:04 – Building unity across the party, flipping legislative seats, the path to a Democratic trifecta * 21:43 – Closing thoughts: the Unity Tour ice cream tradition and sign-off This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.therecombobulationarea.com/subscribe
