Twenty years ago, Tommy Thompson was a hot conservative commodity, reforming welfare in Wisconsin as governor and being something of a spiritual godfather to the welfare reform that passed in the mid-90s. He also help start one of the first school-voucher programs.
Now, he's seen as an establishment guy and being opposed by more conservative folks in the GOP primary to replace Herb Kohl's senate seat. 30% might win in a cluttered field; Red State is carpet-bombing another establishment guy, Eric Hovde, and backing Mark Neumann.
Wisconsin could be in for an interesting fall. The Scott Walker recall showed that the state will accept a principled conservative. That will make the presidential race interesting in a state that's leaned Democratic in the past. We'll also see if the GOP nominee can keep Tammy Baldwin from being the first outed Senator in history; Thompson leads that proposed race in the polls.
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