Hoo-Ray!! After all the months and sweat and toiling and hard work - some of it even by the candidates and campaigns - we've arrived at Election Day. Election Day, to me, is like Christmas and the Super Bowl all jammed together. In the past, you used to be able to get that with free beer. You could go from party to party downtown and have a great time and even the lowliest County Board candidate's party was guaranteed to have a keg on tap.
These days, the Super Bowls are more like Chargers/49ers instead of Steelers/Cowboys and all the parties have you pay at the bar. Plus, I don't live downtown anymore so I can't do the victory crawl like I used to. But, for the political junkie in all of us, here's a guide to get you through the day.
First: For God's sake, get your ass out and vote.
This isn't November. The lines will be very short and all those wonderful people who donated a day of their lives to our democracy could use a little company. Now's a good time to get to know them. Some of those folks are your neighbors.
Go to some parties
Yes, you'll have to bring money, but after the polls, you can go to where the elite meet to wind down the night.
Kathleen Falk's party will be at the Great Dane downtown as in recent years. That's just a half-block from the Shirley Abrahamson party at the Majestic. I don't have word of where Randy Koschnick and Nancy Mistele are holding Election Night parties, but I would expect the forces of darkness to be gathering at the Esquire on North Sherman. Leave a comment if you have better information.
Brenda Konkel will be at the Avenue Bar. I don't know where Bridget Maniaci will be (will update if I find out). Shiva Bidar-Sielaff will be at Tex Tubbs on University. Chris Schmidt will be at the Village Bar. Bryon Eagon will be at the Memorial Union. Stay tuned for further updates.
If you have to stay home
Follow along online. Of course, keep The Daily Page handy for updates and analysis and reactions from forons. If you want to totally geek out on numbers (and we all like doing that... right? ...right?), follow along as they come to the right here. Look, in particular, to the following wards: City of Madison 26-31, 81-83 and 86-95; Fitchburg 1-3, Middleton, Stoughton and Mount Horeb. Nancy Mistele needs to do excellent in these areas in order to have any hope of winning. Who wins those wards and how large the margins are will tell the story.
For the statewide races, will keep that covered throughout the night. With that, enjoy the day, remember to vote, and I'll see you on the streets.
