In the special primary election in the 33rd assembly district, Waukesha County voters caught a break. Almost any of the five candidates would serve well as their representative. Since I don't live in the district, I'm happy that I won't have to trudge out in the cold weather to cast my vote.
However, I do have a strong opinion on the race, developed over time and careful study of each of them. When I started looking at the race, I didn't know any of them. I have no real attachment for any of them. I have not worked for any of them. I have been lobbied by each of the big three, Fullerton, Woods and Newcomer (or people supporting them) to support their candidate, but I made no commitments.
I think there is a real danger that three of the candidates, Fullerton, Newcomer and Marlow, could split the votes of conservatives sufficiently to allow Woods to sneak through. I can't imagine supporters of any of the three candidates would be happy with that result.
After all, as has been repeatedly mentioned here and elsewhere, Kent Woods has a track record as a lobbyist of opposing the Taxpayer Bill of Rights (TABOR). Woods has since tried to explain his actions away while claiming to be supportive now of TABOR, but there's just too much of a track record and too much of an attempt to justify his previous position to make Waukesha conservatives comfortable.
So conservatives need to swing behind one candidate. Marlow has almost no chance of victory. A vote for him is at best a protest vote, at worst it's a vote wasted. A vote for him is a vote lost to a candidate that can win. If you want to feel good about voting for the most pure of the pure, go right ahead. Just understand (and be honest with yourself) it's like voting for Alan Keyes in the presidential primary.
Newcomer doesn't even live in the district. I know there are some who think this shouldn't be an issue, but let's face it. Elm Grove is not western Waukesha County. There are completely different issues affecting the constituents there. It's as alien to him as transplanting him to the North Shore suburbs of Milwaukee County, and about the same distance. Adding to the issue is that he just ran for State Senator in another special election in eastern Waukesha County a few years ago. The Newcomer motto seems to be: Have election - will travel. Add in Newcomer's questionable business dealings and I think conservatives need to be wary of what they're getting if Newcomer wins.
That leaves Troy Fullerton. Fullerton is a strong conservative on the issues, and there aren't questions about his residency status. He's young and ambitious, but he also has a proven track record of being on the right side of the fight when conservatives needed him. I think conservatives can count on Fullerton to represent them well in Madison and can count on him not to "go all wobbly" when we really need him. If I lived in the district, I would cast my vote for Fullerton.
