Sleeper Race

Somewhere between the hype of the Wasserman-Darling race, the hot race for the open seat in Sen. Breske's former district, and the buzz about Tara Johnson ousting Kapanke in LaCrosse, is a little gem of a race for Democrats in Oshkosh.

Jessica King, originally from Fond du Lac and now an at-large alderperson for the City of Oshkosh, is running an intense race in the 18th Senate District that she kicked off in October of last year -- months before Roessler even announced her retirement. I was hopeful someone could give Roessler a run for her money, and even more hopeful once I heard it was going to be an open seat in what promises to be a strong dem year.

I've been following because I happen to follow this stuff more than the average person, but I was very interested to not only see that WisPolitics had picked up on it, but that the numbers they posted gave her such a great shot in a traditionally Republican corner of the state.


Take a look here at the polling toplines posted by WisPolitics: http://www.wispolitics.com/index.iml?Article=134008


Ok, so 37% to 35% isn't a blowout by any means. But it seems that the more people learn about both King and her opponent, Illinois native Randy Hopper, her numbers go up.

I can't lie; I was surprised to see the actual opportunity in this seat. With Dem Gordon Hintz taking hold of the 54th in 2006 after Underheim retired from the Assembly there were new dem roots in the region, but it's still a tough district. Looks like we've actually got a chance to really play in the 18th.

Optimistic? Maybe. But I never thought the Senate Dems could have picked up all four targeted seats in 2006 either.