WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:03.720 Welcome in. If you are prepping for a big presentation, 00:00:03.940 --> 00:00:06.280 trying to catch up on an entirely new subject, 00:00:06.500 --> 00:00:09.179 or you're just insanely curious about how the 00:00:09.179 --> 00:00:12.000 world actually works, we know the trap. Oh yeah, 00:00:12.080 --> 00:00:13.619 the trap is definitely information overload. 00:00:13.960 --> 00:00:16.179 It really is. You want that thorough knowledge, 00:00:16.280 --> 00:00:18.600 you want multiple perspectives, and you want 00:00:18.600 --> 00:00:21.780 those incredible aha moments. Right. But you 00:00:21.780 --> 00:00:24.440 definitely don't want to feel buried under a 00:00:24.440 --> 00:00:26.960 mountain of dry data. You want the shortcut. 00:00:27.500 --> 00:00:30.239 to being well informed without having to read 00:00:30.239 --> 00:00:32.939 a dense textbook. Well, we are skipping the textbook 00:00:32.939 --> 00:00:35.140 today. Completely. It's a delicate balance, you 00:00:35.140 --> 00:00:38.039 know, trying to synthesize decades or even centuries 00:00:38.039 --> 00:00:40.759 of information without losing the narrative thread. 00:00:41.020 --> 00:00:43.780 The goal today is to provide that broader context 00:00:43.780 --> 00:00:46.159 for you. We're going to take raw data points 00:00:46.159 --> 00:00:48.679 and connect the dots so you can see not just 00:00:48.679 --> 00:00:50.939 what happened, but why it actually matters to 00:00:50.939 --> 00:00:53.380 you right now. And the data points we're looking 00:00:53.380 --> 00:00:56.000 at today are surprisingly dramatic. We are taking 00:00:56.000 --> 00:00:58.359 a deep dive. into the rich history of United 00:00:58.359 --> 00:01:01.000 States senators from Wisconsin. A very interesting 00:01:01.000 --> 00:01:03.479 state to look at. Truly. We've got a couple of 00:01:03.479 --> 00:01:06.140 really compelling sources for this. Primarily, 00:01:06.219 --> 00:01:09.060 we're looking at a comprehensive Wikipedia data 00:01:09.060 --> 00:01:13.180 set that meticulously tracks every single Senate 00:01:13.180 --> 00:01:16.459 seat in Wisconsin from its statehood in 1848 00:01:16.459 --> 00:01:19.500 all the way up to the present day. It's a massive 00:01:19.500 --> 00:01:22.459 timeline. It is. And to frame all of that historical 00:01:22.459 --> 00:01:25.200 data, we are bringing in a striking statistic 00:01:25.200 --> 00:01:28.260 from a November 2024 report in The Washington 00:01:28.260 --> 00:01:30.620 Post. Right. Regarding the current political 00:01:30.620 --> 00:01:32.959 landscape of the entire country. Exactly. It's 00:01:32.959 --> 00:01:35.599 a remarkable collection of information because 00:01:35.599 --> 00:01:38.319 on the surface, a historical list of politicians 00:01:38.319 --> 00:01:41.109 might just look like. I don't know, a spreadsheet. 00:01:41.469 --> 00:01:44.109 Just rows and columns. Yeah, you see a long scrolling 00:01:44.109 --> 00:01:46.750 timeline of names, dates, and political parties. 00:01:46.909 --> 00:01:48.870 But when you look at the patterns within that 00:01:48.870 --> 00:01:52.329 timeline, a much larger story emerges about political 00:01:52.329 --> 00:01:54.650 experimentation. Which brings us to our mission 00:01:54.650 --> 00:01:57.549 for this deep dive. We are taking this timeline 00:01:57.549 --> 00:02:00.290 and uncovering the hidden narratives, the political 00:02:00.290 --> 00:02:02.930 whiplash, and the historic anomalies that are 00:02:02.930 --> 00:02:05.170 basically hiding in plain sight. I love it. Okay, 00:02:05.209 --> 00:02:06.769 let's unpack this. Let's go all the way back 00:02:06.769 --> 00:02:09.860 to the starting line. 1848. The very beginning. 00:02:10.120 --> 00:02:12.659 I'm looking at these dates, and the sheer speed 00:02:12.659 --> 00:02:15.379 of the logistics is blowing my mind. Wisconsin 00:02:15.379 --> 00:02:19.379 officially became a state on May 29, 1848. A 00:02:19.379 --> 00:02:22.099 monumental day for the region, really establishing 00:02:22.099 --> 00:02:24.599 their formal entry into the Union. But look at 00:02:24.599 --> 00:02:28.639 the timeline. Just 10 days later. 10 days. On 00:02:28.639 --> 00:02:32.159 June 8, 1848, the state had already elected its 00:02:32.159 --> 00:02:35.180 very first two United States senators. They did 00:02:35.180 --> 00:02:37.560 not waste any time. Not at all. They sent two 00:02:37.560 --> 00:02:40.199 Democrats to Washington. Henry Dodge and Isaac 00:02:40.199 --> 00:02:43.819 P. Walker. I mean, 10 days to organize a state 00:02:43.819 --> 00:02:45.580 government and elect federal representatives 00:02:45.580 --> 00:02:47.819 in the mid -19th century. It's almost hard to 00:02:47.819 --> 00:02:50.300 picture. Think about the horses, the telegraphs, 00:02:50.300 --> 00:02:52.259 the raw logistics required to pull that off. 00:02:52.400 --> 00:02:55.280 It highlights the extreme eagerness of a newly 00:02:55.280 --> 00:02:58.139 admitted state to establish its voice and its 00:02:58.139 --> 00:03:00.099 voting power on the federal level immediately. 00:03:00.439 --> 00:03:02.780 They did not want to waste a single legislative 00:03:02.780 --> 00:03:04.960 session. Clearly. But what's fascinating here 00:03:04.960 --> 00:03:06.979 is what happens next. If we look at the data, 00:03:07.099 --> 00:03:09.860 we see the very first major pattern emerge in 00:03:09.860 --> 00:03:12.419 the state's political identity. As you mentioned, 00:03:12.560 --> 00:03:14.819 the state started out with two Democratic senators 00:03:14.819 --> 00:03:18.520 in 1848. But it took less than a decade for a 00:03:18.520 --> 00:03:20.960 massive structural shift to occur. Yeah, I'm 00:03:20.960 --> 00:03:22.960 scrolling down just to get on this data set right 00:03:22.960 --> 00:03:25.180 now. And the colors on the chart completely flip. 00:03:25.439 --> 00:03:28.520 Precisely. By 1855, Republican Charles Durkee 00:03:28.520 --> 00:03:30.780 takes a seat. And then just two years later, 00:03:30.879 --> 00:03:34.099 in 1857, Republican James R. Doolittle takes 00:03:34.099 --> 00:03:36.479 the other seat. So it's a total sweep. A complete 00:03:36.479 --> 00:03:39.360 sweep. In less than 10 years from statehood, 00:03:39.539 --> 00:03:42.199 Wisconsin completely flipped its congressional 00:03:42.199 --> 00:03:45.360 representation, which kicked off an era of heavy, 00:03:45.460 --> 00:03:47.819 sustained Republican dominance in the state. 00:03:48.000 --> 00:03:50.879 Wow. And this early volatility is crucial for 00:03:50.879 --> 00:03:53.060 you to understand because it set a lasting precedent. 00:03:53.319 --> 00:03:56.500 From its very inception, the data shows us that 00:03:56.500 --> 00:03:59.729 Wisconsin was a state. Unafraid to dramatically 00:03:59.729 --> 00:04:02.870 change its mind. It was never locked into a single 00:04:02.870 --> 00:04:05.509 political identity from the start. Exactly. A 00:04:05.509 --> 00:04:08.050 state unafraid to change its mind. That actually 00:04:08.050 --> 00:04:10.550 perfectly tees up an oddity I noticed as we move 00:04:10.550 --> 00:04:13.210 into the late 1800s. Oh, the comebacks. Yes. 00:04:13.330 --> 00:04:15.710 I was looking through the list of names and I 00:04:15.710 --> 00:04:17.529 stumbled on something I didn't think happened 00:04:17.529 --> 00:04:19.769 in politics very often. I'm looking at Matthew 00:04:19.769 --> 00:04:22.480 H. Carpenter in the 1870s. It says he served 00:04:22.480 --> 00:04:26.779 a term as a Republican from 1869 to 1875. And 00:04:26.779 --> 00:04:29.639 the data set explicitly notes lost reelection. 00:04:30.339 --> 00:04:33.319 A tough blow. Usually that's the end of a politician's 00:04:33.319 --> 00:04:35.800 Wikipedia table, right? They just fade into history. 00:04:36.240 --> 00:04:38.439 But his name pops up again four years later. 00:04:38.720 --> 00:04:41.480 Is that a typo in the data set? It's not a typo 00:04:41.480 --> 00:04:44.160 at all. It's a very unique historical quirk in 00:04:44.160 --> 00:04:46.939 this delegation. Carpenter actually runs again 00:04:46.939 --> 00:04:50.699 in 1879, wins, and takes the seat right back. 00:04:51.259 --> 00:04:53.740 And John Coit Schooner does the exact same thing 00:04:53.740 --> 00:04:56.600 a few rows down. He does. He served from 1885 00:04:56.600 --> 00:05:00.139 to 1891, lost his reelection bid, sat on the 00:05:00.139 --> 00:05:02.579 sidelines for several years, and then successfully 00:05:02.579 --> 00:05:05.339 returned to the Senate in 1897, serving another 00:05:05.339 --> 00:05:07.579 full decade. It's pretty wild. How do you just 00:05:07.579 --> 00:05:09.879 come back like that? Well, it speaks to the deeply 00:05:09.879 --> 00:05:12.259 entrenched personal brands these figures must 00:05:12.259 --> 00:05:14.339 have built within the state. To leave office. 00:05:14.860 --> 00:05:17.420 maintain your political apparatus, and then successfully 00:05:17.420 --> 00:05:19.279 convince the state to send you back to Washington 00:05:19.279 --> 00:05:21.560 requires a formidable level of local influence. 00:05:21.720 --> 00:05:24.259 It proves that in this state's politics, a defeat 00:05:24.259 --> 00:05:27.519 wasn't necessarily a permanent goodbye. Now, 00:05:27.540 --> 00:05:30.100 to fully appreciate how these overlapping terms 00:05:30.100 --> 00:05:32.660 and comebacks function, we should briefly clarify 00:05:32.660 --> 00:05:35.240 a structural element mentioned throughout the 00:05:35.240 --> 00:05:37.819 source material. The Senate class system. Yes, 00:05:37.839 --> 00:05:39.800 the Senate classes. Please do explain that because 00:05:39.800 --> 00:05:41.779 I see class one and class three over and over 00:05:41.779 --> 00:05:44.240 in this data. And honestly, it can be a bit confusing. 00:05:44.519 --> 00:05:46.540 What does that actually mean for you as a voter? 00:05:46.779 --> 00:05:48.779 Think of the Senate like a board of directors 00:05:48.779 --> 00:05:51.620 where only a third of the members contracts expire 00:05:51.620 --> 00:05:54.389 every two years. OK. The founders didn't want 00:05:54.389 --> 00:05:56.470 the entire Senate to be replaced in a single 00:05:56.470 --> 00:05:59.949 election year and risk total chaos. So the seats 00:05:59.949 --> 00:06:02.870 are divided into three staggered classes, all 00:06:02.870 --> 00:06:05.470 with six -year terms. So it's an anti -panic 00:06:05.470 --> 00:06:08.250 mechanism. Exactly that. The data specifically 00:06:08.250 --> 00:06:11.449 outlines Wisconsin's two current classes. Class 00:06:11.449 --> 00:06:13.810 one belongs to the electoral cycle that was recently 00:06:13.810 --> 00:06:16.629 contested in 2024, and its next election will 00:06:16.629 --> 00:06:20.029 be in 2030. And Class 3 belongs to the cycle 00:06:20.029 --> 00:06:23.149 contested in 2022, and its next election will 00:06:23.149 --> 00:06:25.889 be in 2028. If you're a voter, it just means 00:06:25.889 --> 00:06:27.689 you'll never have to replace both of your senators 00:06:27.689 --> 00:06:29.889 at the exact same time. That makes total sense. 00:06:30.129 --> 00:06:33.410 You are providing an ongoing, staggered assessment 00:06:33.410 --> 00:06:36.050 of your state's political direction rather than 00:06:36.050 --> 00:06:39.050 wiping the slate clean all at once. Okay. Understanding 00:06:39.050 --> 00:06:41.990 that structure makes this next part of the timeline 00:06:41.990 --> 00:06:44.589 really pop. There you go. Here's where it gets 00:06:44.589 --> 00:06:48.069 really interesting. We hit the early 20th century 00:06:48.069 --> 00:06:51.629 and we meet Robert M. LaFollette. Just looking 00:06:51.629 --> 00:06:54.230 at the raw dates, his tenure is unconventional 00:06:54.230 --> 00:06:56.810 from day one. a towering figure in the state's 00:06:56.810 --> 00:06:59.209 history. And the data reflects his immense influence 00:06:59.209 --> 00:07:01.910 immediately. So according to the timeline, La 00:07:01.910 --> 00:07:04.769 Follette is elected to the Senate in 1905. But 00:07:04.769 --> 00:07:06.990 he doesn't actually assume office until January 00:07:06.990 --> 00:07:09.810 4th, 1906. Right. There's a gap. There's almost 00:07:09.810 --> 00:07:11.990 a full year gap. The source notes explain he 00:07:11.990 --> 00:07:14.009 was currently the governor of Wisconsin, and 00:07:14.009 --> 00:07:16.089 he simply refused to go to Washington until he 00:07:16.089 --> 00:07:18.189 felt he had properly finished his business and 00:07:18.189 --> 00:07:20.170 officially resigned as governor. He basically 00:07:20.170 --> 00:07:22.759 put a United States Senate seat on hold. This 00:07:22.759 --> 00:07:25.100 made them wait. Which is an incredible display 00:07:25.100 --> 00:07:27.579 of political leverage. Imagine the popularity 00:07:27.579 --> 00:07:30.199 required to tell Washington, D .C., to just wait 00:07:30.199 --> 00:07:33.180 for you while you finish your local agenda. Unheard 00:07:33.180 --> 00:07:35.959 of. And his delayed entry into the Senate marks 00:07:35.959 --> 00:07:38.100 the beginning of what we can accurately describe 00:07:38.100 --> 00:07:41.379 as a political dynasty within the data. La Follette 00:07:41.379 --> 00:07:44.220 served from 1906 all the way until his death 00:07:44.220 --> 00:07:48.339 in office on June 18, 1925. And the dynasty aspect 00:07:48.339 --> 00:07:51.439 kicks in immediately. Just a few months after 00:07:51.439 --> 00:07:53.540 his death, a special election is held to finish 00:07:53.540 --> 00:07:55.959 his term, and the state elects his son. Robert 00:07:55.959 --> 00:07:58.500 M. La Follette, Jr. Exactly. The seat seamlessly 00:07:58.500 --> 00:08:01.819 transitions from father to son. As I'm reading 00:08:01.819 --> 00:08:03.899 down the son's column, I see one of the most 00:08:03.899 --> 00:08:06.620 wild data anomalies in this entire document. 00:08:06.819 --> 00:08:08.800 The visual shift on the timeline is striking. 00:08:09.100 --> 00:08:11.360 It's completely jarring. LaFollette Jr. starts 00:08:11.360 --> 00:08:13.399 off just like his father. He's listed as a Republican. 00:08:13.600 --> 00:08:16.300 He wins the special election in 1925 as a Republican, 00:08:16.319 --> 00:08:18.439 and he wins re -election in 1928 as a Republican. 00:08:18.920 --> 00:08:22.279 But then you hit his 1934 re -election data, 00:08:22.420 --> 00:08:25.379 and the party column literally changes color. 00:08:25.579 --> 00:08:28.899 Out of nowhere. A brand new third party appears 00:08:28.899 --> 00:08:31.389 out of nowhere in the official records. He is 00:08:31.389 --> 00:08:33.649 reelected under the Progressive Party. It's a 00:08:33.649 --> 00:08:36.289 fascinating evolution of political identity captured 00:08:36.289 --> 00:08:39.269 right there in the official tables. This wasn't 00:08:39.269 --> 00:08:41.649 a minor independent run that barely made a dent. 00:08:41.769 --> 00:08:44.129 No, he won. This was the formal establishment 00:08:44.129 --> 00:08:46.789 of a third -party apparatus strong enough to 00:08:46.789 --> 00:08:49.750 win a United States Senate seat, hold it, and 00:08:49.750 --> 00:08:52.350 eventually secure re -election in 1940 as well. 00:08:52.750 --> 00:08:55.049 What does it take for a literal third party to 00:08:55.049 --> 00:08:57.009 just take over a Senate seat like that in the 00:08:57.009 --> 00:09:00.309 1930s? Well, it underscores that fiercely independent 00:09:00.309 --> 00:09:03.250 streak we've been tracking. The La Follette success 00:09:03.250 --> 00:09:06.509 proved that Wisconsin voters prioritize the person 00:09:06.509 --> 00:09:09.419 and their specific regional needs. over the national 00:09:09.419 --> 00:09:11.679 party label. The brand of the individual was 00:09:11.679 --> 00:09:13.899 stronger than the brand of the party. Precisely. 00:09:13.899 --> 00:09:15.940 The state wasn't just willing to flip between 00:09:15.940 --> 00:09:18.659 Democrats and Republicans. It was willing to 00:09:18.659 --> 00:09:21.059 embrace an entirely different political vehicle 00:09:21.059 --> 00:09:24.059 if the candidate matched the moment. You literally 00:09:24.059 --> 00:09:26.399 see the party label change before your eyes on 00:09:26.399 --> 00:09:28.279 the screen. Right. It's such a visceral reminder 00:09:28.279 --> 00:09:30.919 that these labels are fluid. Very fluid. But 00:09:30.919 --> 00:09:33.179 speaking of fluid labels and that independent 00:09:33.179 --> 00:09:36.379 instinct. That exact same voter behavior explains 00:09:36.379 --> 00:09:39.039 the most jarring political whiplash in the state's 00:09:39.039 --> 00:09:42.120 history just a few decades later. The mid -century 00:09:42.120 --> 00:09:45.200 period is a masterclass in how fragile and unpredictable 00:09:45.200 --> 00:09:48.000 political eras can be. Let's just look at the 00:09:48.000 --> 00:09:50.360 raw facts on the timeline here. Yeah. In the 00:09:50.360 --> 00:09:53.399 1946 election, the data shows the state elected 00:09:53.399 --> 00:09:55.980 Republican Joseph McCarthy to the Senate. Right. 00:09:56.120 --> 00:09:59.259 He assumes office in 1947. He is successfully 00:09:59.259 --> 00:10:03.639 reelected by the state in 1952. But then tragedy 00:10:03.639 --> 00:10:06.259 strikes during his second term. The timeline 00:10:06.259 --> 00:10:08.500 notes that Senator McCarthy died in office on 00:10:08.500 --> 00:10:11.620 May 2nd, 1957. If we connect this to the bigger 00:10:11.620 --> 00:10:14.720 picture, we see how an unforeseen event, a sudden 00:10:14.720 --> 00:10:17.580 vacancy in the middle of a term, can completely 00:10:17.580 --> 00:10:20.399 rewrite the long -term history of a state. Because 00:10:20.399 --> 00:10:22.340 they have to fill the seat. Exactly. Because 00:10:22.340 --> 00:10:24.539 of the rules governing these vacancies, a special 00:10:24.539 --> 00:10:26.460 election had to be called to fill the remainder 00:10:26.460 --> 00:10:28.559 of that term. And the contrast to what happens 00:10:28.559 --> 00:10:31.480 next is just massive. In August of 1957, just 00:10:31.480 --> 00:10:33.960 a few months after the sudden vacancy, Wisconsin 00:10:33.960 --> 00:10:35.960 holds that election. And they don't elect another 00:10:35.960 --> 00:10:38.559 Republican to finish out the term. No, they don't. 00:10:38.580 --> 00:10:41.360 They elect Democrat William Proxmire. A fundamental 00:10:41.360 --> 00:10:44.460 pivot in representation. Hold on. It's the scale 00:10:44.460 --> 00:10:46.639 of the pivot that blew my mind. Proxmire steps 00:10:46.639 --> 00:10:49.960 in to finish that term in 1957, and he just never 00:10:49.960 --> 00:10:52.360 leaves. He stays for decades. He goes on to be 00:10:52.360 --> 00:10:55.299 reelected again and again and again. According 00:10:55.299 --> 00:10:58.179 to the data, William Proxmire holds that seat 00:10:58.179 --> 00:11:02.019 all the way until January 3, 1989. Unbelievable 00:11:02.019 --> 00:11:04.620 longevity. He becomes the longest -serving senator 00:11:04.620 --> 00:11:07.360 in the history of Wisconsin. So you go from one 00:11:07.360 --> 00:11:09.340 of the most famous Republicans of the 20th century 00:11:09.340 --> 00:11:12.600 to a Democrat who holds the seat for three decades. 00:11:13.409 --> 00:11:16.269 Talk about giving your voters whiplash. It's 00:11:16.269 --> 00:11:19.110 wild to think about how much timing dictates 00:11:19.110 --> 00:11:21.850 history here. This shows us that in the Senate, 00:11:21.970 --> 00:11:24.970 biological luck and timing can entirely rewrite 00:11:24.970 --> 00:11:27.389 a state's political legacy for half a century. 00:11:27.450 --> 00:11:30.330 Literally overnight. A single moment in 1957 00:11:30.330 --> 00:11:32.710 locked in a political trajectory that lasted 00:11:32.710 --> 00:11:34.690 through the Cold War, the Civil Rights era, the 00:11:34.690 --> 00:11:37.110 Vietnam War, and all the way into the final days 00:11:37.110 --> 00:11:39.269 of the Reagan administration. It really puts 00:11:39.269 --> 00:11:41.370 it in perspective. It's a brilliant illustration 00:11:41.370 --> 00:11:44.450 of why understanding the mechanics of these vacancies 00:11:44.450 --> 00:11:47.970 and the voters immediate reaction to them is 00:11:47.970 --> 00:11:50.370 so essential. That transition perfectly brings 00:11:50.370 --> 00:11:52.840 us into the modern era. As we look at the late 00:11:52.840 --> 00:11:55.919 20th and early 21st centuries on this list, you 00:11:55.919 --> 00:11:58.519 start to see some very long, stable runs. You 00:11:58.519 --> 00:12:01.740 do. After Proxmire's incredible tenure, the Democratic 00:12:01.740 --> 00:12:04.039 Party maintained a very strong grip on these 00:12:04.039 --> 00:12:06.320 seats. You see names like Gaylord Nelson serving 00:12:06.320 --> 00:12:10.059 from 1963 to 1981. You have Erd Kohl with a massive 00:12:10.059 --> 00:12:14.000 run from 1989 to 2013. And Russ Feingold serving 00:12:14.000 --> 00:12:17.690 from 1993 to 2011. For a long stretch there, 00:12:17.870 --> 00:12:20.549 the timeline looks pretty steadily blue. It does 00:12:20.549 --> 00:12:23.490 look that way. But history tells us that in this 00:12:23.490 --> 00:12:25.929 state, a dominant streak is often just the setup 00:12:25.929 --> 00:12:28.110 for the next balancing act. Which brings us right 00:12:28.110 --> 00:12:30.029 up to the present day. If we look at the very 00:12:30.029 --> 00:12:32.830 top of the current delegation list, we see a 00:12:32.830 --> 00:12:34.850 fascinating reflection of everything we've talked 00:12:34.850 --> 00:12:37.429 about so far. Your current roster. Today, the 00:12:37.429 --> 00:12:39.389 state is represented by Republican Ron Johnson, 00:12:39.470 --> 00:12:41.409 who has held the class three seat since 2011, 00:12:41.610 --> 00:12:44.090 and Democrat Tammy Baldwin, who has held the 00:12:44.090 --> 00:12:47.009 class one seat since 2013. A split delegation, 00:12:47.309 --> 00:12:50.450 one Republican, one Democrat, currently representing 00:12:50.450 --> 00:12:53.370 the exact same group of voters. And this is where 00:12:53.370 --> 00:12:55.750 we have to bring in that incredible context from 00:12:55.750 --> 00:12:57.850 the Washington Post report published in November 00:12:57.850 --> 00:13:01.149 of 2024. The broader national view. Yes. They 00:13:01.149 --> 00:13:04.190 analyzed the incoming 2025 United States Senate 00:13:04.190 --> 00:13:08.049 and they found a staggering statistic. The report 00:13:08.049 --> 00:13:10.429 states that fewer states than ever will have 00:13:10.429 --> 00:13:13.529 split party Senate delegations. In fact, as of 00:13:13.529 --> 00:13:16.649 2025, Wisconsin is one of only three states in 00:13:16.649 --> 00:13:18.590 the entire country to have a split delegation. 00:13:18.629 --> 00:13:21.309 Only three. Out of 50 states, only three have 00:13:21.309 --> 00:13:23.409 sent one senator from each party to Washington. 00:13:23.769 --> 00:13:26.470 It's a vanishingly rare phenomenon in modern 00:13:26.470 --> 00:13:29.090 American politics. We're living in an era of 00:13:29.090 --> 00:13:32.490 intense national polarization where states overwhelmingly 00:13:32.490 --> 00:13:35.269 tend to vote uniformly for one party or the other 00:13:35.269 --> 00:13:37.230 when it comes to federal representation. Right. 00:13:37.309 --> 00:13:39.509 The fact that Wisconsin remains in that tiny 00:13:39.509 --> 00:13:42.210 three -state minority is highly significant. 00:13:42.549 --> 00:13:44.450 So what does this all mean? When you, the listener, 00:13:44.610 --> 00:13:46.549 look at this data, what is the ultimate takeaway 00:13:46.549 --> 00:13:49.029 from all these shifting colors and sudden changes? 00:13:49.519 --> 00:13:52.659 It means that this incredibly rare modern split 00:13:52.659 --> 00:13:56.580 perfectly mirrors the state's entire 175 year 00:13:56.580 --> 00:13:59.840 history. This isn't an accident and it isn't 00:13:59.840 --> 00:14:01.840 a new phenomenon born out of recent political 00:14:01.840 --> 00:14:05.559 climates. It's deep in their DNA. Exactly. From 00:14:05.559 --> 00:14:08.759 those 10 -day early flips in the 1850s to the 00:14:08.759 --> 00:14:11.080 fiercely independent progressive streak of the 00:14:11.080 --> 00:14:14.200 La Follettes in the 1930s to the jarring McCarthy 00:14:14.200 --> 00:14:17.720 to Proxmire whiplash of the mid -century Wisconsin's 00:14:17.720 --> 00:14:20.779 data proves it is a state that constantly, almost 00:14:20.779 --> 00:14:24.100 inherently, balances opposing political forces. 00:14:24.340 --> 00:14:26.840 It actively resists being permanently categorized. 00:14:26.919 --> 00:14:29.340 Yes. The current split delegation is simply the 00:14:29.340 --> 00:14:32.379 modern manifestation of a very old habit of political 00:14:32.379 --> 00:14:34.740 experimentation. That's why diving into the raw 00:14:34.740 --> 00:14:36.759 data is so much better than just reading a headline. 00:14:36.919 --> 00:14:38.559 When you glance at the news today, you might 00:14:38.559 --> 00:14:40.740 think a split delegation is just a weird quirk 00:14:40.740 --> 00:14:42.759 of a recent election cycle. But when you look 00:14:42.759 --> 00:14:44.840 the whole timeline, you realize it's actually 00:14:44.840 --> 00:14:46.779 the state's defining characteristic. It is the 00:14:46.779 --> 00:14:48.899 defining pattern. Knowing this history gives 00:14:48.899 --> 00:14:50.940 you such a massive advantage in understanding 00:14:50.940 --> 00:14:54.210 modern political news. It proves that a list 00:14:54.210 --> 00:14:57.429 of names and dates isn't just trivia. It's literally 00:14:57.429 --> 00:15:01.090 a map of a state's evolving identity. And exploring 00:15:01.090 --> 00:15:03.830 that map always leads to new layers of understanding. 00:15:03.990 --> 00:15:06.370 In fact, as we wrap up our analysis of this historical 00:15:06.370 --> 00:15:08.629 timeline, this raises an important question. 00:15:08.769 --> 00:15:11.049 Okay, what is it? One that goes beyond the names 00:15:11.049 --> 00:15:13.409 and dates. If we look at the very bottom of the 00:15:13.409 --> 00:15:15.750 source material, in the broader profile of the 00:15:15.750 --> 00:15:19.110 state, we see a list of Wisconsin's highly distinct 00:15:19.110 --> 00:15:22.759 geographic and cultural regions. Oh, the geographic 00:15:22.759 --> 00:15:25.039 breakdown of the state itself. Exactly. You see 00:15:25.039 --> 00:15:27.539 these distinct areas listed. You have the WW 00:15:27.539 --> 00:15:30.019 counties, Waukesha, Ozaukee and Washington surrounding 00:15:30.019 --> 00:15:32.620 Milwaukee with their specific suburban dynamics. 00:15:32.740 --> 00:15:35.700 Right. You have the rugged, unglaciated terrain 00:15:35.700 --> 00:15:38.779 of the Driftless area in the west. There's the 00:15:38.779 --> 00:15:41.600 maritime culture and tourism heavy economy of 00:15:41.600 --> 00:15:43.879 the Door Peninsula. Very different vibes. And 00:15:43.879 --> 00:15:46.139 then you have the dense industrial corridors 00:15:46.139 --> 00:15:48.679 of the Fox River Valley. It's a state of immense 00:15:48.679 --> 00:15:51.409 geographic and cultural variety packed. to a 00:15:51.409 --> 00:15:53.429 single border. OK, I see where you're going with 00:15:53.429 --> 00:15:55.669 this. So I would challenge you to consider this 00:15:55.669 --> 00:15:57.730 as you continue your own learning. How much of 00:15:57.730 --> 00:16:01.190 this constant historical push and pull in the 00:16:01.190 --> 00:16:04.629 Senate is actually being driven by these wildly 00:16:04.629 --> 00:16:08.110 varying local cultures within Wisconsin's own 00:16:08.110 --> 00:16:11.169 borders? Wow. Is the political whiplash we see 00:16:11.169 --> 00:16:14.169 in Washington merely a reflection of the deep 00:16:14.169 --> 00:16:17.190 geographic diversity back home? I love that. 00:16:17.500 --> 00:16:19.399 Leaving you with a totally new angle to explore. 00:16:19.620 --> 00:16:21.639 The history of the state isn't just happening 00:16:21.639 --> 00:16:23.940 in the voting booth. It's tied to the land, the 00:16:23.940 --> 00:16:26.399 regions, and the very different ways people live 00:16:26.399 --> 00:16:28.659 across that map. It's all connected. That is 00:16:28.659 --> 00:16:30.899 a brilliant final thought to mull over. Thank 00:16:30.899 --> 00:16:32.639 you so much for joining us on this deep dive. 00:16:32.820 --> 00:16:35.220 We know your time is valuable, and we love that 00:16:35.220 --> 00:16:37.200 you choose to spend it feeding that curiosity 00:16:37.200 --> 00:16:40.299 with us. Keep questioning the data. Keep looking 00:16:40.299 --> 00:16:42.360 for those hidden narratives, and we will catch 00:16:42.360 --> 00:16:43.600 you on the next deep dive.