Wisconsin: Democrats will not run "placeholder" candidates in recall election

http://www.jsonline.com/blogs/news/124077179.html?page=1

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Democrats say they're abandoning their strategy to run "placeholder" candidates in July 12 recall primary races after "fake" Democrats, recruited by the Republican Party, had filed their final paperwork in all six races by Friday.

The filings assure that there will likely be Democratic primaries in all six recall races involving Republican Senate incumbents.


Meanwhile, new figures from election clerks in those districts raise the estimated cost to taxpayers of the primaries to more than $460,000.

Friday was the deadline for candidates to file financial disclosure forms in the recall elections. If any candidate failed to file such a form, they wouldn't be on the July 12 primary ballot. Democrats had recruited placeholder candidates in three of those races in case the fake Democrats failed to file. But that didn't happen.

"The goal of the placeholder candidacies was to create an insurance policy against further Republican attempts to exploit the recall election schedule through dirty tricks and cynical plots," party Chairman Mike Tate said in a statement from the party. The insurance apparently wasn't necessary.

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Good lord, whether or not these were important districts for Dems in the past, they certainly are now. 'Placeholder' candidates, (aka 'Paper' candidates in my area) will just NOT do.

Wisconsin needs to recruit the best and brightest of Dems in these districts and make them work their a**'s off from now until the general election. Forget the primaries, planning should be for the long term, with the assumption of a primary win against these fake R recruited candidates (assuming the article is accurate)

They've got to work these areas in ways they've never considered before, since traditionally R districts/areas require an entirely different strategy for progressives.

I hope they will take into account the fact that everyone who worked so hard for this recall deserve nothing but the best. In terms of not only quality candidates, but also people who know what they are doing in regard to strategy within each unique (and very likely) challenging districts.

It will be a fight, but I'm confident the Dems will flip at least three Senate seats in the recalls. We've got some great candidates, and the Republicans have soiled their nest.

But you are correct that much hard work remains.