Sensenbrenner's Challengers

Jim Sensenbrenner represents the most heavily Republican region of Wisconsin. His 5th Congressional District is redder than Mark Pocan's Madison-based district is blue. Jim won his last three elections by an average of thirty-eight points. In even the most epic blue election tidal wave imaginable, we have little hope of electing a Democrat in the 5th.

Our twenty-term Congressman has been in office since 1979.The year that our Congressman took his current job, the USSR invaded Afghanistan. Jimmy Carter was President. Kramer vs. Kramer was a box office hit. Magic Johnson met Larry Bird in the NCAA basketball finals. One of the top albums was Saturday Night Fever. Our world and country have drastically changed in all that time, but Jim Sensenbrenner still occupies our Congressional seat. And according to the Journal-Sentinel, he plans to be on the ballot yet again in 2018.

Still, Sensenbrenner was forced to face a Democratic challenger in every election since 2008. For the last four elections, we have had a progressive hero step forward to give voters some semblance of an electoral choice. And the 2018 election will be no different. With 424 days until the November 2018 election, we have not just one, but three Democrats who are announced candidates for the race.

In the order of their announcement, the three candidates are Shawn Rundblade, Ramon Hyron Garcia, and Thomas Palzewicz. If all three remain in the race, they will meet next year in the August 14 Democratic primary.

Shawn Rundblade announced his run last December. According to his website, Shawn has been a bagger at a grocery store, a pharmacy technician, a camera store manager, a warehouse worker, a home appliance delivery driver, and now he helps coordinate appliance deliveries. He also served as a volunteer fire fighter for seventeen years. Shawn does not have a college degree.

The 38 year old Waukesha resident calls himself a Berniecrat. His issues include single payer healthcare, getting money out of politics, education reform, and social equality. Shawn has pledged to accept no contributions from fossil fuel companies, but I can't image that he has had to return any yet. Shawn's campaign website can be found here, his LinkedIn page here, his Twitter page here, and his Facebook page here.
 

Ramon Hyron Garcia announced in May. According to his website, Ramon has worked as a hardware store manager, a foreman, and a hospital telemetry tech. He attended La Cordon Bleu in Chicago and does not have a college degree. Ramon has MS and is on SS Disability. He has written a book about living with MS, No More Depression. He is also a life coach.

The 40 year-old Ramon is also inspired by Bernie Sanders. Some of his major issues are a $15/hour minimum wage, universal healthcare, and an end to Citizens United. Ramon has several interesting in-car You-Tube videos, including this one that explains his candidacy. On his website, Ramon states that he did not vote in the last Presidential election. Ramon's campaign website is here, his Face Book page here, and his Twitter page here. 


Yesterday, Tom Palzewicz announced his own candidacy for the 5th Congressional seat. Since 2005, Tom has been a co-owner of a business-consultancy franchise. In the past, he was a treasurer at a mortgage company and is a six-year Navy veteran, serving as an electrician aboard a submarine. Tom has a business degree (BBA) from UW-Milwaukee.

The 54 year-old Palzewicz lives in Brookfield. Among his major issues are affordable healthcare for all Americans, fighting climate change, and education. Tom has published a book, Consistent Cash Flow. I understand it is quite the page turner. Tom's campaign website is here, his Face Book page here, his Twitter page here, and his LinkedIn page here.

We are blessed to have three 2018 candidates who are running as Democrats against Jim Sensenbrenner. None of these men are professional politicians. Each comes to the race with interesting and real-world experiences. Any one of them would be a better Congressman than our current occupant. Any one of them would do a superior job at listening to the concerns of their constituents.

This blog does not endorse primary candidates. Make-up your own mind which one of these fine candidates to select in August. We encourage you to explore the campaign sites linked above, compare issue statements, and to go see the candidates in-person as the primary race heats-up.