So, what happened?
That’s on a lot of people’s minds following Chris Larson’s surprisingly big victory state Sen. Jeff Plale Tuesday.
The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel had a good follow-up story on the race online today, with interviews from both candidates. From the story:
A crossover of Democrats voting in the GOP primary for governor set state Sen. Jeff Plale up for a devastating 61% to 39% primary loss to Milwaukee County Supervisor Chris Larson, both candidates agree.
“There was a huge turnout in the Republican primary and that coupled with the Democratic version of the tea party, I don’t know if it’s any more complicated than that,” Plale said of his loss. “The folks who have traditionally supported me through thick and thin were faced yesterday with a very difficult decision.”
Here is some additional perspective from various blogs and other media outlets:
South Milwaukee Blog 
It was great to see Larson win, and from what I saw he picked the right time and put together a good group to get it done. Now on to the general.
Actually, this is a good example of what is wrong with our primary system. If we want the people to have a voice and choose the “best” two candidate to run, then the people should be able to pick their party on an office by office basis. On the other hand, if we want the parties to pick their choice, then the people should formally select their party as a long term commitment and the primaries should be for those members. In this case, many people felt that voting for the republican governor candidate was in their best interest regardless of what party they were from, so they easily became republican for a day. Many people who undoubtedly support Barrett felt the need to vote for a candidate who will either be weaker against Barrett in November or would be less objectionable if he indeed won. What this meant is that on this one day, the democrat party shrunk and grew back the next day. Plale may not have lost because he was not supported by even a vast majority of democrats or because of any policies of his. He lost simply because Barrett did not have competition and the governor was more important than state senator.