Badger State Blues

Looking for a midterm battleground? Look no further than WI, where Dems and GOPers are battling over key races at every level.

-- WI is a microcosm of the national landscape: An unpopular Dem chief executive presides over an economy with high unemployment (albeit below the national average), putting his party's seats at risk. Now, newly vulnerable Dems are rethinking their entire re-election plans.

-- GOPers say putting pressure on Dems to retire was a key concern when they considered the difficulties in taking back Congress. They succeeded with Rep. David Obey (D), who is leaving open a seat that will be tricky to hold. GOPers call it a top pickup opportunity, and Dems made their first independent expenditure there.

-- If anyone should be immune from the taint of DC, it should be Sen. Russ Feingold (D), who has charted a path so independent it has rankled his own leadership. But Feingold is being outspent on TV by businessman Ron Johnson (R), and some Dems are privately worrying more about his seat than the open GOV race.

Add in that race, where the likely GOP primary winner will start the general election at an advantage, and the state legislature, where GOPers have a good shot to win back both chambers. With so much on the line, no wonder both Pres. Obama is making a WI stop on Labor Day -- or that House Min. Leader John Boehner stopped in this week.