A quick guide to today’s Wisconsin primary

Much is to be decided in today’s primary election in Wisconsin. Chief among them is determining which of the democratic candidates for Governor deserve their party’s nomination. It is a crowded field. The names of eight candidates will appear on today’s ballot in that race. Do you know who they are? It can be easy to lose track, especially since very few have spent much on advertising to make themselves stand out. Only one of the democratic gubernatorial candidates, Tony Evers, is polling in double digits. A Marquette University Law School poll shows 31% of voters surveyed plan to vote for Evers. Undecided scored better, at 38%. Some say the list of choices is too long, and that voters may end up playing eenie meenie minie moe when they go to the polls. Here then is a quick synopsis of the candidates. Tony Evers is the State Superintendent of Schools. Kelda Roys is a former state legislator who attracted national attention for breastfeeding her child in a campaign video. Mahlon Mitchell is head of the state firefighters union. Matt Flynn is a former state democratic party chairman, and a lawyer who has been criticized for defending the Archdiocese of Milwaukee during the abuse scandal. Kathleen Vinehout is a state lawmaker and farmer from Alma. Paul Soglin is the longtime mayor of Madison. Mike McCabe is the former head of a state watchdog group that tracks political financing and corruption, and Josh Pade is a lawyer who once interned with Russ Feingold. There is more to these candidates than these descriptions, but if you know even that much, you are in the minority. See you at the voting booth.