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This is big news. David Clarke is the conservative sheriff of Milwaukee. He has been heavily courted by Republicans, all the way up to President Bush, as a prominent black conservative who could really go places in Wisconsin politics. I think he's an enrolled independent at this point.

A conservative mayor of Milwaukee? WOW! I wish Mr. Clarke the best of luck, but I frankly don't think he can win unless two or more liberals split the vote. Can a conservative, even a black conservative, get 40% of the vote in the city of Milwaukee? I guess we'll see.

If Clarke can pull this off and then join the GOP, he would immediately become a contender for the governorship or the U.S. Senate, although he may not be able to replicate his Milwaukee results statewide. He would also be the only Republican who could possibly be elected to the House from the 4th Congressional District (which includes Milwaukee and a few RAT-leaning suburbs) once moderate Democrat Jerry Kleczka retires. The 4th CD is 33% black, 11% Hispanic and only gave Bush 30% in 2000, so it is quite inhospitable to Republicans, but if Clarke can win in the city of Milwaukee (which gave Bush 28% in 2000), he could pull off the upset in a House race. Clarke would need 30% of the black vote, 50% of the Hispanic vote and 60% of the white Anglo vote in order to win, which would not be out of the question if he were the Mayor of Milwaukee running in an open-seat race.

A man can dream, can't he? : )