This picture of Mark and Virginia Gennis with Representative Gwen Moore says it all about the annual convention the Democratic Party of Wisconsin held on June 5 and 6! By wearing their patriot gear (with t-shirts proclaiming "Progressive Patriots from OZ aukee"), they announce that we progressives are proud patriots and will not cede the use of that term to the so-called Tea Party. And they show how much fun a large gathering of like-minded Wisconsin citizens can be.

We heard great speeches from several of our shining stars, including Gwen Moore and Russ Feingold. And we elected a new chair, Martha Laning, to lead us out of the wilderness.

Now it's time to start the ground work for the next elections, beginning in February, April, and August, and concluding in November 2016. All of these elections are vital if we are going to build a deep bench of new leaders. We need to elect progressives to school boards; city, village, and county governing bodies; state level offices; and federal representatives plus a new(ish) US Senator. And of course a new president and vice president. 

Get connected with the Democratic Party of Wisconsin, and

• Presidential candidates: Hillary Clinton, Bernie Sanders, Martin O'Malley, Lincoln Chafee
• US Senate: Russ Feingold
• US Representative: Mark Pocan (CD 2), Ron Kind (CD 3), Gwen Moore (CD 4)
• Your state assembly representatives (all are up for re-election) and state senators (some are up for re-election)

Future blog posts will introduce many other progressives running for offices — local, state, and national. Check back in the weeks and months to come.