How About An Ed Thompson-Mike Ellis "Co-Governorship?"

Looks like swashbuckling Republican Senator Mike Ellis, once an establishment type of guy who's garnered a reputation as a reformer largely on the basis of his campaign finance and elections/ethics board reform bills, believes that he could beat Jim The New Democrat Doyle in a general election, but won't have the necessary funds to get past Scooter Walker and Mark DeLay Green in a Republican Primary.

Libertarian Ed Thompson, Tommy's bro, earned 10% of the vote in 2002 and probably would have beat Scott McCallum in a Republican primary had he decided to go that route. Ed had an outstanding running mate in 2002, former Democratic state representative Marty Reynolds (probably the only real maverick in the state legislature in the late 1990s and early part of this decade). But few people outside of Ladysmith and Madison really knew Marty, and given that Lt. Governor candidates are typically ignored by the mainstream press, his impact on the ticket was negligible.


Mike Ellis is much more well-known than Marty Reynolds, and Ed Thompson is still somewhat of a celebrity around the state. What if the two of them ran as a team, on an independent ticket, with one of them formally taking the governor title but running on a kind of "co-governorship" platform? Thompson and Ellis together would have a great appeal to voters of all political persuasions, and especially the growing majority who think what's most needed are some mavericks to clean up the corruption.

Anyone old enough to remember the Republican presidential convention of 1980 will recall that there was some talk of Ronald Reagan selecting Gerald Ford as his running mate. Ford said he would do it but only if it was a kind of "co-presidency" deal. The idea died and ultimately Reagan won in a landslide with George H.W. Bush on the ticket.

I think Wisconsin voters are in the mood for something new to shake up the cronyism, inertia, and corruption represented by the establishment parties. A Thompson-Ellis co-candidacy would really shake up the election season.