The Republican organization with enormous sway in school board votes

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We've got a sunny, breezy day Friday, with a high near 54 degrees. Saturday dips down to a high of 50 but we're in for a sunny Sunday and a high of 57 degrees.

The vast majority of school board seats in Waukesha County are won by candidates with WisRed's blessing

Have you heard of WisRed? It's a Republican organization that has held enormous sway in school board elections in Waukesha County.

For a county that has traditionally voted conservatively, that might not come as a total shock. But what's interesting is that the organization has been so deeply committed to placing Republicans on school boards, that candidates with WisRed's backing have even replaced long-serving school board members like Craig Thompson, a two-decade veteran of the Arrowhead School Board who considers himself conservative but also felt the role should be nonpartisan.

Thompson tried to open a dialogue with WisRed. "I was inquiring why, if we have run our board fiscally conservatively, why are you trying to remove us?" Thompson said. "I never got an answer, and I still haven’t to this day."

In April, Thompson lost his seat to a WisRed candidate by less than 2 percentage points.

Thompson and others in Waukesha County said they've seen a dramatic transformation in how school board campaigns are run. Dwindling are the days when they could win elections by knocking on doors and running on their records. The pressure is high to align with a party to secure their voter lists, mailers and ideological endorsements.

WisRed candidates now hold more than 80% of the school board seats in Waukesha County. It's an extreme example of a nationwide trend, and Rory Linnane takes a look.

Can the Milwaukee Bucks get healthy and make a playoff run?

On Sunday at 6 p.m. at Fiserv Forum, the Milwaukee Bucks begin their playoff quest, and it feels dubious for a couple reasons. One is that both Giannis Antetokounmpo and Damian Lillard continue to battle injuries, and it's unclear how available they'll be in the series. The other is that the Indiana Pacers are hungry and have shown they can beat the Bucks this season, winning four of five battles. Could the franchise's championship window be closing?

The Pacers are led by Tyrese Haliburton , an Oshkosh native who has become an ascendant star in the NBA and has a legitimate shot to become the best NBA player the state has ever produced.

You can see a video clip of our podcast preview with me, Jim Owczarski of the Journal Sentinel and Dustin Dopirak of the Indianapolis Star. Columnist Lori Nickel also joined me to talk big picture about the Bucks, including the coaching situation.

Don't miss these

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• Kamala Harris is coming back to Wisconsin .
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• The latest episode of "Top Chef: Wisconsin" featured a supper club theme, and once again, one of our own Journal Sentinel writers was there for the big finale.
• A German soccer club is pairing with a Milwaukee team?
• You probably haven't heard of the newest member of the Milwaukee Brewers, Tobias Myers, who has yet to make his Major League debut (and was sent back to Class AAA Nashville on Thursday). Curt Hogg explains why you should get to know him.
• A former Democratic congressman is throwing his hat into the ring for the seat currently held by Republican Rep. Bryan Steil.
• Election denier Timothy Ramthun, who ran for governor and was shunned by his colleagues in the state Assembly, is running for another seat in the state Legislature.
• Here's what to know about the venues that will be hosting big events for the upcoming Republican National Convention (including some venues that may NOT host events).
• Did you say Wisconsin high-school athletes could soon receive name, image and likeness compensation?

JR Radcliffe can be reached at (262) 361-9141 or jradcliffe@gannett.com . Follow him on Twitter at @JRRadcliffe .

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This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: The Republican organization with enormous sway in school board votes