The September primary election is Tuesday here in Wisconsin.

In my neck of the woods, the two races to watch are the US Senate and 4th Congressional district primary. Vying to oppose Sen. Russ Feingold are Tim Michels, Russ Darrow, State Sen. Bob Welch, and some guy named Robert Lorge. Michels has stepped up the ad campaign in recent weeks. During the little time I've spent watching television recently, I've been inundated by his commercials.

I tend to think the real battle is between Welch and Darrow. Welch has a following among social conservatives, but also gained recognition for endorsing a state cap on local property taxes. Darrow, on the other hand, is the candidate for the more traditional fiscally conservative Republican who doesn't much care for the pandering the party does on social issues. This is not to say Darrow doesn't share many of the same positions as Welch and Michels on abortion and gay marriage, but those aren't the reasons many voters are attracted to him. Darrow's strength is his name recognition, and his ability to raise money. Many Republicans are going to vote for him simply because they think he has the best chance to win in November, and they aren't impressed by the fact Welch got his clock cleaned the last time he ran for the US Senate against Sen. Herb Kohl in 1994.

On the 4th Congressional District race, Riverwest Currents has a good breakdown on the positions the various candidates hold. Matt Flynn picked up the endorsement of the Shepherd Express last week while the Journal Sentinel endorsed State Sen. Gwen Moore. The third candidate is State Sen. Tim Carpenter whom I had a chance to meet at the John Edwards rally a few weeks ago. Any of these three candidates would be a fine representative for the 4th district, and I expect any of them will beat their Republican opponent Corey Hoze or Gerald Boyle handily in November.

In other action, Republican State Senate Majority Leader Mary Panzer is being challenged the right by Glenn Grothman for her seat. It's been entertaining for us followers of the donkey to watch the infighting going on in the state GOP. It kind of reminds me of the old battles between then Democratic Majority Leader Chuck Chvala and State Sen. Gary George.