It is a warm August night, and the sidewalk in front of Art Bar — tucked away in Milwaukee’s tree-lined Riverwest neighborhood — is crowded with young socialists radiating nervous energy. After nearly two months of canvassing thousands of doors, they are waiting to see whether history will be made.

On the ballot in today’s August 9 primary is Darrin Madison, a twenty-five-year-old community organizer who, if elected, will be the first black socialist to serve in the Wisconsin State Assembly. If he wins, he will also join County Supervisor Ryan Clancy — running unopposed in the 19th District — to become the first socialists the Wisconsin State Assembly has seen in over eighty years.

Some in the crowd are not simply milling about, but pacing apprehensively in between sips of ginger old fashioneds (which someone has deemed tonight’s “lucky” cocktail). The polls begin to close and — via the county clerk’s glitchy Facebook feed — the wards slowly report their results. Madison leads, but Bryan Kennedy — who is the mayor of Glendale, a northern suburb added to the 10th District this year, and who has outspent Madison seven to one — appears close behind. For an hour or so, there is more tension, more pacing; every few minutes, the latest numbers are announced over a portable PA system.