Baldwin is currently in Dubuque, Iowa speaking to folks about the importance of caucusing for Hillary Clinton. Dubuque is right in the corner of Iowa that borders the southwest corner of Wisconsin.

Clinton and Baldwin penned an op-ed on the Huffington Post about restoring trust in Government by closing the revolving door between Wall Street and Washington. Some key parts:

The American people need to be able to trust that every single person in Washington -- from the President of the United States all the way down to agency employees -- is putting the interests of the people first. We want to do more to make sure that happens. Both of us have a track record of supporting stronger ethics rules. One of us -- Tammy -- has introduced legislation in the Senate to help close that revolving door. The other of us -- Hillary -- strongly supports this bill, and as president would crack down on conflicts of interest in government.

Right now, some private sector employers offer bonuses to employees when they leave to join the government. This bill would prohibit that. The private sector shouldn't be allowed to "pay to play" with their former employees. If you're working for the government, you're working for the people -- not for an oil company, drug company, or Wall Street bank or money manager. Right now, government employees entrusted with oversight are required by law to recuse themselves from any cases involving their former employers for one year. That's not long enough. This bill would bump it up to two years. And for people leaving government service, this bill would prevent them from taking a job at a company they oversaw until at least two years have passed. Right now, loopholes allow former government officials to lobby in practice, even if they aren't officially called lobbyists. They offer regulatory access to private interests as "outside advisors" or "strategic counselors." That means they can avoid legal requirements that lobbyists have to meet. This bill would clamp down on that.

The entire thing is worth a read. When she was in the House, Tammy Baldwin represented the very liberal WI-02, including Madison. She was a member of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, and has long been a champion of the progressive causes we hold dear, including good government proposals like this (an issue on which Wisconsin used to be a national leader)

In 2008, Wisconsin went decisively for Barack Obama in our February 19th primary. Given the narrative at the time that Clinton was dominant in overwhelmingly white rust-belt states, the primary victory (Obama's ninth in a row) was an important win for him, both in terms of narrative and building infrastructure in an important swing state.

Our 2016 primary will not be held until April 5th, and so may play less of an important role in deciding the eventual nominee.

That said, Baldwin is an important figure in progressive circles and from a historical perspective. This is a good get for Clinton.