“Who cares about a state election in Wisconsin?” you ask. Ah, well, Scott Walker does. He’s running for a third term as governor this year and the current he’s rowing against is getting stronger. A lot of data nerds, eyeing the trend in last night’s results in special elections in Wisconsin and elsewhere, care. And if something doesn’t happen to stop the Democrats’ momentum, we’re all going to care in November.

Romney lost Wisconsin in 2012 but took Wisconsin’s 10th Senate District from Obama. Trump won the state narrowly in 2016 but crushed Hillary in the 10th. The last Republican to run for state senate there, a longtime incumbent, breezed to victory with 63.2 percent of the vote.

Last night? Democrats by 11.

Walker’s message to Wisconsin Republicans: MISSILE INBOUND. THIS IS NOT A DRILL.

Senate District 10 special election win by a Democrat is a wake up call for Republicans in Wisconsin. — Scott Walker (@ScottWalker) January 17, 2018

Biggest takeaway from last night: We can’t presume that everyone knows about the positive things we’re getting done for the people of Wisconsin! — Scott Walker (@ScottWalker) January 17, 2018

Nationwide, notes Dave Weigel, Democrats have picked up 34 legislative seats during the 2018 to, uh, four for the GOP. Remember the scene in “Ghostbusters” where the EPA dork shuts off the grid and Venkman et al. start to inch away from the machine and out of the room, knowing the destruction that’s about to be unleashed? That’s what election analysts were doing last night looking at the results in Wisconsin vis-a-vis the midterms:

Here is a breakdown of Democrats' over performance tonight in all 4 contested special elections: SC #HD99: D+13.08%

WI #AD58: D+24.90%

WI #SD10: D+27.52%

IA #HD06: D+20.44% That is an average Dem over performance tonight of D+21.49% That's… significant. — Aaron Booth (@ActorAaronBooth) January 17, 2018

Four close House special elections was a wake-up call. This is a five alarm fire. https://t.co/AsW92O9j6y — Sean T at RCP (@SeanTrende) January 17, 2018

Without an unpopular opponent for Trump, Trump's GOP's finding his unpopularity is crushing them electorally. Tonight's results on their own don't mean much, but, in context of 80+ state & federal legislative special elections, they're merely the latest sign GOP's in BIG trouble — (((Harry Enten))) (@ForecasterEnten) January 17, 2018

*checks in on the special elections tonight* pic.twitter.com/kRyMVT0M0I — Brandon Finnigan (@B_M_Finnigan) January 17, 2018

Can anything turn the tide — or at least slow it down a little? Well … maybe. The Times has some rare good polling news for the GOP today, finding a sharp uptick in approval for the new tax bill now that extra money’s beginning to show up in people’s paychecks.

The tax overhaul that Mr. Trump signed into law just before Christmas remains relatively unpopular and highly polarizing, according to a new poll conducted for The New York Times by SurveyMonkey. But support for the law has grown significantly over the past month, and more Americans believe that they will receive a tax cut. Forty-six percent of Americans strongly or somewhat approved of the law in early January, up from 37 percent when the bill was nearing passage in December. At the same time, falling unemployment, accelerating economic growth and a surging stock market have made Americans increasingly positive about both their own finances and the overall economy. That could be good news for Republicans hoping to overcome Mr. Trump’s unpopularity in the midterm elections. Michael Moran, a recently retired business executive in Georgia, said the economy in his town an hour north of Atlanta was “red hot.” The job market is so tight, he said, that he can’t even find an electrical contractor to perform repairs on his house.

The Dow has shot the moon, the economy’s booming, companies are paying tax-cut-inspired bonuses, and even blue-collar Americans are seeing more dough. In theory that’s a wave-buster. In theory. But last night’s results are what they are. God help the GOP if economic indicators, their one real breakwall in November, begin to disintegrate. Not even the Senate might be safe.