Ever since the incumbent Republican Dale Schultz announced his retirement, Wisconsin Democrats have eyed the 17th Wisconsin Senate District as a possible pickup for them this year. Located west of Dane County, the demographics of the seventeenth have started to skew Democratic, and Schultz himself has moderated his positions over the years, attracting the ire of the right wing of the Republican Party for his independent votes. But, in publicly endorsing a political neophyte with Madison and Milwaukee ties over a native of the district, did the state Democratic party alienate the very voters they are trying to court? Rita Wittwer certainly thinks so. Rita is the wife of former Democratic Senate candidate Ernie Wittwer and has also served as the treasurer of the Richland County Democratic Party. She joined the Buzz on Monday, October 13.