Wisconsin Democrats had a trifecta of wins since Party Chair Ben Wikler took that job in 2019, so delegates at the party’s state convention last weekend chose him to lead through the next three challenges.
Since Wikler moved back to Madison house where he grew up from Washington, D.C., where he directed ’s effort to stop Republicans from repealing the Affordable Care Act, Wisconsin Democrats:
- Led the effort that gave President Joe Biden a win in Wisconsin over President Donald Trump in November 2020, although by the narrowest of margins.
- Re-elected Democratic Gov. Tony Evers to a second term in November 2022 with the most votes — 1.35 million — ever given a candidate for governor.
- With cash and voter turnout drives, helped elect Milwaukee Circuit Court Judge Janet Protasiewicz to the state Supreme Court, giving the court a four-vote liberal majority for the first time in 15 years.
When he congratulated Outagamie County Democrats for reversing past Republican victories in statewide elections and giving Protasiewicz a 51% to 49% win on April 4, Wikler advised them to take only a short “self-care†break.
Make any victory lap short because Wisconsin Democrats face three new major challenges next year, Wikler warns that:
- President Biden must again win the state in November 2024, since Wisconsin will again be one of the few states that will decide who will be the next President.
- Democratic Sen. Tammy Baldwin must win a third term in that election.
- A Democrat must again represent southwest Wisconsin’s Third Congressional District, where Republican Rep. Derrick VanOrden ended 25 years of Democratic control in 2022.
Stressing that what happens in Wisconsin in November 2024 could determine who is elected President, which party controls the Senate and whether Democrats win back the U.S. House, Wikler says Wisconsin “is at the center of the political vortex†of the nation.
“Wisconsin is seemingly the only state perched seemingly on the knife’s edge,†he adds. “For the first time, we’re not just playing defense. It’s not about ‘losing by less.’ We have an opportunity to win, and change lives.â€
Wikler has built the largest staff — about 60 employees — of any state Democratic Party in the nation. He challenges the party’s 12-member “digital team†to come up with new ways to use social media and raise millions of dollars, which he can then direct to individual Democratic campaigns thanks to a Republican-passed 2015 change in election laws.
Wikler is a “fundraising powerhouse,†said Rep. Lee Snodgrass, of Appleton, also a state party leader. “If you don’t have the money, you can’t build the infrastructure — and his fundraising allowed us to have that year-round.â€
State Ethics Commission reports document Wikler’s fundraising prowess: The party’s main account reported contributions of $23.8 million, and spending of $25.3 million, in 2022. The party disclosed donaions of $22.5 million, and expenses of $23.8 million, in 2020 — the first full year Wikler led it.
Wikler has a national profile. His Twitter posts several times a day pound the party’s messages. A favorite of MSNBC, he is often interviewed on national TV.
But the Wikler-led party failed to defeat Republican U.S. Sen. Ron Johnson last year. Wikler says the campaign of Democrat Mandela Barnes didn’t have enough late-campaign cash to run ads both defending him against GOP soft-on-crime charges and introducing Barnes.
And the Democratic Party faces two major challenges: The number of Democratic legislators continues to drop, which Wikler attributes to Republican-drawn district lines he expects to soon be challenged in court. And, voters across rural Wisconsin overwhelmingly voted for Trump in 2016 and 2020.
Still, Wikler’s first term impressed veteran observers of Wisconsin politics.
“Wikler has presided over a period of real accomplishment for Democrats in Wisconsin,†said UW-Madison Political Science Professor Barry Burden.
“Aside from the re-election of Ron Johnson, the loss of the congressional seat held by Ron Kind, and the GOP’s institutionalized lock on the Legislature, Democrats have won essentially every prominent election since Wikler became chair,†Burden says, adding:
“Taking back control of the Supreme Court is the latest accomplishment that showcased the party’s fundraising and organizing. Wikler appears to be beloved by regulars in the party and is often held up as a model for chairs in other states.â€
His reward? Two more years as party chair.
