Dear fellow Wisconsin Democrats,

Yesterday, we all heard the verdict: Donald Trump, guilty on 34 counts.

No one—not even a former president—is above the law.

And yet, today, Trump is still the Republican nominee for president.

12 jurors did their job. But now, the jury that matters most here is… you.

Since birth, Donald Trump has believed he’d never face consequences for his actions. No consequences for losing elections. No consequences for breaking the law.

His response to the verdict was predictably unrepentant: “It’s a rigged trial.”

Sound familiar? “Rigged” is one of Trump’s favorite words.

The verdict didn’t change Trump’s version of “reality,” even though it certainly changed the real-life consequences he might face. But it also doesn’t change a dangerous reality for the American people: Donald Trump, convicted felon or not, will be on the ballot in November. No court can decide whether he’s elected president. Only we, the people, can decide that.

At every step in Trump’s ascent to power—and after his fall from it—Trump has been consumed by a ravenous hunger for dominance and revenge. Revenge on his enemies is his central campaign promise. “I am your retribution”—that’s a quote from his stump speech. He broke the law while running for president in 2016. As president, he tried to turn the entire government into a political weapon. He was impeached for threatening Ukraine if they didn’t manufacture fake attacks against Biden. Then he fomented an insurrection to hold on to power.

If Trump lies his way back into the White House, the worst is yet to come.

Project 2025—Trump’s blueprint for his second term—makes clear that if he regains power, he’ll have a full-scale game plan to finally put his authoritarian revenge fantasies into practice. He’ll purge civil servants who aren’t willing to break laws for him. He’ll deport critics. He’ll dismantle democracy as we know it. Trump has demanded that the Constitution be “terminated” so he can regain and keep power. He’s pledged to be a dictator “on day one.”

But at this moment, this possibly fleeting moment—the people still decide.

The only way to keep Trump out of the Oval Office is to organize our way to victory.

Wisconsin is the center of the storm. In July, the GOP will descend on Milwaukee for their national convention and anoint Trump as the Republican nominee for president. The entire MAGA coalition is rallying behind Trump, and their eyes will all be turned right here. Whoever wins Wisconsin this November will take the oath of office next January.

Let’s make it the ultimate irony that Trump’s third attempt to win the White House will start in Wisconsin—by ensuring that Wisconsin is exactly where it will end.

Volunteer. Knock on doors. Make phone calls. Talk to voters in your community, and around the state. Help spread the word that Democrats are the party of democracy.

The one consequence of his actions that Trump truly cares about is, in fact, in your hands.

Don’t walk away. Don’t mourn. Organize.

In solidarity,

Ben