Dear fellow Wisconsin Democrats,

20,000.

That’s how many doors Dems knocked in the 24th Assembly District special election—where Bob Tatterson ran a powerhouse campaign for the open seat, up against Republican Paul Melotik.

This was a district hand-crafted to look unwinnable to Democrats. In 2022, Dan Knodl won the district, which was gerrymandered as a GOP lock, by 22 points.

And, no surprise, we didn’t win. But guess what?

Thanks to Bob and his team’s hard work, support from the Assembly Dems, help from the three mighty WOW County Democratic Parties—this district is the only one that includes parts of Waukesha, Ozaukee, and Washington County—and tremendous efforts from a vast array of Democratic Party activists and volunteers, that district swung 17 points, down into the single digits. We only lost by 7.

Why celebrate a loss? Three big reasons. The first is that overperforming in special elections is highly predictive of overperforming in general elections. A big analysis of US House special elections found that the party that overperforms generally has the edge the next November. That’s not guaranteed—it’s because it demonstrates that one side is working harder, is better organized, is more focused. Right now, that’s us. So it’s our job to keep that up.

Secondly, we didn’t just turn out the usual suspects in this election. We found people who rarely vote, but when they do, they vote for Democrats—and built relationships with them.

And we found people who used to vote Republican, but now feel that the GOP has gone off the deep end. Those are voters we can turn out in 2024, and enlist to help reelect President Biden.

In other words, we expanded our electorate. We just did this, together in one Assembly district. We’ll keep working in AD24. And we have 98 more districts to go.

And then there’s the third reason to be hopeful: these cartoonishly rigged district lines may be redrawn before 2024. Which means that districts like this might soon be within our grasp.

(In fact, if the lines had stayed where they were for the previous decade, we would have won this past Tuesday.)

We have a philosophy here at the Democratic Party of Wisconsin: FIRE. Fight, Include, Respect, and Empower. When we do all that—when we show up everywhere and work to earn every vote, when we give everyone a role and empower them to make a difference—we don’t always win. But we always move forward. And we prepare the way for the biggest wins that will matter the most.

Enormous thanks and kudos to all who worked so hard for Bob this week. And let’s recommit together to the work ahead, buoyed by this week’s 17-point swing towards progress.

In solidarity,

Ben

Last month, the Biden Administration announced Wisconsin would receive over $1 billion through the Internet for All initiative to expand broadband coverage throughout the state and connect thousands of Wisconsin families and businesses to reliable and affordable high-speed internet. According to the Governor’s Task Force on Broadband Access, this additional funding could help the state meet its goal of connecting every Wisconsinite broadband by the end of the decade.

Since Gov. Evers took office in 2019, more than 395,000 homes and businesses across the state have benefited from broadband expansion in Wisconsin. The new federal funding was made available through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, which passed without the support of a single Wisconsin Republican in Congress, and will support the Public Service Commission’s effort to provide coverage to the more than 450,000 Wisconsin homes and businesses which are underserved by high-speed internet services.

Chair Wikler joined Jim Acosta on CNN last Sunday to highlight the stakes of the 2024 election in Wisconsin and nationwide. Chair Wikler outlined how Wisconsin will once again be the tipping point state for defeating the Republican MAGA agenda and their plans to strip away our rights.

From fundamental questions about reproductive freedom to supporting the American economy with strong Made in America rules and building a clean energy future, it all comes down to 2024—and the 2024 elections will come down to Wisconsin. With several competitive U.S. House races that could flip the House back to Democratic control, Senator Baldwin’s reelection to maintain the Senate Majority, and the fight to reelect President Biden and Vice President Harris and hold the White House—not to mention the state legislative battle royale!—the stakes in Wisconsin couldn’t be higher. That’s why we’re putting in the work now to reach folks in every corner of the Badger State to drive home the message that no one can sit this one out.

It was another embarrassing week for the field of potential GOP Senate challengers in Wisconsin, with ultra-MAGA congressman Tom Tiffany’s subpar fundraising numbers, Scott Mayer’s disastrous interview with the Journal Sentinel, and David Clarke’s delusion fueling headlines around the state.

On Monday, it was reported that ultra-MAGA Tom Tiffany raised the least amount of money of any Wisconsin House member during the most recent fundraising period, despite having publicly flirted with a Senate bid in recent months. Tiffany’s lackluster fundraising totals show Wisconsinites are far from enthusiastic about a potential Tom Tiffany Senate campaign, which doesn’t bode well for the GOP considering the state of possible field.

Case in point: Scott Mayer. Mayer, a GOP megadonor, went through a disastrous interview with the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel this week. During the interview, Mayer was unable to explain why he didn’t vote in 2018 or 2020, whether he supports Donald Trump, his position on gun control, or his stance on the GOP’s attack on diversity, equity, and inclusion programs. In fact, Mayer couldn’t give a solid answer on just about any question, including whether he would challenge Sen. Baldwin in 2024.

According to former Sheriff David Clarke, though, the GOP faithful need not worry about their lacking field of possible candidates. The “second-tier” potential candidate and election denier Clarke said this week that he believes he would win in a general election against Sen. Baldwin. Whichever ultra-MAGA Republican faces Sen. Baldwin in 2024, they will have to contend with Sen. Baldwin’s dynamite record of securing meaningful wins for working Wisconsinites. From the Respect for Marriage Act to the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, Sen. Baldwin is delivering real results for our state—and will continue to do so in her third term.

The WisDems Coalitions Team will be at the Disability Pride Festival in Madison next Saturday, July 29. Disability Pride is a joyful gathering of the disability community and their allies, with local food, arts and crafts, and a raffle, with proceeds going back to the Madison disability community. Cloth masks and sunscreen will be provided. Come down to Sherman Park next weekend to check it out!

Join the WisDems AAPI Coalition next weekend, July 29 and 30, at the 2023 Hmong Wausau Festival in Central Wisconsin! Wisconsin is the proud home to more than 50,000 Hmong residents, and each year, the Hmong Wausau Festival sheds light on the music, arts, sports, and culture of the vibrant Hmong community. Come enjoy amazing food, cultural performances, and friendly competitions next weekend!

The WisDems Coalitions Team will have a booth at Milwaukee’s annual Brady Street Festival next Saturday, July 29. Come down to Milwaukee’s historic Brady Street to experience live music, enjoy amazing food, and meet local community members and neighbors. Remember to swing by the WisDems booth to hear how you can get involved!

The WisDems Coalitions Team has been busy this month, attending events and supporting our diverse Wisconsin communities around the state.

Recently, our Native American Coalition attended the Oneida Powwow and the Indigenous Cultural Arts Day in Portage to celebrate Wisconsin’s resilient Indigenous communities, appreciate their culture and art, and talk to folks about the work WisDems are doing to uplift Indigenous folks around Wisconsin.

The WisDems AAPI Coalition attended the Hmong Sheboygan Summer Festival last weekend, July 14-16. Attendees experienced live music entertainment, a cultural dance competition, athletic competitions, and got to enjoy great food and other local vendors.

The WisDems Black Coalition attended Milwaukee’s Garfield Avenue Blues, Jazz, Gospel, and Arts Festival, a neighborhood celebration featuring an array of live music and entertainment for the whole family and community to enjoy. With local food and vendors filling the streets, it was a wonderful celebration of community in Milwaukee that WisDems was proud to attend.

The WisDems Latino Coalition held a meet and greet with local leaders and allies to discuss the issues that matter most to Wisconsin’s Latino community. We had amazing turnout, and we’re looking forward to connecting with more stakeholders around Wisconsin in the coming months!

The WisDems LGBTQ+ Coalition and the Democratic Party of Kenosha Countyattended Kenosha Pride to celebrate Southeastern Wisconsin’s resilient and diverse LGBTQ+ Community. Our team visited with attendees and talked about the great work our Democratic officials are doing to stand up for LGBTQ+ rights and protect queer folks around our state. Check out the Kenosha County Dems’ Pride booth on TikTok!

The WisDems Rural Caucus was out in full force at Farm Technology Days this week, talking to folks about the work Democrats are doing to support rural and agricultural communities. From passing critical legislation to support family farms to investing in rural infrastructure and health care, Democrats are working hard for Wisconsinites in every corner of our state.

Our Coalitions teams at WisDems work year-round to engage in diverse communities across the state, with specific updates and engagement opportunities to build political power through relational organizing, community events, and more. Sign up for the Weekly Coalitions Newsletter to stay up to date with the work our teams are doing around Wisconsin.

Help us spread the word about our upcoming August Weekend of Action (August 19-20) on social media! We want others to join us as we build communities and have meaningful conversations with our neighbors. Find social media posts here to invite friends and community members to take action: https://wisdems.org/woatoolkit

County Party units from around Wisconsin showed off their progressive pride at Fourth of July parades around the state earlier this month! Check out some of their highlights:

It’s never too early to consider running for elected office! Wisconsin Progress offers local candidate trainings to help those interested in running for local office learn how to run a successful campaign. Head over to wisconsinprogress.org/trainings for more information on how to attend and take the first steps toward running for office and making a lasting difference in your own community.

In preparation for an exciting 2024 election year, WisDems is offering access to our free Candidate Resource Portal. This portal includes a variety of resources across campaign areas (including finance, communications, and more) that are designed to help support local campaigns across the state.

If you’re interested in accessing the Candidate Resource Portal, you can request access at this link or by going to the Candidate Resources button at the bottom of our website. Please note that each member of your campaign team that would like to access the portal must fill out the form individually to receive the access password.

The easiest way to help support our work across the state is by signing up to be a monthly donor for the Democratic Party of Wisconsin. These funds directly allow us to hire and plan sustainably, work to reelect Senator Tammy Baldwin, and save democracy!

Chip in any amount to join the fight!