Dear Fellow Wisconsin Democrats,

Hello from Green Bay, where tomorrow morning we’re kicking off the 2023 WisDems State Convention!

As we come together this weekend, I wanted to take a moment to reflect on all we’ve accomplished in the last year, and to set the stage for what comes next.

We’ve lived through seismic shifts in our political landscape—both in Wisconsin and nationally—since we last gathered in June 2022.

Last year, we gathered for our state convention on the banks of the Mississippi in La Crosse just two days after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade. It was a moment of shock, grief, and outrage. Protests flared across the country, and across Wisconsin. Our state’s pre-Civil War abortion ban suddenly leapt into present reality. We scrambled our agenda, staging a protest on the steps of the Convention in which Governor Evers committed to granting clemency to anyone prosecuted under the abortion ban, and Attorney General Kaul underscored his refusal to redirect law enforcement resources away from public safety and towards prosecuting abortion cases.

At that moment, we didn’t know what the world would look like in the coming months. We faced a world in which basic freedoms we’d counted on were no longer guaranteed. And yet, at the same time, a political uprising was forming. Across lines of geography, gender, age, race, ethnicity, and generation, we channeled the fury of that moment—the loss of the freedom to make your own decisions about your own body, and a democracy on the brink—into a movement demanding change.

In November 2022, voters from across Wisconsin—and across the country—made their voices heard. Spurred by tireless work by volunteers, campaign workers, and candidates, Wisconsin voted for Democratic victories the likes of which hadn’t been seen in decades.

Our wins last November were nothing short of historic: reelecting Governor Evers and Attorney General Kaul, and electing Lieutenant Governor Sara Rodriguez. While we came up just short in the Senate race, Mandela Barnes ran a campaign to be proud of, coming within just one point of defeating an incumbent GOP Senator—closer than any other Democrat in the country to flipping a seat. In the House, a national decision to withhold funds in the 3rd led to a painful loss, but Brad Pfaff and the voters supporting him soared above national expectations and made absolutely clear that the district should always be at the top of Democratic target lists. Meanwhile, in the State Legislature, we (barely!) held off dual-chamber GOP supermajorities, despite maps rigged to ensure total GOP control. And in a slew of other contests at every level, Democrats put in the work to give voters a choice and lift up our values.

Because Gov. Evers won, he can veto GOP bills. Because of a 2,489-vote margin in two Assembly seats, the legislature won’t overturn Governor Evers’s veto. By the narrowest of margins, the road to democracy in Wisconsin survived the midterms.

After November, we took a deep breath… and went right back to work.

This spring, we helped deliver another political earthquake: a resounding 11-point victory for Justice-elect Janet Protasiewicz. Justice-elect Protasiewicz’s victory was a voter uprising, kickstarting the resurrection of democracy and freedom in Wisconsin. And we prevailed in key local races across the state, including the critical mayoral reelections in Racine and right here in Green Bay. Meanwhile, we put Dan Knodl on notice in the 8th Senate District. Kudos to Jodi Habush Synikin for an amazing first campaign.

None of this progress would have been possible without the years of work done by the volunteers, activists, union members, and organizers across our state who never lost the faith that a better future was possible—even when hope seemed all but lost. You all have been working tirelessly to build the Wisconsin we all know is possible, and without your grit and your unending determination, we wouldn’t be standing here—on the precipice of a truly representative democracy, for the first time in nearly a generation.

This year’s convention theme, Working For Wisconsin, speaks to that work ethic, not only by the grassroots volunteers, but by our elected Democratic leaders themselves. From Senator Tammy Baldwin, who has spent her career working for our state and leading with her values, to President Biden and Vice President Harris, who have delivered countless legislative victories for our country, Democrats are working hard for Wisconsin.

We know the next year and a half won’t be easy. Politics in Wisconsin never is. We’re going to apply everything we’ve learned—hard lessons and joyful ones—to reelect President Biden, Vice President Harris, Senator Baldwin, and Democrats up and down the ticket next fall.

Our motto at WisDems, an acronym you see in the titles of the sections each week in this newsletter, is FIRE: Fight, Include, Respect, Empower. We know that it takes all of us, with our varied backgrounds and experiences, demographics and histories, to move our state forward. That understanding lives at the core of who we are as Democrats.

We know that the threat posed by MAGA extremism continues. And we know we need to organize, and fight back. That’s why we’re gathering in Green Bay this weekend. Our state Convention is a chance to hear from officeholders, attend training sessions, conduct official business, and become stronger activists. We’ll celebrate together, and we’ll get on the same page about the plan to win in 2024.

Our work never stops in Wisconsin. But the way we’ve learned that we can rely on one another makes all of us stronger.

I hope to see you all in Green Bay this weekend. Have a great convention!

In solidarity,

Ben

On Monday, the Chair of the Brown County Democratic Party Christy Welch and Secretary of State Sarah Godlewski joined WisEye to preview the 2023 WisDems State Convention.

Sec. Godlewski highlighted the slate of Democratic elected officials that convention attendees will hear from this weekend, and outlined the stakes for Wisconsin heading into the 2024 election while Chair Welch previewed what attendees can expect from the convention this weekend.

Chair Wikler previewed the 2023 State Convention for the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, underscoring the importance of reelecting Senator Baldwin and President Biden next year. The theme of this year’s convention, working for Wisconsin, emphasizes Senator Baldwin’s record of fighting for working Wisconsinites, and Democrats from around the state are fired up to reelect Senator Baldwin and President Biden in 2024.

This week, Senator Baldwin announced a $2.6 billion plan to invest in the Great Lakes and coastal resiliency through the Inflation Reduction Act, which passed without the support of a single Republican in Congress. Senator Baldwin was proud to vote for the Inflation Reduction Act and has encouraged the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to prioritize investing in programs that support Great Lakes Resiliency.

This investment will help Wisconsin communities and Tribal Nations to address the impacts of climate change, bolster their climate resiliency, and support good-paying jobs here in the Badger State, demonstrating how the Inflation Reduction Act is already delivering real results to combat the existential threat of climate change and advance environmental justice.

This week, Republicans in the State Legislature unabashedly prioritized an extreme, out-of-touch agenda while ignoring the challenges facing working Wisconsinites. Republican politicians in Madison have once again put forth a calendar that misses the mark and does not live up to the moment—or the needs of Wisconsin families.

On the agenda for the GOP this week were bills that would prohibit bans on gasoline-powered vehicles and stoves and put harsh new restrictions on the state’s unemployment insurance program, thus making it more difficult for unemployed Wisconsinites to receive their unemployment benefits. In another questionable move, Republican politicians blocked a proposal that would require seventh graders to be vaccinated against meningitis.

While the GOP uses their gerrymandered majorities to push for extreme MAGA policies, Gov. Evers and Democrats are leading. On Saturday, President Biden signed an agreement to avert an economically catastrophic debt default, while Gov. Evers this week announced a new bipartisan shared revenue deal that includes a historic investment in K-12 education.

We are excited to again be partnering with the Rural Power Lab program, incubated at Contest Every Race with Movement Labs, to help Democrats build capacity and county party infrastructure in rural areas across our state.

Interested rural county parties are eligible to apply for the Power Lab program’s grants program, which is designed to boost your efforts in organizing by providing training support, volunteer recruitment, free texting services, partnerships, and quarterly grants of up to $500 for groups meeting monthly organizing goals.

If you’re interested in learning more, please check out the program overview here and apply! The application deadline for Wisconsin’s county parties has been extended through the WisDems State Convention, where you’ll be able to hear more about the program in person.

If you have questions in the meantime, please reach out to Jamie Jarvis at [email protected].