ICYMI: Wisconsin Democrats Say Enthusiasm Boost Could Lift Party to Success in Legislative Races

Then Democratic President Joe Biden announced his decision to withdraw from his race against Republican former President Donald Trump, and Vice President Kamala Harris and Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz ascended to the top of the party’s ticket.

“I will tell you, it was a little tough to get volunteers before the (presidential) switch, and now we are regularly sending out 100 shifts every weekend (in Racine),” Assembly Minority Leader Greta Neubauer, D-Racine, said in an interview. “People are showing up because they are so excited about the momentum, the hopefulness and the joy of this campaign opportunity, and that, of course, is hugely helpful to our folks as well.”

Wisconsin Democrats recruited candidates to run in every state Senate seat on the ballot and all but two of the 99 Assembly races — the party’s largest recruitment effort in years. Meanwhile, Republicans will fight to maintain their long-held legislative majorities.

Two communities seeing “amazing enthusiasm,” Neubauer said, are Sheboygan and Wausau.

In Sheboygan, Republican Rep. Amy Binsfeld faces a challenge from Democrat Joe Sheehan, who previously served as superintendent of the Sheboygan Area School District. According to an analysis by Marquette University Lubar Center research fellow John Johnson, the new Sheboygan-area district leans 52.1% Democratic.

In Wausau, Rep. Pat Snyder, R-Schofield, will face Weston Democrat Yee Leng Xiong, who currently serves on the Marathon County Board of Supervisors and on the DC Everest School Board. According to the Lubar Center’s Johnson, the new Wausau-area district leans 52.6% Republican.

Legislators and candidates from across the country gathered Monday on the opening day of the Democratic National Convention at an event organized by the Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee — the party’s committee dedicated to winning seats in state legislatures. The DLCC has already pledged to spend nearly $50,000 on races in Wisconsin.

“Wisconsin has been really incredible, because despite really gerrymandered maps, they have continued to create a lot of energy around the opportunity, the future opportunity. We’re really excited about the leadership coming out of that state,” DLCC president Heather Williams said in an interview.

The shift in energy since Harris and Walz took the helm has been “palpable,” Williams said.

“I think that the electorate sees this as a ticket that is forward-looking, that is looking at opportunities for our future and not dwelling on the past, and it’s not a rematch, per se, right? I think that is incredible,” she said. “We have just over 11 weeks to harness this. And I think our work at the legislative level is to make sure that people are voting all the way down the ballot.”

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Asked which states Wisconsin Democrats should look to for road maps, Williams pointed to Minnesota and Michigan, where Democrats secured Capitol trifectas in 2023.

Michigan state Senate Majority Leader Winnie Brinks, of Grand Rapids, said in an interview that it’s been “incredible” to assume majority control of the state Capitol after serving in the minority for a decade.

In the last four years, she said, Democrats have been able to enact policies boosting school funding, regulating gun access and safety, increasing the earned income tax credit and cutting retirement income taxes.

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Knocking on potential voters’ doors is at the core of Wisconsin Democrats’ campaign efforts, Neubauer said.

In those conversations, she said, candidates frequently hear about abortion access, rising costs and democracy.