The Opportunity

Momentum is on our side in Wisconsin. Pro-democracy lawmakers in both chambers have increased influence in a legislature that has been under rightwing control since 2010. Majorities in both chambers are possible in 2026 — and we’re already working to help flip these chambers and fuel a new trifecta in Wisconsin!

The Stakes

So far this session, lawmakers committed to improving lives in Wisconsin are: 

• Prioritizing policies to help keep new moms healthy, including a measure to expand postpartum Medicaid coverage from 60 days to a full year — which 20 percent of new moms in Wisconsin rely on for healthcare
• Fighting to repeal unpopular and dangerous abortion restrictions to ensure 1.3 million Wisconsinites of reproductive age have the freedom to make their own healthcare decisions
• Working to safeguard their constituents from a potential federal freeze on already approved funding for Wisconsin, which could have a devastating impact on schools, childcare centers, hospitals, and even farmers awaiting reimbursement for conservation work they already paid for out of pocket. 

But without governing power for lawmakers committed to improving the lives of all Wisconsinites, these policies can’t reach Governor Evers’ desk. That’s why we’re working to flip six seats in the Assembly and three in the Senate to build new majorities. Achieving our goal in even one chamber would give lawmakers committed to improving lives the power to get more done for their constituents AND create an even more effective buffer against unpopular, extremist policies and rightwing power grabs.

The Landscape

In 2024, we exceeded our goals in the State Senate: winning all four of the needed seats and breaking the rightwing supermajority. The new chamber is just two seats away from a new majority. Staggered terms in this chamber mean that only half the chamber is up for election every two years, so there will be new opportunities to pick up seats and flip the chamber in 2026. 

In 2024, if just 1,890 votes had changed across five seats, we would have broken the majority in the Assembly! This chamber is within striking distance of a new majority in 2026.

While TSP has worked in Wisconsin since 2020, this was the first time we saw a clear path to building new majorities. We powered over nine times more than the next largest national coordinated funder, helping to flip 10 seats in the Assembly and 4 seats in the Senate.

In April 2023, The States Project invested in a special election that presented the opportunity to break the Wisconsin Senate supermajority. The stakes were high — in a district that Trump won by five points, the rightwing candidate actually campaigned on the idea that the Senate supermajority could impeach judges, Cabinet Members, or even a Justice from the State Supreme Court.

The States Project supported the challenger who ran to protect democracy — and the race came down to 1,296 votes in a race where more than 75,000 were cast. After a closer than expected election, he backtracked on impeaching State Supreme Court Justices, a huge win considering that the rightwing lost their majority in the Wisconsin State Supreme Court.

Even in 2022, rightwing lawmakers continued attempts to decertify the rightful 2020 Presidential election results, with election deniers running for state legislative seats and lawmakers who would admit that Biden won, including Majority Leader Jim Steineke, deciding to leave public office.

The States Project and our partners at Vote Save America teamed up to prevent a supermajority in the Wisconsin Assembly. The rightwing needed five seats, and they only gained three — we helped to stop them from getting to the supermajority threshold and protected Governor Evers’ veto.

The States Project’s 2020 electoral work in Wisconsin helped relieve the pressures of an expanding field and enabled the minority in the Assembly to gain their largest number of seats since the gerrymander was enacted after the 2010 Tea Party wave.

We had two narrow losses, with candidates we supported losing by margins under 6 percent.