For over a decade, Wisconsin’s statewide races have been split 50-50 between the two major parties. But due to an extreme gerrymander, the rightwing secured more than 60 percent of the seats in the Legislature in election after election. Wisconsinites have not had full representation in their state legislature, and Governor Evers’ vetoes have been their only protection from the impacts of the worst policies passed by rightwing lawmakers.
Up until now, The States Project’s work in Wisconsin has been targeted at preventing a supermajority. Most recently, in 2022, we helped protect Gov. Evers’ veto power by just two seats in the State Assembly. This November, we will be back in Wisconsin with the goal of shifting the balance of power in the Assembly.
In the 2023 legislative session, Wisconsin’s rightwing Assembly majority pushed unpopular policies that would strip Wisconsinites of their freedoms, including:
Breaking the rightwing majority in even one chamber would create a more effective buffer against unpopular, extremist policies and rightwing power grabs, and allow lawmakers committed to improving lives to get to work.
In 2023, voters broke rightwing control of the State Supreme Court, which held that the legislative maps Wisconsin had been using were invalid. The Court ruled that unless the Legislature and Governor could agree on a remedy, a neutral party should draw nonpartisan districts After months of impasse between Governor Evers and the rightwing majority in the Legislature, new, fairer maps were signed by the Governor earlier this year.
This November, the entire chamber is up for re-election. It won’t be easy, but with these new maps we see a path to flipping the 15 seats we’ll need to shift the balance of power in the Legislature’s lower chamber.
In April 2023, there was 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.
Power our ability to select and invest in majority-making districts that can help build and defend governing power for state lawmakers committed to safeguarding our democracy, protecting personal freedoms, and improving lives across the country.