Delegates at the Democratic Party of Wisconsin convention over the weekend expressed optimism about winning trifecta control of state government in November even as many activists remained undecided in the party’s seven-way gubernatorial primary.
William Garcia, the chair for the 3rd Congressional District, has not made up his mind who he will support, though he said that it’s “becoming more realistic that we’re going to gain all three of those” branches of government, “and be able to really transform Wisconsin government in a way that helps Wisconsin working people.”
“It’s hard. It’s a difficult, difficult decision, and most people I talk to here have not made up their mind yet,” Garcia said of the convention.
Evers says Tiffany would leave Wisconsin in bad shape
On the first day of the convention current elected officials weighed in on what Democrats need to do to win this year. Party members also expressed gratitude to outgoing Gov. Tony Evers, who opted not to seek a third term, creating Wisconsin’s first open gubernatorial race since 2010.
A tribute video recapped Evers’ two terms in office starting with his first election in 2018 when he defeated former Republican Gov. Scott Walker, his leadership during the COVID-19 pandemic, his support for LGBTQ+ Wisconsinites, the adoption of new voting maps, ending a Republican gerrymander in 2024 and his support for abortion rights following the overturning of Roe v. Wade.
“You’ve probably heard of a guy named Tom Tiffany,” Evers said to booing from delegates, referring to the Republican U.S. representative running for governor. “Maybe you haven’t. We can’t all be the most popular elected official in the state,” he said, a nod to his positive numbers in statewide polling from Marquette Law School.
“Talk about someone who will give you the willies,” Evers said of Tiffany. He warned that Wisconsin “will end up even worse than this position and where we were when I took office eight years ago” if Tiffany wins in November.
Evers said Tiffany has spent his time in Congress “saying, ‘no’ to Wisconsin, and ‘yes’ to Donald Trump.” He listed Tiffany’s votes to cut Medicaid, to allow Affordable Care Act tax credits to expire, against the CHIPS and Science Act, which funneled federal money to Wisconsin, and in opposition to the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law.
In the weeks leading up to the convention, Democratic divisions were on display as lawmakers and Evers publicly clashed over their differences on a tax cut and school funding deal negotiated by Evers and Republican leaders, which legislative Democrats helped defeat. Evers said he was sure Senate Minority Leader Dianne Hesselbein (D-Middleton) had “people wrapped around her finger by giving them jobs that they want” and that there wouldn’t be another vote on the deal if she was against it. Those divisions were on ice during the convention, as Evers said Democrats need to come together to win in November.
“All of this is on the line if Tom Tiffany makes it to the East Wing. We cannot let this happen,” Evers said. “I know how to win, so take it from me. Our Democratic candidate for governor will need every single one of us when they win the primary, and immediately from day one, we’ll not have time for anyone to be sitting on the sidelines.”
Dems ‘might even flip more’ Senate seats
Throughout the convention, Democrats expressed optimism about winning majorities in the Senate and Assembly for the first time in 15 years.
In the Senate, Democrats currently hold 15 of the 33 Senate Districts. They need to hold their current districts and flip two additional districts to win a majority.
Hesselbein said on Saturday evening that Democrats’ path to a majority will come via flipping four districts: Senate District 5, an open district currently represented by retiring Sen. Rob Hutton (R-Brookfield), Senate District 17, currently represented by incumbent Sen. Howard Marklein (R-Spring Green), Senate District 21, an open district currently represented by Sen. Van Wanggaard (R-Racine), and Senate District 25, an open district currently represented by Sen. Romaine Quinn, who plans to run in a different district this year.
“Who knows with all this nonsense we see from Trump and the chaos, mass confusion coming out of D.C., we might even flip more,” Hesselbein said.
Trevor Jung, who most recently worked as the transit director for the city of Racine, is seeking to flip the 21st Senate District. He told the Examiner that he felt an optimism among Democrats at the convention that bodes well for “a lot of hard work, knocking on doors, talking to voters, and winning in November” and is sure Democrats are united.
“Regardless of what’s happening in the halls of the Capitol, you saw here [Saturday], you know, everybody standing on their feet for a governor who has done an excellent job for the people of Wisconsin,” Jung said. “I think what people are thinking about is in less than six months we’re going to have a completely different state government with a different governor, different leadership, and that’s when we’re going to be able to really solve a lot of these problems.”
Since Jung entered the race, Wanggaard, the district’s longtime Republican incumbent, announced he would not run again. Republican businessman Jim Croft is also running for the seat.
“We are making the cost of living and the economy the No. 1 issue in this election,” Jung said.
Assembly Minority Leader Greta Neubauer (D-Racine) joined the convention Saturday evening via a video message with her daughter, Ingrid, who was born a week ago.
“It is time for new leadership. In Wisconsin, leadership should put the people first. This is the moment that we have worked tirelessly for, and we finally have an opportunity to win a Democratic trifecta in November,” Neubauer said. “It is going to take all of us to get this done between now and November. We have to help people imagine a different future for our state. People need to know that we can build a Wisconsin where they are not one medical emergency away from going broke, where their kids can thrive at their public school and where we can all raise a family when we win.”
Democrats in the Assembly need to capture an additional five seats to flip the body.
Garcia said the state’s new legislative maps are helping Democrats’ chances of winning in the Legislature, especially in the Assembly.
“The Assembly races look so much different because Republican resources are stretched so thin,” Garcia said. “Because now that we’ve got these fair maps, now that they have to spend money on every race, you can tell that they’re making decisions like, we’re not going to spend money on this race.”
Gubernatorial candidates work to win over support
The top of the ticket is still unsettled with the primary fast approaching in August. Democratic Party of Wisconsin Chair Devin Remiker put a positive spin on the crowded field, saying Democrats’ general election nominee “will have earned it.”
“They will have worked hard. They will not just have had a Truth Social tweet that went from Donald Trump that anointed the nominee like on the Republican side with Tom Tiffany,” Remiker said in his speech Saturday. “This is really what a healthy party looks like. This is what a party with new ideas, energy and leadership looks like.”
“We have 143 days,” Remiker added. “All gas, no brakes.”
In March, a Marquette Law School poll found that 65% of Democratic primary voters were undecided. At the convention, Democratic hopefuls were focused on trying to win over party activists
The seven Democrats who will appear on the primary ballot include former Lt. Gov. Mandela Barnes, state Rep. Francesca Hong (D-Madison), Lt. Gov. Sara Rodriguez, Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley, former Wisconsin Economic Development Corp. CEO Missy Hughes, former head of Gov. Tony Evers’ Department of Administration Joel Brennan and state Sen. Kelda Roys.
On Saturday evening, delegates had the opportunity to meet candidates in their themed hospitality suites, including “Kelda’s Classroom” and “The Mandela Effect”, a remake of a Wisconsin dive bar and Crowley’s “Disco Night with David.” Hong’s hospitality room had the lights turned low, music playing and the Knicks vs. Spurs game playing on a wall.
Each candidate had about five minutes on Sunday afternoon to pitch themselves to party activists. Many criticized Tiffany and Trump as they outlined their visions for the state.
Lt. Gov. Sara Rodriguez called herself the “proven winner” who can beat Tiffany, saying he is “afraid of fired-up Democrats ready to win this November.” She said that now is the time to stand up to “MAGA extremists like Tom Tiffany, who does whatever Trump tells him to do, rubber-stamping tax breaks for billionaires.”
“Since I’ve been your lieutenant governor, I’ve done what any nurse would do: Show up, listen, care, be there where it counts and stay until the job is done,” Rodriguez said.
Brennan started by acknowledging “what’s happening in our country.”
“We have a president who blows up the economy on a whim. It is relentless. It is intended to make us feel overwhelmed, like there’s nothing we can do,” Brennan said. “But here’s what I know about Wisconsin Democrats. We don’t quit. We’ve seen this before in Wisconsin.”
Brennan mentioned former Gov. Walker, saying he “gutted the public sector” and “hollowed out schools.” He emphasized the work he did with Evers as the head of the Department of Administration to rebuild the state after eight years of a Republican trifecta.
“We are not going back. For the first time in the generation, it stops,” Brennan said. “The Democrats can stop playing defense and go on the offensive.”
Crowley didn’t mention Trump until the end of his allotted time, starting instead with his “Badger Basics” policy pitch, which centers on “affordability,” “care” and “pursuing opportunity.” He proposed cutting the “minimum markup” law on gas to help lower prices. He also described his background growing up in a low-income family in Milwaukee.
“I learned that when systems fail, it’s families who pay the price,” Crowley said. “I’m tired of politicians who spend all their time talking about problems and none of their time solving, and here’s the reality: winning elections matter y’all, because none of these ideas actually become reality unless Democrats win this upcoming November.”
Crowley added that bad poll numbers for Trump do not mean a Democrat will automatically win the governor’s office in November. He said the state needs a nominee who will “build a coalition that reaches every corner of the state of Wisconsin” and addressed head-on the question of his race as an African American candidate in a largely white state.
Wisconsin has never elected a Black governor.
“As I travel, people always ask me, ‘David, can a Black candidate become governor?’” he said.
Someone in the audience shouted out: “Hell yeah!”
“If it’s a candidate that has a plan that’s built on proven public policy, not whatever the latest poll says is popular,” Crowley continued. “Then, yes, the answer is simple, y’all.”
Cindy George, chair of the Trempealeau County Democrats, told the Examiner Saturday before the speeches that she made her decision about supporting Crowley in the primary after hearing from each candidate in person at their county party meetings.
“That’s how I really get my vibe about people, is just to meet them in person, because you don’t really get their true nature looking at a website or looking at a piece of paper,” George said. “He really had that good, well-rounded experience.” She added that “he wants to work across the table, and that’s the only one I’ve really heard say that.”
“That’s not why I solely picked him, but I love that aspect because I think we need to get back to that. That’s one thing that’s been lost with the Trump agenda,” George said. “It’s my way or the highway with them.”
Barnes highlighted his background as an organizer and his childhood in Milwaukee before moving to the national moment. He said he’s running for governor to do things the “Wisconsin Way” by taxing the rich, freezing utility rates, funding public schools, passing universal child care, and providing healthcare access to Wisconsinites.
“I know firsthand that we’re living in a rigged system. Everybody in this room knows that we’re living in a rigged system, and we see the rich become richer and richer… Donald Trump is the most corrupt president in the history of our country and Wisconsin continues to pay the price,” Barnes said. “From day one of this campaign, my focus has been taking the fight directly to Donald Trump’s hand-picked rubber stamp Tom Tiffany.” Barnes added that Tiffany is “corrupt.”
Roys took note of the national political moment before telling the audience that she has bills and plans, including opening up the state’s health insurance plan and investing the state budget surplus in schools, to help make Wisconsin a “beacon of progress” again. She also touted an endorsement from former Lt. Gov. Barbara Lawton and from the Wisconsin Education Association Council (WEAC), the state’s largest teachers union.
“This is a terrifying moment. Our democracy is under existential threat. Our economy… is controlled by the wealthiest, most powerful corporations in the world,” Roys said. “We have the power to change that.”
Alexander McDonough, a 20-year-old delegate from Vernon County who supports Hong and attended with his grandmother Christine McDonough, told the Examiner that Roys’ speech stood out to him, but not for positive reasons.
“I’m just so used to, like, fear-mongering, and like, this giant gloomy shadow above head, and it was just kind of like, I don’t know, I’m completely null to it at this point,” McDonough said.
McDonough said Hong’s “politics of hope” appears powerful to him.
“So many young people, such as myself, are totally apathetic to any sort of politics or community engagement, and to have that candidate I can funnel that hope and just instill that vision of the future is so valuable,” McDonough said.
Hong, a Democratic socialist, sought to draw a parallel between her candidacy and Wisconsin legacies including Vel Phillips, the first woman elected to statewide office, Fighting Bob La Follette, a leader of the national progressive movement from Wisconsin, and environmentalist Gaylord Nelson, the founder of Earth Day.
“People before us, who imagined a better world and fought like hell to realize it, these folks were called unreasonable, impractical, and unelectable,” Hong said. “Today, they are considered visionaries because possibility is found only by our ambition.
Hong declared her support for a moratorium on data center construction and for universal child care and paid family leave.
“I am the only candidate in this race who takes income and power inequality seriously,” Hong said. “When we acknowledge that [people] are getting screwed over, but that a better world is possible, they show up. We talk a whole lot of games about opposing Trump. That’s not enough to win a trifecta,” Hong said. “If we don’t build the power and organize the people required to deliver a better Wisconsin, if we don’t give people something that they can believe in, we’ll go back to fighting for survival every single election.”
Striking a different tone, Hughes spoke about her background working for Organic Valley, a farmer-owned cooperative and the Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation, and also told delegates that Wisconsin needs to fund public schools, build housing and create a healthcare system that works for everyone.
“We have work to do. Every bit of that work, will take resources, and we have to think about where those resources are going to come from,” Hughes said, adding that Wisconsinites “will trust us to deliver economic justice, but they know that in order to have economic justice, you have to have economic growth, and we have to deliver a candidate to them who has a proven record of results of building economic growth.”
