Thread by @benwikler

On Tuesday, Wisconsinites went to the polls in thousands of local elections. Republicans wanted a wave. They didn’t get one. In community after community, Dems fought back, and—in so many places, though not everywhere—won. A thread of appreciation. 1/

In a 50/50 state, during a tough year for Democrats, we won more than we lost. Out of 276 races where @WisDems actively engaged, investing in organizing, digital, and/or mail to voters, we won 147 of the races. Check out a few key victories here:

https://twitter.com/WisDems/status/1511522202222477319

Republicans notched some victories too—but mostly in red areas. For example, Fox News talked about GOP victories in Waukesha school board races without ever mentioning that Trump won Waukesha.
video.foxnews.com/v/630309728400…

In fact, Democratic performance in conservative Milwaukee suburbs—relative to, say, 2018 numbers—looked strong. To pick one example, Judge Lori Kornblum lost a tough race. But she won 40.4% in Waukesha County. Joe Biden got 38.8% in Waukesha County in ‘20 while winning statewide.

In Judge Kornblum’s entire district, Kornblum won 45.5%. Joe Biden won 41.4% in 2020 in the same area. If statewide Democratic candidates do as well in Kornblum’s district as she did, they’ll be *extremely* well-positioned this November.

Meanwhile, the right ran *hard* in school board races in blue and purple areas—like La Crosse, Eau Claire, Appleton, Beloit, Fond du Lac, and Oshkosh—and fell flat. Over and over, the progressive school board candidates won against divisive GOP-backed candidates.

Great candidates lost tough County Exec elections in Kenosha and Portage County. But great candidates also *won* local elections in both of those counties against GOP-backed candidates. And in Racine, which went for Trump, Dems came within 50 votes of flipping the County Board.

One particularly welcome note: pro-democracy poll worker beat Kelly Ruh, the fake elector subpoenaed by the Jan 6 Commission, who was running for re-election as a De Pere alder. It’s a win for democracy and accountability.

https://twitter.com/WisDems/status/1511539339892871170

And, while the election was never in doubt, we were proud to support @CavalierJohnson as he won in a landslide to become Milwaukee’s first elected Black mayor.

https://twitter.com/WisDems/status/1511520406934597635

We were thrilled to see Pheng Thao make history as the first elected Hmong member of the Appleton school board—one of the many Democratic-supported candidates that won in Appleton and throughout the purple Fox Valley.

https://twitter.com/mjwongengel/status/1511579117799587840

Wisconsin Republicans have been trumpeting their wins, and I totally get it—I’m sure they’re thrilled to have something to cheer about after losing 11 of the last 12 statewide elections here. But what they didn’t do is figure out a message that resonates beyond their base.

If the spring is predictive of the fall—and honestly, it’s never a straight line from one to the other—then the most valid takeaway is this: Wisconsin is going to be intense, turnout will be huge, and both sides will have to fight for every vote.

https://twitter.com/jrrosswrites/status/1511548628472635396

We’ve already begun the process of redoubling our work in the fall, to reelect Gov. Tony Evers, beat Ron Johnson, and elect Democrats up and down the ticket. But first, a note of appreciation to my personal heroes of April 5.

Huge, huge thanks to the people who had the guts to get on the ballot. It takes a lot of courage to run for office, but you knew that politics is not a spectator sport. Thank you for firmly believing that Wisconsin is for all of us—and for fighting for it.

Whether you won or lost, candidates this spring helped energize voters and volunteers whom we’ll absolutely need in November. The decision to participate in self-government, the guts to face an electorate, makes democracy possible. Thank you.

Thanks also to the family members of all those who ran—we know you went through a lot, too. And to everyone who served on a kitchen cabinet or helped a candidate continue when things got tough: your work is unsung but invaluable.

Immense gratitude to the many county party members, leaders, and neighborhood team activists who showed up in these local races. Our state party is only as strong as our county parties and grassroots leaders who are on the frontlines of our democracy.

And regardless of whether we won or lost, this was a free, fair, and secure election. Thank you to our poll workers and election administrators who helped run our elections smoothly. (And no thank you to the Wisconsin Supreme Court which nixed drop boxes.)

To the staff of @WisDems, I couldn’t be more grateful to work with you. This spring election involved every single department of this party: organizing, political, elections, comms, digital, operations, & finance—and the results will shape our state & politics for years to come.

Our work springs directly from our values: Fight, Include, Respect, and Empower—FIRE. We work across lines of race, ethnicity, geography, and gender, lifting up communities all over the state. Our values drive us to show up everywhere. And it’s also necessary to win.

Everyone on our staff poured their hearts and souls into this election, but I want to name three people in particular.

Nick Truog, aka @liberalstallion—the @WisDems Political Director—architected the program to support hundreds of local candidates and assembled a killer team to run it. My jaw hits the floor every time I see your team’s spreadsheets. Just spectacular.

Anna Surrey @annasurrey25 led our coordinated team—organizing, data, and voter protection—in one of the most complex and hyper-local election battles I’ve ever heard of. A million spinning plates, a million fires to put out, all gas, no brakes. Astonishing.

And a special note of thanks also to @remiker_devin, who no longer has the word “interim” before the title “executive director.” Your work in this election was mind-blowing to watch, and makes me even more excited for the fall.

The Democratic Party of Wisconsin is just one part of the progressive fabric of our state. Alongside the candidate campaigns and Democratic Party—from neighborhood teams to county parties to other units to the state staff—is the unstoppable array of independent groups.

HUGE thanks to @ElectEducators @wisaflcio @aflcio @WEAC @AFTWisconsin @AFTunion @AmericaVotes @ForOurFutureWI @forourfuture @VDLF_Action @WIProgress @wiworkingfam @prioritiesUSA @PPAWI @LIT_wi @powertothepolls @BlueSkyWaukesha @ABetterWis—& the many others who worked hard!

And thank you to the Wisconsin voters who made it their job to stay involved, get out there, and cast their ballots—during one of the most exhausting periods in our history. Because of you, far more Wisconsinites will be served by people who actually believe in public service.

We’ll be learning everything we can from this spring election, and we’ve created new ways to work in local elections that will serve us powerfully this fall, in 2023’s spring elections, and beyond. Wisconsin’s elections will remain extremely hard-fought.

Now, the fight continues. We have a democracy to protect, and it’s on all of us. Let’s use everything we’ve learned, all our inspiration—and channel it into reelecting Governor Evers, beating Johnson, reelecting Josh Kaul, and fighting for every office up & down ballot.

If you believe in our mission to keep showing up every day of the year, not just a couple of months before an election, consider becoming a WisDems monthly donor—we’d be honored to have you: secure.actblue.com/donate/wisdems…

Let’s keep making Wisconsinites’ lives better—no matter where we live, what we look like, who we love, or how we pray. And let’s continue to charge forward into victory on November 8. Thank you for being with us. Forward!