Thread by @benwikler

END OF QUARTER DEADLINE: in order to codify abortion rights into law nationally and protect abortion access in our state, we need to win Wisconsin this fall. This thread lays out exactly why and how. Read on—and become a monthly donor to support the fight: secure.actblue.com/donate/juneeom…

The national fight to reinstate reproductive freedom runs through Wisconsin, as I’ll lay out downthread. In the meantime, it’s a state-by-state battle. Wisconsin has a pre-Civil War law from 1849 that could ban abortions in nearly all cases.

.@Tony4WI, anticipating the Roe overturn, called for a special session of the state legislature to repeal Wisconsin’s pre-Civil War abortion law. It took the GOP-led State Senate just 15 seconds to gavel in and out of the session.

https://twitter.com/StateSenLaTonya/status/1540338164711276552

But Governor Evers didn’t stop there. This week, he and our Democratic Attorney General, @JoshKaulWI, sued to make sure abortions are accessible in Wisconsin. jsonline.com/story/news/pol…

Moreover, Governor Evers announced this weekend that he would use his powers as governor to grant clemency to doctors for violating the abortion ban.
wpr.org/evers-offers-c…

This is nothing new for Gov Evers: He’s been the brick wall against Republicans’ war on reproductive health. He’s vetoed 9 bills sent to him to restrict reproductive rights in WI—all of which would become law if the GOP wins the governorship this November.
jsonline.com/story/news/pol…

And for his part, Attorney General Kaul has vowed that, as long as he’s the AG, Wisconsin Department of Justice resources won’t be used to enforce our 19th-century abortion ban.
apnews.com/article/us-sup…

The four Republicans running for governor are all anti-abortion radicals. Every one of them has advocated for abortion bans that go even beyond the 1849 law and have vowed to pursue even more extreme restrictions on reproductive health care.

For example, Rebecca Kleefisch @RebeccaforReal, Scott Walker’s former lieutenant governor, has said she opposes abortion under any circumstance.
wkow.com/news/why-wisco…

Rebecca Kleefisch’s spokesperson confirmed @RebeccaforReal opposes any exemption including for the “life of the mother.”
wisdems.org/news/kleefisch…

Trump-endorsed Tim Michels @michelsforgov has previously said he believes in no exceptions for rape or incest when it comes to abortions.

Here’s how he reacted to the news of the Supreme Court decision:

https://twitter.com/michelsforgov/status/1540346924607438849

Anti-Choice Kevin Nicholson @KevinMNicholson on abortion: “I'm not looking to add exceptions to anything.” In fact, he has the endorsement of extreme anti-choice organizations & supported dangerous “crisis pregnancy centers.”

How he took the Roe overturn:

https://twitter.com/KevinMNicholson/status/1540343988741357569

Tim Ramthun @timothy_ramthun: ​​“I am hardcore, 100% pro-life without exceptions.”

His reaction to Dobbs:

https://twitter.com/timothy_ramthun/status/1540808646958804992

The majority of Wisconsinites support Roe—yet every single one of these candidates is out of touch with what Wisconsinites want. With our GOP-majority Legislature, any of them in the governor’s office would be disastrous for reproductive rights in WI.

https://twitter.com/MULawPoll/status/1486357846581297155

There’s a federal bill to codify Roe v. Wade and Casey into law: the Women’s Health Protection Act. Its lead sponsor: none other than Wisconsin Senator Tammy Baldwin. It’s already passed the house. It has 49 co-sponsors in the Senate.

https://twitter.com/SenatorBaldwin/status/1522020896646516737

To turn the Women’s Health Protection Act into law, we need to hold the House and follow Senator Tammy Baldwin’s advice by electing more Senate Dems so we can end the filibuster and pass it.
actforwomen.org

The Cook Political Report lists three Dem-held Senate seats as toss-ups (AZ, GA, NV) and two R-held seats: PA and Wisconsin. If we win all five of those, we’ll have 52 Dem Senators. Out of those five states, there’s just one incumbent R: Ron Johnson.
cookpolitical.com/ratings/senate…

The other currently-Republican toss-up state is Pennsylvania, where the GOP incumbent is retiring. That makes Ron Johnson THE most vulnerable incumbent running this cycle. He’s the one we need to oust in order to codify Roe.

Ron Johnson tells Wisconsinites that if they don’t like the abortion laws in their state, they simply “can move.”
journaltimes.com/news/ron-johns…

The most recent public polling on Johnson was conducted earlier this month, before the Dobbs decision & Jan 6 revelations, but after his campaign & GOP outside groups had spent millions in TV ads to rebrand himself as a moderate. His approval rating? 37%.

https://twitter.com/MULawPoll/status/1539669089731284993

We have a very real chance of defeating Johnson. But it’s going to take constant, intensive organizing and communicating. By becoming a monthly WisDems donor, you help make that possible.

Goal: 100 new monthly donors by midnight tonight.

Sign up now?
secure.actblue.com/donate/juneeom…

Of course, it’s not enough to add a Senator—we also have to hold the House. And to hold the House, we need to hold Wisconsin’s 3rd Congressional District, which voted for a Dem for Congress—Ron Kind—*and* for Trump in both ‘16 and ‘20. And now Ron Kind’s retiring.

Holding the House will be a huge fight. There are a *lot* more Dem-held toss-up seats than GOP-held. But Dobbs and the Jan 6 Committee are game-changing. We’ll need WI-03 to hold the majority. And in this particular race, the GOP nominee is *terrible.*
cookpolitical.com/ratings/house-…

In 2020, Derrick Van Orden ran as the GOP nominee for WI-03, but failed to defeat Ron Kind. Then on January 6, 2021, he attended the January 6 “Stop the Steal” rally—even used campaign funds to fly to D.C. for it.

https://twitter.com/benwikler/status/1540113049549475840

There are a lot of other things wrong with Derrick Van Orden: he’s 1) currently on probation for trying to bring a loaded gun on a plane; 2) a self-proclaimed sexual harasser; and 3) made a public library teenage volunteer feel threatened because of a Pride Month book display.

Van Orden is on the ballot to run again this fall in Wisconsin’s 3rd CD. We’re making sure Wisconsinites know this Big Lie candidate is completely disqualified from any elected office:

In 2020, only seven Congressional districts in the country voted for Trump while electing a Democrat to the House. WI-03 was one of those. The GOP only needs to net 5 seats to get a majority. So we have to hold WI-03. But we can beat Derrick Van Orden.

We’ve got four dynamite candidates in the Democratic primary. We’ll know our nominee (against Van Orden and Ron Johnson) after our primary on Aug 9. But the Democratic Party of Wisconsin is using every day between now and then to prepare for the general election.

To ensure we hold the House this midterm election, and stop Derrick Van Orden from getting anywhere near the Capitol as a U.S. House Rep (as opposed to as an insurrectionist), pitch into our year-round organizing operation and become a monthly donor:
secure.actblue.com/donate/juneeom…

In Wisconsin, you have Democrats doing everything in their power to fight back against WI’s abortion ban—and on the other hand, Republicans not only welcoming it but pledging to go further. Become a monthly donor to help us fight this fight in Wisconsin: secure.actblue.com/donate/juneeom…

When you support the @WisDems, you help us reelect @Tony4WI AND reelect @JoshKaulWI AND beat Ron Johnson AND beat Derrick Van Orden—oh, AND ensure Republicans don’t get supermajorities in our state legislature.
secure.actblue.com/donate/juneeom…

It’s up to each of us to do everything we can do—just as Governor Evers, Senator Baldwin, and AG Kaul are doing. That means protesting, organizing, voting… and donating.

Vote: myvote.wi.gov
Volunteer: wisdems.org/volunteer
Donate: wisdems.org/roe

TONIGHT: it’s the last day of the second quarter, a huge fundraising deadline. I’m hosting a live emergency strategy briefing to talk about our pathway forward, just for our grassroots donors who help us fund our critical year-round work.
secure.actblue.com/donate/juneeom…

It’s our grassroots supporters who chip in $5, 10, 27—every month or whatever they can afford at a time—that make our year-round work possible.

Chip in any amount, or start a monthly donation (again, of any amount!) and join me tonight: secure.actblue.com/donate/juneeom…

This is a dark moment for our state and our country.

We are furious.

But we are resolved to redouble the fight.

Join us at our town hall tonight: secure.actblue.com/donate/juneeom…

This election cycle, because of redistricting, Wisconsin has not one but TWO key swing Congressional seats: the 1st CD is also in play. This is Paul Ryan's old seat, now held by former Ryan staffer Bryan Steil. Meet his great Dem challenger: Ann Roe.
annroeforcongress.com

When @AnnRoe4Congress says "Roe is on the ballot," she means it literally. By electing her to Wisconsin's 1st Congressional District, we'll defeat a rubber-stamp Republican who opposes reproductive freedom, & voted against the gun safety bill & 1/6 cmte.

https://mobile.twitter.com/AnnRoe4Congress/status/1542253395918176257

It’s official: We hit 25% of our goal!

ICYMI—Our goal is 100 new @WisDems monthly donors by midnight tonight, a critical end-of-quarter fundraising deadline.

Help us hit it by starting a recurring donation of any amount (and let me know when you do!): wisdems.org/roe

President Biden’s endorsement of waiving the filibuster to pass a law codifying abortion rights makes Wisconsin’s Senate and House races all the more urgent.

Alongside everything else you’re doing, join us as a monthly donor to ramp up this fight: wisdems.org/roe

UPDATE: We're at 84% of our goal of 100 new monthly donors tonight! Help spread the word: win Wisconsin, codify Roe.

secure.actblue.com/donate/juneeom…

One thing not mentioned upthread: National Journal crunched the numbers—and found that Wisconsin's 3rd Congressional District is the district most likely to tip the House majority.

It's all on the line in Wisconsin. Help us win here.
nationaljournal.com/s/717332/hotli…

I just got off our Emergency Town Hall an hour ago to strategize around Wisconsin's unique role in the wake of #RoeVWade being overturned.

It was energizing to hear from our grassroots supporters, in Wisconsin, and across the country.

Join them at wisdems.org/roe!

3 HOURS TILL MIDNIGHT DEADLINE!

New article but a long history of Ron Johnson demeaning women throughout his career.
vanityfair.com/news/2022/06/d…

Let’s end his political career for good. Become a monthly donor (10 more to hit our goal of 100!) at wisdems.org/roe.

WE DID IT! With your help—100 people signed up to be @WisDems monthly donors today, before our midnight deadline! We’re so grateful for your support.

Let’s ride the momentum: can we get to 125?!

Keep sharing, retweeting, starting monthly donations at wisdems.org/roe!

🚨 We’re in the LAST 90 minutes of the second quarter of the year!

Don’t forget: If you’ve become a monthly donor today, will you let me know below? I want to personally thank you for supporting our fight!

And if you haven’t yet—join us by midnight: wisdems.org/roe

STATUS UPDATE: 111 👏

Thank you all for your commitment to fighting for reproductive rights for everyone in our country and in Wisconsin. We're so humbled by your support & energy.

If you didn’t get to it yet—it’s NOT too late to become a monthly donor! wisdems.org/roe