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Chairman of the Democratic Party of Wisconsin Ben Wikler was a guest on “The Daily Show” with Jon Stewart this week. Pointing to the current dysfunction of national Democrats, Stewart said the Wisconsin Democratic party was similarly broken until Chairman Wikler turned it around when he was elected chair in 2019. Chairman Wikler noted that since he took over the state party, Wisconsin Democrats have won two critical state Supreme Court seats, re-elected Governor Tony Evers (D), and enacted fair maps for the state Legislature. Chairman Wikler said his efforts in the state have reduced Republican influence and positioned Democrats to take both the state Assembly and Senate in 2026. “We’re a democracy again,” said Chairman Wikler, highlighting the 14 legislative seats Democrats just flipped in the state legislature. “That is the goal. That is the fight that we are fighting.” Chairman Wikler said the new maps ensure the state’s government is set up in a way that is structurally required to give people what they want and is held accountable for what happens if they do not deliver it.
Turning to his run for DNC chair, Wikler said he wants the national party to have a strategy in every state to prevent that state from being “rigged by Republicans and thrown out of whack.” Chairman Wikler argued that building strong state party infrastructure and focusing on down ballot races is key to setting the ground for winning future high profile national elections. Asked by Stewart if the Democratic Party would elect him chair since he is not considered “establishment” and the Democratic Party has a history of repressing “outsiders,” Chairman Wikler responded that the Democratic Party is unified in thinking they need to change and adapt to win elections. He reiterated that he believes the best way the national party can find success is by organizing and building state parties across the country and showing working-class people that Democrats are fighting for them. “That is the point of this work,” said Chairman Wikler. “The only measure of work in politics, it’s not actually winning elections. It’s whether you deliver change in people’s lives. That is what winning looks like. That is the point of this work.”
Watch the full interview here.
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