Frederica Freyberg:

As the national spotlight begins to shine on Wisconsin ahead of this year’s presidential election, the state political parties are beginning the work of organizing and energizing voters. Here & Now reporter Steven Potter spoke to both state party leaders about their plans to get out the vote and the impact of the Republican National Convention being held in Milwaukee this summer.

Ben Wikler:

Ever since Republicans rigged our maps for the state Legislature in 2011, the number of state legislative districts that are truly competitive has been microscopic, just a handful of seats. That means most voters even in blue and in red districts don’t really have a choice, and if we have new maps from the state Supreme Court, it’s possible that the number of competitive districts will explode. That could draw new people, new fresh blood into the political system, people running who hadn’t wanted to run in a totally rigged district, and it could mean I think for both parties that we are working in many more parts of the state to support a much wider array of candidates in a ton of contests that could be much closer. I think that’s a healthy thing for democracy.

Brian Schimming:

Well, what I hear as I move around the state is that people don’t want those districts changed. People look at redrawing district lines every ten years and we have to do it because of the census, but for the liberal Supreme Court to come back within a year and a half of when the old lines were set and say, you know what, we know you’re in this district or that district or whatever, we’re going to change that. In fact, you’re sitting Assembly or Senate person or congressman that is representing you, we may change that, too. That’s not a popular issue out around the state. I think that’s — if the Democrats are counting on that to help them, I think that is a very unpopular issue because people don’t want the lines moving around all the time.

Steven Potter:

In July, there will be the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee. What are your expectations going into that event?

Brian Schimming:

For us, it’s an opportunity to highlight to Republicans and media from across the country what Republican leadership has looked like here in Wisconsin, the difference between having a Republican governor and a Democrat governor, but also Joe Biden has to keep coming back to Wisconsin constantly. He’ll be here again soon because he’s in trouble in this state. Almost every set of polling numbers that you see out there show Joe Biden is in big trouble and upside down on any number of issues affecting the people of this state, and so neither party can take it for granted, but we’re going to go to the wall on everything.

Ben Wikler:

The Republican National Convention will make vividly clear what today’s Trumpified MAGA Republican Party stands for, and what we’ve seen over and over is that the more voters see from Donald Trump and the Trump-like MAGA candidates, the less they want anything to do with that extreme wing of the Republican Party. This is not the Republican Party of Tommy Thompson. This is a Republican Party that tried to overturn the 2020 elections, that put extreme Supreme Court justices on that ripped away Roe versus Wade, and has tried to criminalize abortion and now is talking about going after contraception, things like birth control pills and IUDs. Those are policies so out of step with what most Wisconsinites want that we think Republicans having a stage in our state will make vividly clear the contrast, the choice people have between a Biden-Harris administration that stands up for common sense and a MAGA GOP that is pushing way far out to the far, far right.

Steven Potter:

What are you hearing from voters about the most important issues in this election cycle?

Ben Wikler:

What we find is that over and over, whether people agree or disagree about this or that tax policy, these fundamental questions of whether we all have the freedom to live the kinds of lives that we want to lead, that is something that leads voters across the political spectrum to vote against MAGA Republicans and for Democrats. We saw that in the Supreme Court race this spring, we saw that in 2022. We’re going to see that again in 2024.

Brian Schimming:

Largely what I hear as we go around the state but also in the polling and the other survey work that you see, economy, number one. No doubt about it.

Steven Potter:

Also abortion has been a major issue here in the state. Is it also going to be a major issue in the presidential election?

Brian Schimming:

You know, I’m not afraid of that issue, I’m really not. I’m not sure we handled it as well as we could two years ago, but I think we will this time.