Ben Wikler, chair of the Democratic Party of Wisconsin, introduces Sen. Tammy Baldwin at her victory celebration Thursday. (Erik Gunn | Wisconsin Examiner)
The Democratic leader of the U.S. Senate, New York Sen. Chuck Schumer, is backing Democratic Party of Wisconsin Chair Ben Wikler in his bid to lead the national party.
In a statement released Thursday, Schumer said he is “enthusiastically supporting Ben Wikler to be the next Chair of the Democratic National Committee.”
Schumer called Wikler “a tenacious organizer—one of the best organizers in the country—a proven fundraiser, a sharp communicator, and able to reach out to all segments of the Democratic Party.”
“Most importantly,” he added, “he knows how to win.”
Wikler assumed leadership of the state party after Democratic Gov. Tony Evers defeated former Republican Gov. Scott Walker in 2018. Since that time, he has led the party as state Democrats slowly clawed back power, holding the governorship and winning key state Supreme Court races to flip the ideological balance of the court. Those victories led to the elimination of gerrymandered voting maps that had locked in disproportionate Republican control of the state Legislature. In the 2024 election, Democrats flipped 14 previously Republican-held legislative seats, narrowing GOP majorities and, Wikler says, setting Democrats on a path to win control of at least one chamber in 2026 for the first time since 2010.
“Since becoming the state party chair in 2019, Ben has led Wisconsin Democrats to victory after victory, up and down the ballot,” Schumer said. “Under his leadership, Wisconsin Democrats have become one of the most formidable fundraising and organizing machines in the entire country. I am confident he will bring that same record of success to the national party.”
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