New maps help Wisconsin Democrats make legislative gains and set up a push for majorities in 2026

Source: AP

Updated 5:26 PM EST, November 6, 2024


MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Democrats came out of Tuesday’s elections with substantial gains in the Wisconsin Legislature under new district boundaries, setting them up for a run for a majority in two years. Democrats had high hopes that the maps would enable them to seize control of the state Assembly for the first time in 13 years. That didn’t happen, but their wins still stood out given that Republican President-elect Donald Trump carried Wisconsin.

“Thanks to fair maps and a smart strategy, the GOP’s stranglehold on Wisconsin’s legislature is coming to an end,” Heather Williams, president of the Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee, said in a statement. The DLCC is the arm of the Democratic Party tasked with building majorities in state legislatures.

Republicans took control of the Senate and Assembly in 2011. Democrats used recall elections to win a Senate majority for six months in 2021, but otherwise the GOP has controlled both houses since then thanks largely to gerrymandered district maps that spread out Democratic voters.

Liberal justices who took control of the state Supreme Court last year tossed out the maps, clearing the way for Democratic Gov. Tony Evers to enact new boundaries. Democrats made no secret on the campaign trail this summer that they thought the new boundaries would translate to control of the state Assembly and help them flip enough Senate seats that they’d have a shot at a majority in that chamber in 2026.

Read more: https://apnews.com/article/wisconsin-legislature-election-redistricting-democrat-gains-9dbedf910ab5a057f459033c2d36608b