To: Interested Parties
From: Jeremy Jansen, DLCC’s VP of Political
Date: March 25, 2025
Re: Memo: The Battle for State Democratic Power in the Wisconsin Supreme Court Race
On April 1st, Wisconsin voters will decide the balance of their state supreme court, with implications for the future trajectory of the state legislature in two key ways. First, the court paved the way for a more level playing field for the first time in nearly two decades, rejecting Republicans’ gerrymandered maps, forcing the creation of new maps, and resulting in Democrats picking up a whopping 14 seats. Second, the courts rule on key issues related to legislative policy, such as abortion rights.
The DLCC has added this crucial majority-making state supreme court race to our target map, with a clear focus on setting the stage to create Democratic majorities in 2026 and beyond. Building power in the states means seizing every opportunity to defend Democrats’ progress and mobilizing to win high-stakes odd-year races.
A Conservative Win Could Threaten State Democrats’ Progress
For over a decade, Wisconsin was one of the worst gerrymandered states in the country. GOP gerrymandering unchallenged by the conservative Supreme Court rendered most legislative races as foregone conclusions. That changed when Justice Janet Protasiewicz won her election and flipped the court to a 4-3 liberal majority. Her victory enabled the court to strike down Republican-gerrymandered legislative maps in 2023, yielding new fairer maps in early 2024 that opened the path for dramatic gains last cycle, including flipping 10 seats in the Assembly and 4 in the Senate. That win is a testament to the DLCC’s commitment to build power cycle over cycle.
The end result is that as we enter 2026, we compete for majorities in both chambers – with just 2 more seats needed in the Senate and 5 seats in the Assembly.
Given the court’s power to affect redistricting, this race could have a major impact on our ability to continue building state Democratic power and we cannot let this opportunity to shape Wisconsin’s future slip away.
Abortion Access Is On the Line
State supreme courts often rule on critical issues that influence the agenda of state legislatures, and that’s true of this race. Wisconsin has an archaic 1849 total abortion ban on the books, which is on hold as the court is expected to make a decision in the case this year. Pro-life conservative Brad Schimel, for his part, has said the law is valid. Only by protecting the liberal majority and flipping the legislature can we protect the future of abortion access in Wisconsin.
Next Stop: Flip Wisconsin Blue
Now voters are starting to see Trump’s Washington, this race will provide voters an opportunity to either reinforce GOP power or strengthen the Democratic bulwark in Wisconsin.
Here are key milestones to keep in mind as Democrats head into 2026 with momentum and strength:
Wisconsin Democrats are the closest they’ve been to flipping both chambers in 2026 in over a decade, since the Republican gerrymander of 2011.
Democrats are just two seats away from flipping the Senate, with the other half of the chamber on the ballot for the first time next year on the new maps.
Democrats are just five seats away from flipping the Assembly and fell short of the majority by just 5,466 votes in 2024.
Following the 2024 elections, Wisconsin Senate Democrats won the most seats in the state capitol since 2012, and Assembly Democrats have the most seats since 2008.
2026 is a crucial opportunity to build on the monumental progress made last cycle. As the campaign arm of the Democratic Party focused on state legislatures, the DLCC has invested in Wisconsin cycle over cycle to build Democratic power. There are truly no off-years in this fight – this state supreme court race is crucial and sets the stage for the fight in 2026 and beyond.
