Wisconsin Democratic chair announces plans to step down

Ben Wikler, the chair of the Democratic Party of Wisconsin, announced on Thursday that he would not be running for another term as state party chair.

“Our state party is now in extraordinarily strong shape, we have secured a pro-democracy Supreme Court majority for at least the next two years, and Democrats are poised to win a trifecta in 2026,” Wikler said in a letter to Democrats in the Badger State.

“Now is the right time for me to take a breath, and to find new ways to advance the fight for a country that works for working people, and one that honors every person's fundamental freedom and dignity,” he continued. “When my third term as chair ends this June, I will be passing the torch.”

Wikler took the helm of the state party in 2019, overseeing several major successes in the state since becoming chair, including former President Biden’s win in Wisconsin in 2020; Gov. Tony Evers’s (D) reelection in 2022; and winning three key state Supreme Court races in 2020, 2023 and 2025, which he noted in his letter.

While President Trump won the state last November, Wisconsin Democrats were able to narrowly reelect Sen. Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.).

The state party’s successes in the state Supreme Court have also led to new legislative maps in Wisconsin, and Democrats have since made inroads in the Capitol.

Wikler ran for Democratic National Committee (DNC) chair earlier this year against a handful of other candidates, ultimately losing to DNC Chair Ken Martin, who had been the state party chair in Minnesota.

Asked in an interview with WISN 12 News aired on Thursday about whether his next steps could be a potential political run, Wikler answered, “maybe someday,” while noting he wasn’t sure what his next steps would look like.

Pressed at various points in the interview on whether he would run for governor if Evers didn’t run, Wikler tried to dodge some of those questions, saying he wanted to see Evers run again and that the governor had his support.

The state party is slated to elect its next chair in mid-June.