Wisconsin Dem surging in DNC chair race

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“An honest broker”: Wisconsin Democrat "generates excitement" in race for DNC chair
Wisconsin Democratic Party chair Ben Wikler is an "underdog" whose support appears to be surging

By Russell Payne
Staff Reporter
Published January 4, 2025 5:45AM (EST)


(Salon) In the run-up to the Democratic National Committee chair election, Ben Wikler, the Democratic Party chair in Wisconsin, has garnered support from across the party’s ideological spectrum and from all levels of the party. While his supporters say he’s the best man for the job, they caution that it’ll be an uphill battle to get new blood the top spot.

Wikler has been the party chair of the Wisconsin Democratic Party since 2019, but before that, he was a media personality, activist and a Democratic Party staffer. Wikler worked on former Sen. Al Franken’s, D-Minn., radio show before working on Sen. Sherrod Brown’s, D-Ohio, 2006 Senate campaign. He served as an executive at Change.org and as the Washington Director of MoveOn.org. And, ahead of the 2016 primaries, Wikler helped head up MoveOn.org’s efforts to recruit Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., to run for president while also helping advocate for Syrian refugees in 2015.

His career in activism and Democratic organizing, however, isn’t what most of his backers point to when they discuss why they’re backing Wikler. Rep. Mark Pocan, the Democrat from Wisconsin’s Second District, told Salon that he’s backing Wikler because he sees him as a DNC outsider who can exceed at the three things a party chair needs to do: communicate, fundraise and organize.

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“What it means is that he’s put an actual investment into grassroots — a financial investment as well as a physical investment like staff. People have interactions with voters even when they’re not asking for a vote,” Pocan said. “Honestly it's the totality. I’ve never seen the amount of offices and the organizational level to get out the vote. In Madison, turnout is at 93 percent plus, which sounds like a mad up number it’s so high, but it's what you get when you have that sort of organization.” ....................(more)

https://www.salon.com/2025/01/04/an-honest-broker-wisconsin-democrat-generates-excitement-in-race-for-dnc-chair/