Dear fellow Wisconsin Democrats,

Our state party is built around a set of values—Fight, Include, Respect, and Empower—and a big idea: organizing matters.

Study after rigorous study has measured and documented what our own experience tells us—that in close elections, and Wisconsin elections are close over and over and over, person-to-person conversations make an irreplaceable difference.

It’s somewhere in our brain wiring. Humans are social animals. A huge amount of our neural circuitry is built to observe, react to, and interact with other people. When you knock on a door—and to a lesser extent, when you talk to someone on the phone or interact online—you’re tapping one of the most powerful neural machines that evolution has created.

This July 23 and 24 will be a Weekend of Action, a critical moment to knock on doors in every corner of the state. Some people won’t be home. Others won’t want to talk. But at other doors, you’ll meet people who are ready to engage. Take the time to connect with them. Show them that you hear and respect them by reflecting their words back to them in your answers to their questions. They may not remember what you say. But they’ll remember how you make them feel.

It can sometimes feel like we’re hit by one political catastrophe after another. It can be a roller coaster. But even in times of chaos—particularly in times of chaos—it’s critical to hold strongly to what we know. And we know that engaging with people, respectfully, inclusively, can move the needle. It’s our best way to cut through the din of right-wing propaganda and misinformation. It’s our best way to pull people out of hardened frames of perception and engage in the here and now.

It’s the bedrock of democracy.

And it’s in your hands.

Sign up for a volunteer shift—and scroll down to the bottom of this newsletter to find other ways to help. Recruit some friends to join you, including some folks who’ve never done this before. We have a lot to do. But the stakes just keep growing. And we know how to rise to this moment, because we’ve done it before.

In solidarity,

Ben

This week, as part of a national “Defend Choice” week of action, Gov. Tony Evers, Rep. Lisa Subeck, and Dane County Supervisor April Kigeya spoke with Wisconsin voters to call out Republicans’ ultra-MAGA attacks on abortion access and outline the stakes of the November elections.

Speakers underlined that reproductive rights are on the ballot in 2022 and that Democrats are energized to elect pro-choice candidates like Gov. Evers who will continue to fight for safe, legal abortion access in Wisconsin.

Watch the full event online here.

Gov. Evers speaks at a “Defend Choice” Week of Action event in Madison on Wednesday.

In a new interview this week, Ron Johnson bragged about his role in stripping reproductive rights from Wisconsinites, saying “I’m fully supportive of what the Supreme Court did. I obviously confirmed the justices that handed down that correct decision.”

Johnson has long advocated for overturning Roe v. Wade, knowing full well that doing so could trigger Wisconsin’s 1849 abortion ban.

At the first stop of his “Freedom Tour” this, Tim Michels refused to rule out signing legislation as governor that would attempt to overturn Wisconsin’s 2020 presidential election results. Michels’ comments came just days after Donald Trump called on Wisconsin Republicans to decertify the 2020 election. 

WKOW reported that Michels said only “he needs to see the details”:

This all comes after Michels would not say Biden won Wisconsin after receiving Trump’s endorsement. Tim Michels has also said that “President Trump probably would be president right now if we had election integrity” and minimized January 6 as merely people experiencing “frustration over the election results.” He also would not say whether as governor he would certify Wisconsin’s 2024 election results.

Former U.S. Senator Doug Jones joined state Representative Dora Drake this week at Sam’s Place Jazz Cafe in Milwaukee for a roundtable discussion with Wisconsin voters to outline the stakes of the 2022 elections.

After working with President Biden to lead the confirmation of Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson, Senator Jones offered insight on how voters can combat far-right GOP attacks on our civil rights and emphasized the need to elect Democrats.

This week, White House Infrastructure Coordinator Mitch Landrieu visited Milwaukee to highlight how President Biden’s infrastructure law is funding the removal of lead pipes across the state.

The visit comes as Wisconsin prepares to receive $48 million in funding from the infrastructure law next year to accelerate lead lateral replacement. While in Milwaukee, Landrieu joined Milwaukee Mayor Cavalier Johnson and Rep. Gwen Moore on South 12th Street, where lead pipe replacement is already ongoing.

White House Senior Advsior Mitch Landrieu meets with workers in Milwaukee performing lead lateral replacements.

Join the WisDems Organizing Team for our July Weekend of Action on July 23rd and 24th! We’ll be hosting events across the state to reach out to voters and gear up for this fall!

Join us July 23rd & 24th by signing up today!

Come learn how you can amplify our unified, Democratic messaging on social media, using the Greenfly app! During our live training session, you’ll learn what Greenfly can do and how to use it, and practice using the app.

This training is perfect for any county party member or leader, volunteer, or community leader who wants to help spread WisDems social media messaging—especially those managing social media accounts on behalf of county parties or other groups.

Wednesday, July 20 at 4:30pm: Register

Stay up to date as we add more training dates this summer at wisdems.org/greenfly.

Help spread the word on social media about the July Weekend of Action (the last one before the August Primary!).

You’ll find sample social media posts and graphics to share in our new toolkit: wisdems.org/julywoa-social

Don’t forget to use #WinWithWisDems and tag @WisDems when posting about WOA. We may retweet/share your post!