Dear fellow Wisconsin Democrats,

Executive Director Devin Remiker here, stepping in this week for Chair Wikler.

Last week, we began our shift into general election mode. Already, the WisDems team is hard at work preparing our fall campaign to elect Mandela Barnes to the U.S. Senate and retire Ron Johnson once and for all. And in just four days, we’ll know which radical candidates the GOP will put up against Governor Evers and Attorney General Josh Kaul – as well as in races up and down the ballot.

We’ve got a lot of hard work in front of us, and – as we all know – the stakes couldn’t be higher.

In the GOP primary for governor, we’ll be getting a vivid preview of just how disastrous the far-right could be for Wisconsin tonight in Waukesha, when Donald Trump takes the stage to campaign for Tim Michels – his chosen candidate in the race. Make no mistake – Tim Michels has fully embraced every one of Trump’s lies about our elections, and every GOP candidate for governor can be counted on to sign into law dangerous bills undermining democracy and making it harder for seniors and Wisconsinites with disabilities to vote.

And as you’ll read in the newsletter this week, Ron Johnson has yet again doubled down on his attacks on Social Security and Medicare – lifesaving benefits Wisconsinites depend on. Johnson has made threatening the programs Wisconsinites pay into and count on in their retirement a cornerstone of his political career: he’s falsely smeared Social Security as a “Ponzi scheme” and repeatedly supported Paul Ryan’s disastrous budgets to gut Medicare and drive up costs. It seems clear that Ron Johnson sees the safety nets our seniors depend on as expendable – all while pushing for massive tax giveaways that overwhelmingly benefit the wealthy – including himself and his biggest donors.

Whether it’s the extreme agenda pushed by the GOP candidates for governor or the self-serving politics of Ron Johnson, it’s clear our work couldn’t be more critical – not just for our state, but our country and our democracy.

The time to get started is now. Join our organizing team for our final Weekend of Action before the August primary, and help us spread the word on social media with our Weekend of Action toolkit. Engage with voters and help folks make plans to vote by joining WisDems at local community events like Bronzeville Days in Milwaukee or India Day in Madison. Elections are won with the power of grassroots action – however you’re able to help matters.

Let’s get to work,

Devin

When asked about gun reforms he would consider if elected governor at this week’s WISN Town Hall, Tim Michels doubled down on his opposition to common sense gun safety measures to protect victims of domestic violence, saying that abusers shouldn’t have their weapons confiscated because an “angry ex, ex spouse makes a complaint.”

 

Michels has time and again shown disdain for common sense gun reform, including red flag laws, which are supported by 81% of Wisconsin voters and utilized as a response to threats from abusers of deadly domestic violence. Michels has also pledged to lift restrictions on firearms as governor.

On Tuesday, Ron Johnson doubled down on his attacks on Social Security and Medicare and argued these essential benefits should be converted to discretionary programs – allowing Congress to make cuts in each new budget, leaving older Wisconsinites to wonder whether the benefits they spent decades paying into would still be there.

Johnson has previously called Social Security a “Ponzi Scheme,” even going so far as to suggest raising the retirement age, and supported legislation that would cut funding for programs like Social Security. Johnson has also tried to weaken Medicare by voting for legislation that would cut funding and force seniors to pay higher out of pocket costs.

This week, Congresswoman Gwen Moore, Rep. Chris Sinicki, and Social Security recipient John Drew held a press conference in front of Ron Johnson’s Milwaukee office, calling him out for undermining vital programs like Social Security and Medicare. The event was part of a national “Too Extreme GOP” push to mobilize voters and hold Republicans accountable for their extreme, ultra-MAGA agenda ahead of the midterm elections.

Speakers slammed Johnson’s out-of-touch attacks on these vital programs and emphasized the importance of electing Democrats this November who will serve Wisconsin – not themselves.

Watch the full event online here.

Sign Up to be a Storyteller or Surrogate!

We are recruiting local voices to be storytellers across Wisconsin to be featured in press, digital and other public events throughout the campaign season this fall. We’re hoping to find folks to speak to issues ranging from jobs, health care and education, to small businesses and family farms. We want you and your insight on who would be a great voice to support our candidates this November! Don’t hesitate to reach out though our surrogates and storytellers form, and if you have any questions, contact our Outreach & Surrogates Director Key Jennings at key.jennings@wisdems.org.

Governor Evers at the Blue Shed Show Music Festival

Yard signs galore!

Plant a yard sign and help keep Wisconsin blue! Show your support for our fabulous candidates and urge your neighbors to go vote all at the same time, by planting a yard sign! If you don’t have a Tony for Wisconsin yard sign, you can contact your county chairto get one ASAP. In the meantime, we’re working with more campaigns to purchase yard signs for additional candidates. Attorney General Kaul yard sign orders have been placed, and are expected to deliver to regional hubs soon. Stay tuned for updates about additional incoming signs!