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Dear fellow Wisconsin Democrats,

This is my last newsletter as your state party chair. 

So many feelings—but chief among them is a deep well of gratitude. 

There are a million things going wrong in the world. But our state party has been one of the things going right. And the fundamental reason for that is you. 

This party works because of its people. The thousands of card-carrying party members. The tens of thousands of volunteers and grassroots donors. The dozens of professional staff—and hundreds who have worked here at some point over these last six years. 

At every step, through 18 statewide election days, in battle after battle, you’ve persevered. You’ve kept the faith. You’ve shown up—in ways that have inspired others to show up as well. 

The vision is a state, country, and world that works for everyone—not just the few. Where every person has freedom, dignity, justice, and respect. Our mission—the way we move towards that vision—is to elect Democrats up and down the ballot. And our strategy to advance that mission has been to build a permanent campaign, organizing and communicating everywhere, year-round, across all of our communities, fighting for working families and against those who would use their wealth and power to destroy the power of the people. 

Perhaps all of that sounds obvious. But it doesn’t happen everywhere. It is, in a sense, Wisconsin’s secret sauce. Knowing our values. Knowing our goals. And putting in the work, day after day, to turn our vision into political reality.

The way we’ve done this, by fighting for our values, including and respecting everyone, and by empowering the grassroots, is only possible because you and so many other people have made the decision, over and over, that it’s not somebody else’s job. It’s yours. 

By building up from the grassroots in every corner of the state, we’ve not only built up Democrats. We’ve built our democracy. 

We’ve worked to re-weave the fabric of our communities, in a time when giant corporations make money by trapping people in their homes, alone, gazing at their phones. 

We’ve gone outside and met each other, knock by knock, county fair by county fair, parade by parade. 

And because we’ve rebuilt the muscle of civic life in our state, my confidence in our state’s future path is bright as day, even in this moment of political darkness. 

I have faith in Devin Remiker, our next chair, and our extraordinary team. I have faith in our county parties, our caucuses, our youth wings, and our neighborhood teams. I have faith in you. 

What we saw this spring was an omen. A good one. We saw it again with the Hands Off and No Kings protests. We’ll see it again and again—until, on election day in 2026, we throw off the yoke of GOP majorities in our state legislature, hold our statewide offices, and flip the U.S. House. And then the work of governing will begin again, even as we prepare for the showdowns of 2028. 

You’ve got this. And I’ll be there with you—now as a fellow Democratic Party of Wisconsin member, rather than as your chair—every step of the way. 

I have loved this job, and relished the chance to work with you. It’s been one of the hardest things I’ve ever done. Now, I’m excited to take a breath. To have some real time with my three amazing kids, who were 1, 4, and 7 when I was first elected chair—and are now 7, 10, and 13. Time with the love of my life and my best friend—luckily for me, the same person: my wife Beth. And time with our lovable goofball of a dog, Pumpkin. Some space to reflect, and figure out how, down the road, I can best contribute to the fight of our lives. 

Meanwhile, I’d love to stay in touch. Going forward, you can get updates from me at benwikler.com (I’m planning to continue writing regularly), or reach me at ben@benwikler.com (although I hope to be offline for a fair amount of this summer). 

Thank you for six extraordinary years. Thank you for supercharging my own faith in the possibilities of democracy. Thank you for constantly recommitting to the fight. 

Now, go out there and keep winning. 

In solidarity, 

Ben