Wisconsin’s Ben Wikler enters race for DNC chair

Wisconsin Democratic Party Chair Ben Wikler launched a campaign Sunday to become the next chair of the Democratic National Committee.

Wikler’s announcement comes as the Democratic Party looks to rebuild after an election cycle that saw its traditional base slide to the right, leading to the Republicans taking over the White House and the Senate, and holding their House majority.

 “If we’re going to take on Donald Trump, Republican extremists, and make progress as a country, we need the Democratic Party to be stronger,” Wikler wrote in a statement announcing his candidacy. “For Democrats to move forward, we must build a big tent, organize and communicate in every place and on every platform, and find the resources, people, and focus to reach voters who currently get their news about Democrats from Republicans.”

While President-elect Donald Trump flipped Wisconsin in November, Wikler noted that even though the national shift toward the Republican candidate was 6 percent, Wisconsin shifted by 1.5 percent, the least of any battleground state.

Speaking on CNN’s “Inside Politics” on Sunday morning, Wikler was asked why he should be considered for the job when Trump won Wisconsin. Wikler said his experience in the closely divided state has taught him how to communicate to voters across all demographics.

“Democrats organized, united and fought back, and over these last four years we have won election after election,” Wikler said. “This year we had the smallest swing of any battleground state in the country … it was the closest state in the union. And at the same time, we turned out more votes and won our U.S. Senate race for Tammy Baldwin and flipped 14 state legislative seats.”

Wikler has been chair of the state party since 2019. During his tenure, Wisconsin Democrats have won seven of the last 10 statewide races in the notoriously purple state. And he is credited with creating a fundraising apparatus that vastly outpaced Republicans in the state — the $53 million raised by Wisconsin Democrats this year was by far the highest of any state party.

He joins a growing field of candidates for the job, which will be open following current Chair Jaimie Harrison’s decision not to seek reelection. Other candidates include former Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley, Minnesota Democratic Party Chair Ken Martin and New York State Sen. James Skoufis.

According to The New York Times, others considering entering the race include Chuck Rocha, a Democratic strategist from Texas, Michael Blake, a former party vice chair, and Mallory McMorrow, a Michigan state senator.

The party is expected to choose their new chair in February.