Democrats see a new crop of rising leaders ready to take control of the legislature

As long-tenured Republicans flock to the exits, Democrats believe voters are ready to elect some local leaders to the state legislature.

What are Wisconsin’s future leaders doing in the present day? Some of them are probably in the early stages of their first run for elected office, and the state Assembly Democratic Leader thinks several of them will help flip control of the legislature this fall.

“What we’re looking for are people who are deeply connected to their communities,” said Rep. Greta Neubauer (D-Racine). “People who have already worked with their neighbors as members of the PTA, volunteering to serve concessions at the high school, running the Cub Scout troop.” 

Neubauer understands the current political winds favor Democrats, but she says she’s taking nothing for granted in her role of recruiting Assembly candidates and using her background as an organizer to find people best suited to represent their hometowns in Madison.

“These are people who we know can be successful,” Neubauer told UpNorthNews, “because they’re people who understand the concerns of their neighbors, and who are going to be able to communicate that they’re in this because they want to make life better for their community, not because they’re partisan politicians.”

Under new legislative maps that ended more than a decade of gerrymandered advantages for Republicans, Democrats picked up 23 new members in the 2024 election. Neubauer is targeting eight Republican seats most likely to flip this November. Winning six would put Democrats in control of the Assembly for the first time since 2010. And she promises a majority that would be more inclusive than Republicans have been.

“Almost all of us, 43 of the 44 members of our Democratic Assembly caucus, have only served in the minority,” Neubauer said. “We know what it’s like to be shut out of committee work and floor debates and we know that that’s not actually good for the people of Wisconsin. We, of course, are going to hold firm to the things that we believe and pass bills that we want to get done. But we also are going to continue to listen to our colleagues and see where we can work across the aisle, because frankly, that’s what the people of Wisconsin elect us to do.”

One of those 23 Democratic freshmen, Rep. Christian Phelps (D-Eau Claire), says he’s noticed the change in attitude among his progressive colleagues. No longer feeling trapped in the minority, they’re pushing to eventually take control and be more responsive to their communities.

“Just a few months ago, I was one of these people on the outside,” Phelps said, “trying to figure out why we can’t access health care and why we seem to have no control over what happens with the creation of new data centers or something like that. Have we touched base with the people in our communities? That’s the question I ask in the committees every single time we get a new bill — which is almost always a bill authored by a Republican — have you asked the folks in your community how they feel about this bill? And unfortunately, I’ve been really disturbed by the answer, which is usually ‘no’ or kind of talking around a no.”

Phelps thinks voters are eager for change. 

“I’m feeling a higher level of public awareness that the Capitol is out of step with our community,” Phelps said, “The Democratic caucuses in the gerrymandered capitol of Wisconsin for 15 years, their job was basically just to try and keep us from falling off a cliff and protect the governor’s veto. Maybe some of us are bringing styles that we haven’t been used to working with before, but let’s think creatively about the ways that we can actually use some of our new power, because for the first time in a long time, we have some in the Capitol.”

Making the task easier for Democrats to reclaim the majority, several senior Republicans have announced their retirement from the Legislature — including the two leaders: Assembly Speaker Robin Vos and Senate Republican Leader Devin LeMahieu.