10 Takeaways from the WisDems 2025 Convention
From the speeches to the Chair vote to the celebration of outgoing chair Ben Wikler, here's our takeaways from two days in Wisconsin Dells for the Democratic Party of Wisconsin's annual convention.
The Recombobulation Area is a thirteen-time NINETEEN-TIME Milwaukee Press Club award-winning opinion column and online publication founded by longtime Milwaukee journalist Dan Shafer. The Recombobulation Area is now part of Civic Media.
Wisconsin Democrats got together over the weekend in Wisconsin Dells for their 2025 convention, where they’d be selecting a new chair to lead the state party.
While there is much to take away from proceedings of the convention, the tragic events of what had just unfolded hours prior in Minnesota were certainly top of mind for all in attendance. We know now that several of the Wisconsin Democrats present were mentioned in the “manifesto” from the suspected assassin, Vance Boelter, and at the convention hotel, there was heightened security to address any potential threats, as Boelter was still at large.
This "politically motivated assassination,” as Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz characterized it on Saturday, loomed large over the convention, and became yet another reminder of the frightening times we’re living in.
Political violence is detestable in any context, and must be condemned in the strongest possible terms. This goes far beyond any partisan politics, and the tragic loss of State Rep. Melissa Hortman and her husband Mark, and the wounding of State Sen. John Hoffman and his wife Yvette, in their respective homes, is incomprehensibly devastating.
I’d encourage you to read the words released by Sophie and Colin Hortman, children of Melissa and Mark Hortman, who said, “The best way to honor our parents’ memory is to do something, whether big or small, to make our community just a little better for someone else.”
These tragic shootings were top of mind over the weekend, and was referenced to begin just about every speech at the convention. People were clearly pretty shook up. The events of the convention seemed small in comparison to this enormous tragedy, and the very real impact it had on the people there.
Before we get to the rest of my takeaways, I published two stories over the weekend from the convention, one news story on the results of the Chair vote, and another with my one-on-one interview with Georgia Sen. Raphael Warnock, moments before he took the stage as the keynote speaker. You can find both of those stories here.
On to the takeaways…
1. It was “The Ben Wikler Show”
In so many ways, the WisDems 2025 Convention was “The Ben Wikler Show.” In his six years as Chair, he helped transform the party, leading to a string of victories — flipping the balance of power on the Wisconsin Supreme Court, beating Trump in 2020, re-electing Tony Evers in 2022 and Tammy Baldwin in 2024, winning key state legislative races under hard-fought new maps — at a critical moment for politics in Wisconsin. If 2010 to 2018 in Wisconsin could be characterized as the “Walker Era,” perhaps 2019 to 2025 could be the “Wikler Era.” The WisDems chair proved not only to be a transformative figure for the state party, but someone who redefined the role of a state party chair, making an impact far beyond Wisconsin.
So, Wikler’s celebratory weekend was certainly a well-earned one. He took the stage so many times during the two days of the convention, I lost count. He kicked off and closed out each day of the convention, delivered a rousing 17-minute speech of his own, he joined Tammy Baldwin to speak in conversation during her prime-time speaking slot, he was everywhere. His family even joined him on stage on Sunday, in an especially moving moment. Oh, and his endorsed candidate won the race to succeed him as party chair. Quite the weekend for Mr. Wikler.
During a brief speech delivered by Randy Udell, who has been the treasurer of the party for the last 10 years, he said, the party “operated at an unprecedented scale” in 2024, raising nearly $70 million over the year, saying this performance “exceeded that of any other state party across the country.”
“Our success would not have been possible without the extraordinary leadership of outgoing chair Ben Wikler,” said Udell. “His vision and tireless fundraising efforts have redefined what is possible for a state party and we are deeply grateful for the legacy he leaves behind.”
It’s not yet clear what Wikler is going to do next — in the immediate future, he said, he’s working on a book proposal about lessons from his time as chair in Wisconsin and spending some time with his family — but his legacy he leaves is undoubtedly a strong one. His are massive shoes to fill for the party’s next chair, and whatever his next move ultimately will be, whether that’s a run for statewide office in Wisconsin or something else, we’ll be watching with interest.
2. The Spring Election clearly reinvigorated Wisconsin Democrats
A thought ran through my head throughout the convention: What would this be like had Susan Crawford not won a double-digit victory in the race for Wisconsin Supreme Court?
Nearly every speaker at the convention talked about this still-fresh victory, and many of the lines referencing this election in their speech — particularly those about Elon Musk — were met with raucous applause. Many of the videos played in between speakers also showed news clips of the April 1 election coverage, and Crawford’s victory certainly stood out as a distinct point of pride among those in attendance.
Clearly, this win reinvigorated the party, coming off a tough loss in the presidential election in November. When I spoke with Sen. Raphael Warnock, he said that even on a national level, the Spring Election in Wisconsin “gave people hope” after so many felt dejected after Donald Trump’s victory in November. That was very much the case among those at the convention. It’s quite the far cry from a similarly-timed moment in 2017, when, following Trump’s win in Wisconsin in 2016, conservative state Supreme Court justice Annette Ziegler was not even challenged in running for re-election. Perhaps that’s yet another testament to how far the Democratic Party of Wisconsin has come in recent years.
3. Devin Remiker wins the race for Chair
The biggest choice to be made by delegates at the convention was the selection of the next chair. Candidates Devin Remiker, Joe Zepecki and William Garcia had each been campaigning for the role, gaining endorsements and making their cases in recent months. In the end, it was Remiker who prevailed, but it took to the second round of the ranked choice vote for a winner to be selected. In the first round of voting, Remiker received 437 votes, Zepecki received 330 votes, and Garcia came in third with 139. Going to a second round, Remiker received 485 votes and Zepecki had 415 votes.
An internal party election is much different from a public one, and there are perhaps parallels to be drawn between the dynamics of the race for DNC chair and the one for WisDems chair.
In the DNC chair race, Wikler’s was the more public campaign of the two, racking up big-name endorsements and making high-profile media appearances, but it was Ken Martin who was a presence within the party as Vice Chair.
If we’re making an analogy to the WisDems chair race, then, Zepecki played the role of Wikler — the party outsider with an outsized media presence — with Remiker being the Martin analogue, the party insider who had been among the party’s top lieutenants, and was ultimately the delegates’ choice for the role. Wikler’s endorsement of Remiker, which came after a pledge to remain neutral and had some surprised by the move, also may have had a real impact.
Dan Shafer joined “Matenaer On Air” on Monday to discuss the convention. Listen here.
I think Remiker can be a strong and impactful leader for the party, and his background growing up in Two Rivers, going to UW-La Crosse, and working on a variety of different campaigns in western Wisconsin (including for perennial red-ish district Democratic winner Steve Doyle!) can be an asset for the party as it looks to regain ground in some red-trending areas of the state, and combat Trump and MAGA in Wisconsin. Wikler repeatedly talked about how Remiker “sees around corners” in their time working together and that seems like a very important skill for the role he’s in.
The role of state party chair in Wisconsin has taken on national significance, and the two-year term that Remiker was just elected to will include a race for Wisconsin Supreme Court in April, and races for governor, attorney general and more in November — with the first realistic chance at a Democratic trifecta in more than 15 years. There’s a tremendous opportunity in front of Remiker and the Democratic Party of Wisconsin ahead. Will that opportunity be realized? That’s the big question ahead.
4. National Dems vs. Wisconsin Dems
In the time allotted to him for his Day 1 speech (full video for which is embedded above, go to the 1:23:00 mark), Remiker pointed to issues people have had with Democrats across the country, but drew a distinction between what was happening with national Democrats, and what’s been happening with the party here in Wisconsin.
Here’s what he said:
“There are some questions I’m hearing a lot out there — why aren't Democrats fighting back? Where are our leaders? Why is this party broken? But here's the thing. Those people across the country, they aren't talking about Wisconsin. In Wisconsin, the Democratic Party works. Look at where we were seven years ago. We did not have a majority on our court, the maps were rigged against us, and we were on the verge of supermajorities in both chambers. We only had two statewide elected Democratic officials. But look at us now — Gov. Evers, Sen. Tammy Baldwin, Lt. Gov. Rodriguez, Attorney General Kaul, Secretary Godlewski, on the verge of majorities in both chambers and a majority on the Supreme Court. We fought our way back from oblivion in this state. Does that sound broken to you?”
He’s got a point. Democrats in Wisconsin may have their own set of challenges, but the state has experienced a rightward shift that some demographics and trends have suggested it might, and after being pushed to the brink by the Scott Walker years, have clawed back and are now in position to compete for a trifecta.
Perhaps there’s something national Democrats can learn from Wisconsin Democrats.
5. Joe Zepecki and the communications factor
Joe Zepecki is a regular voice for Democrats on the airwaves, and part of his pitch to be the next party chair was in changing strategies in communications. In his first press release on the race, Zepecki said, “Every conversation I've had about the future of our party gets to the same place: Democrats have got to do better when it comes to how we communicate our message. We need more effective communicators, period.”
I agree with Zepecki on that point. Democrats have to do better in how — and where, and with whom, and how frequently — they communicate their message, and desperately need to be doing so with a whole lot more authenticity.
And while Remiker is no stranger to media appearances – he made several on the Civic Media network over the past few weeks — it would be tough to argue that that was a distinct strength of his in the race for Chair, particularly in comparison to Zepecki. So, during a brief session with media after the Chair vote on Sunday, I asked Remiker about what his priorities in communications would be in stepping into this role. Here’s what he said:
“I think that we need to be very clear and consistent in our messaging. You'll probably hear me say a lot that we are the party that fights for the working class, defends our rights and freedoms, and protects our very democracy. I think that that is really at the heart of what the Democratic Party needs to stand for right now. We're going to repeat it in as many mediums as we can, and get more messengers that are able to carry that message.
I think one of our biggest struggles has been making sure that as we see a lot of the information age kind of divide up people's attention into different groups, into different buckets and niche interests, we haven't kept pace with finding people that aren't necessarily focused on talking about politics, but weave it in those interests, and help connect the dots, how politics impacts nearly everything and everybody's lives. And I want to do a better job of making sure that we have messengers that are equipped to do everything from video game streaming to sports to standard political talk.”
One thing I also heard from people, in having conversations about this chair race, was about not just Remiker having a role in communications for the party, but that Sarah Godlewski, the newly elected 1st Vice Chair, might take on a larger public-facing role, particularly when it comes to communications. Perhaps that’s a way that Remiker and Godlewski can complement each other in these new roles.
6. Sarah Godlewski, Joshua Taylor step into new roles for WisDems
While the chair vote was the headline of the weekend’s internal party elections, four other party officers were also elected — and all ran unopposed.
Two are returning members. There’s Randy Udell as Treasurer (he’s also a first-term Assembly representative from Fitchburg), who has been with the party for a decade, and Kim Butler, returning for a second term as Secretary. Butler is also the chair of Polk County Democrats and has been chair of the 7th Congressional District Democrats.
Two departing officers are Felesia Martin, who has been the 1st Vice Chair for the duration of Wikler’s six years at the helm, and Tricia Zunker, who served one term in the role and previously ran for Congress in the 7th Congressional District.
Joshua Taylor joins the ranks after serving as Chair of the 4th Congressional District Democrats for the past four years. In his convention speech, he pledged to do a ton of outreach, attending congressional district conventions and meeting with county parties across the state. He even shared his personal cell phone number during his speech, encouraging delegates to contact him.
Of particular interest for these party officials is Sarah Godlewski rising to the ranks as 1st Vice Chair. We know from her experience as State Treasurer and now Secretary of State that she tends to make more out of offices than might necessarily be required of them. Perhaps this might mean a bigger media role, perhaps something else. Just something to monitor in this new chapter for WisDems.
7. There were several interesting resolution votes
This is the second year in a row I’ve covered a WisDems convention, and both years involved some especially contentious votes on various resolutions, particularly those pertaining to Gaza.
This year, there was a vote on supporting a House Resolution that’s been backed by Congressman Pocan called the “Block the Bombs Act,” which has the goal of limiting weapons transfers to Israel.
This resolution, introduced during the convention, involved the most debate of any of the other resolutions that reached the convention floor — all of which can be found in their original form here — and is yet another indication of how divisive this issue has become within the Democratic Party. After a series of amendments failed, this resolution passed as written by a 236-30 vote.
A number of other resolutions were altered during the process, including one calling for Trump to be impeached — the addition there was to back impeachment and “removal from office.” Another education-related resolution was passed, calling to “abolish the Wisconsin Parental Choice Program,” was amended to say “school voucher” instead of “parental choice.”
Also: I really enjoy how parliamentarian Chris Schmidt presides over this process, especially in the muted incredulity he professes whenever delegates seek more time for debate. Great stuff.
8. What’s next for Tony Evers?
Obviously, this topic came up among those I was talking to at the convention this weekend. There were a lot of people telling me they enjoyed my latest column. A lot of these conversations were off the record, so I’ll just leave it at that. I can say this was a hot topic of discussion among those in attendance.
Evers, in a fairly short convention speech — less than 15 minutes — did not give any indication on what his plans for 2026 were, despite the theme of the convention being “The Road to 2026.” Several of the other speakers of the evening made mention of holding the governorship as part of that battle, but most used language dancing around who would be at the top of the ticket. The exception was Sarah Godlewski, who said, “We’ve got to re-elect Gov. Tony Evers.”
The governor continues to be especially well-liked. His speech was a typical Tony Evers speech — folksy and engaging, with a few minor hiccups that came across as more charming than problematic (see his speech at the 3:33:00 mark here). This one had a particular emphasis on the types of things he’s fighting for, not just fighting to stop.
But my take on his future, after being at the convention for two days? There are far more Democrats open to having someone else at the top of the ticket for 2026 than what you might be hearing publicly.
There’s also the issue immediately before the governor, which is the state budget. Any 2026 decisions, he’s said, will come after the budget. But, led by Citizen Action of Wisconsin and several other groups, many were wearing stickers over the course of the convention weekend encouraging the governor to veto the budget.
So, Tony Evers has more than a few difficult decisions in his future.
9. What are Democrats’ top issues?
At a convention booth run by the Tri County Influence Campaign — an effort in Brown, Door and Kewaunee counties — they asked “What issues matter to you most?” with booth visitors encouraged to use beads to select three issues.
Here, you can see that health care, voting rights, and abortion and reproductive rights had the most votes. And while Donald Trump said immigration was his No. 1 issue in the campaign, Democrats continue to rank it low on the list of priorities.
Also in the convention hall, WisDems asked people to put up sticky notes on: What would a Democratic trifecta in Wisconsin mean to you? I took a photo and video of some of the notes up on Sunday afternoon here.
10. The goal is a trifecta in 2026
While the two-year term that Devin Remiker, Sarah Godlewski & Co. were elected to will involve a great many different issues and campaigns, including another for Wisconsin Supreme Court in April 2026, the big goal is for a trifecta to come out of the 2026 midterm election — control of the governorship, State Senate and State Assembly.
This will not be easy, but it is achievable. If Democrats simply win in districts won by Kamala Harris last year, they could flip both chambers of the state legislature, which would be a transformative moment for Wisconsin. This is an opportunity for Wisconsin Democrats to play a different kind of game, and instead of having to play perpetual defense against Robin Vos and the GOP-controlled legislature, finally be able to advance an agenda of their own.
The true test of whether Remiker and WisDems can take another gargantuan leap forwarded will come on Nov. 3, 2026. There’s just over 500 days to go until that opportunity could be realized. And with the convention over and new leadership in place, it’s time for Wisconsin Democrats to get to work on this monumentally important goal that has the potential to reshape Wisconsin for generations to come. This will be the true test.
Dan Shafer is a journalist from Milwaukee who writes and publishes The Recombobulation Area. In 2024, he became the Political Editor of Civic Media. He’s also written for The New York Times, The Daily Beast, Heartland Signal, Belt Magazine, WisPolitics, and Milwaukee Record. He previously worked at Seattle Magazine, Seattle Business Magazine, the Milwaukee Business Journal, Milwaukee Magazine, and BizTimes Milwaukee. He’s won 23 Milwaukee Press Club Excellence in Journalism Awards. He’s on Twitter at @DanRShafer.
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