With GOP maps out, Democrats hope for more legislative power in battleground Wisconsin

MADISON, Wis. (AP) — For the first time in more than a decade, Democrats in key battleground state Wisconsin have a chance at wresting some legislative control from Republicans thanks to Gov. Tony Evers’ new district maps.

Republicans will likely retain their majority in the Senate in November’s elections. But redrawn districts coupled with retirements have left almost two-thirds of the Assembly’s seats open this election cycle, giving Democrats their best shot at taking control of that chamber in a generation.

“It’s been too partisan for too long,” Senate Minority Leader Dianne Hesselbein said. “I know I’m sick of it and the people of Wisconsin are, too.”

Wisconsin has been a key swing state in the last two presidential races. Donald Trump became the first Republican since Ronald Reagan to win the state in 2016. Joe Biden took the state by just 21,000 votes in 2020 and the state figures to be a pivotal one again this fall.

Beneath all the presidential drama, Republicans have dominated state politics for 14 years thanks largely to gerrymandered legislative districts.

Republicans took control of the Senate and Assembly in 2011. Democrats used recall elections to win a majority in the Senate for six months in 2012, but otherwise the GOP has run both houses since then. They’ve reshaped Wisconsin’s political profile, neutering public employee unions, legalizing concealed weapons, scaling back diversity initiatives, tightening voting rules and controlling the state budget with an iron fist.

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