Wisconsin Democratic Party chair Wikler will not seek re-election

MADISON, Wis. (Civic Media) – The current head of the Democratic Party of Wisconsin doesn’t plan to run again for the spot.

Ben Wikler said Thursday that he is not seeking to remain as the chair of the party.

“Now is the right time for me to take a breath, and to find new ways to advance the fight for a country that works for working people, and one that honors every person’s fundamental freedom and dignity,” Wikler said. “When my third term as chair ends this June, I will be passing the torch.”

Wikler was originally elected as the chair of the DPW in June of 2019. Last fall, he ran to be the chair of the national Democratic Party, which was won by Ken Martin, who previously chaired Minnesota’s Democratic Party. Wikler received several high-profile endorsements in the race.

It's been the honor of my life to serve as Chair of @WisDems for the last 6 years. With a pro-democracy Supreme Court secured for years, WI can reach for a trifecta in 2026. Our state party is in superb shape. So today, I’m announcing that, this summer, I’m passing the torch.🧵

— Ben Wikler (@benwikler) April 10, 2025

“I’m going to take some time to figure out what’s next, and to spend time with a family that I fiercely love but haven’t seen enough of,” Wikler said.

Devin Remiker, the former executive director of the state’s Democratic Party, announced a bid to become the new party chair in the moments following Wikler’s announcement.

“I’m incredibly grateful to Ben Wikler for the leadership and vision he brought to the party, and working with him has been the honor of a lifetime,” Remiker said. “I am fortunate to have learned from him and to have the opportunity to build upon his legacy. I know that he is leaving the party with a rock-solid foundation that I hope to build upon.”

Communications specialist Joe Zepecki said in a statement that the Democratic Party needs to be better about its communication strategy.

“I’ve given long, serious thought to how we do that and up our game,” Zepecki said. “Now, my plan is to spend the next week talking with Party members and leaders across the state about that vision to see if they’re ready to shake things up. Stay tuned.”

The Democratic Party website lists Wikler’s achievements in building a statewide campaign strategy that led to wins in state Supreme Court elections, Governor Tony Evers’ re-election, and a number of other victories down the ballot.

Wikler was active during the 2025 Wisconsin Spring Election, promoting it as the most important election of the year with both state and national impacts.

Party members will elect a new chair at the 2025 WisDems Convention in Wisconsin Dells in June. All elected offices with the state’s Democratic Party serve two-year terms. Anyone interested in running for state Democratic Party office can visit the 2025 convention website for more information.

The full letter from Wikler:

It’s been the honor of my life to serve as your Chair. 

Our state party is now in extraordinarily strong shape, we have secured a pro-democracy Supreme Court majority for at least the next two years, and Democrats are poised to win a trifecta in 2026. 

Now is the right time for me to take a breath, and to find new ways to advance the fight for a country that works for working people, and one that honors every person’s fundamental freedom and dignity. When my third term as chair ends this June, I will be passing the torch. 

I’m going to take some time to figure out what’s next, and to spend time with a family that I fiercely love but haven’t seen enough of. I’ll keep you posted at benwikler.com.

As I plan my own next chapter, I have enormous confidence in the phenomenal team at our state party, our superstar volunteers, our elected leaders, and in our mighty coalition. Wisconsin Democrats are in extraordinary shape to win, in 2026 and beyond. Our bench is deep, our staff is world-class, and our grassroots are unstoppable. As Trump, Musk, and the GOP shred our economy, our rights, and our democracy, our mission has never been more urgent. 

Wisconsin Democrats will elect their next chair at our state convention in the Wisconsin Dells this June 14-15, and I have no doubt that our party’s core strategy—a permanent campaign that organizes and communicates year-round in every community and in every corner of Wisconsin—will reach new heights and continue to innovate under the banner of the next leadership team. 

* * * 
I grew up in a Wisconsin that took pride in its rich progressive history. But Scott Walker and the GOP smashed unions, suppressed votes, rigged maps, and sought to lock in permanent control. When I moved home in 2018 to volunteer for future Governor Tony Evers and Senator Tammy Baldwin, Republicans controlled nearly every statewide office, the state Supreme Court, and gerrymandered near-supermajorities in both chambers of the state legislature. Things were—in a word—bleak. But what happened next gives me hope for the whole country in this frightening moment. The story of Wisconsin is a reminder that in the face of an all-out assault on our values, our rights, and our freedom, there’s only one answer: unite and fight.

That’s exactly what we did.

Democrats swept every statewide race in Wisconsin that fall, for the first time since 1982. Thrilled by that victory, inspired by the neighbor-to-neighbor organizing machine built by my predecessor chair Martha Laning, and infuriated by the lame-duck power grab executed by Walker and the state legislature, I ran for chair in 2019. My platform in that campaign—alongside First Vice Chair candidate Felesia Martin and Second Vice Chair candidate Lee Snodgrass—was FIRE: Fight, Include, Respect, and Empower. That motto would become the core of our approach. For six years, our party’s work to live out those values has been highlighted in my weekly newsletter. 

Our work has always been grounded in the idea that every person deserves freedom, dignity, and respect, and that our country should work for working people—not just the wealthiest few. That, by carrying those values into our work, we could elect people who would turn those values into policy. 

Together, we’ve done so much. We elected Jill Karofsky, Joe Biden, and Kamala Harris in 2020; Jill Underly in 2021; reelected Governor Evers, Lt Gov. Rodriguez, Attorney General Kaul, and Secretary of State La Follette in 2022; elected Janet Protasiewicz in 2023; and reelected Senator Baldwin in 2024. When we fell just short in statewide contests, the margins were agonizingly close: Mandela Barnes came within 1% of beating Senator Ron Johnson; Aaron Richardson fell 1.5% short of now-Treasurer John Leiber; and Vice President Harris came within 0.9% of Donald Trump. And then, this spring, we supported Susan Crawford in what became, by far, the most expensive judicial race in American history—and she defeated Brad Schimel, Elon Musk, and Donald Trump by 10%. 

In my time as chair, our coalition’s record for winning statewide offices in our recently red-looking state is 12 out of 15. Along the way, we’ve won hundreds of local races at every level of government; defeated an attempted impeachment to defend our new pro-democracy, pro-freedom Supreme Court majority; celebrated fair state legislative maps; and, in 2024, flipped ten Assembly and four state Senate seats—more red-to-blue state legislative flips than any state in the country. 

This is the story of a team, and a movement. It’s the product of year-round work by dozens—and at times, hundreds—of full-time party staff, tens of thousands of volunteers, and hundreds of thousands of donors that broke Democratic state party fundraising records. It’s the story of amazing candidates, outstanding campaign staff, and an array of extraordinary allies, facing often wildly long odds—and working together, driven by shared values and enormous stakes, to make the biggest possible difference in elections. 

As I often say to our team, the only true measure of our work is the impact it has on people’s lives. Our work has had exactly that kind of impact. I could not be more proud of everyone who has made it possible, or more grateful. 

After each election during my time as chair, I’ve posted a thank-you note to the many, many people who worked their hearts out to help with the last election. You can read last week’s note about this spring’s election here. (And here’s more from 2024, 2023, 2022, 2021, and 2020.) Even those posts are incomplete, and I won’t recreate them here. But I want to extend special thanks First Vice Chair Felesia Martin, who has worked in close partnership with me ever since we launched our first chair’s race together in 2019; to the four Executive Directors who have been my indispensable co-leaders—Nellie Sires, Devin Remiker, Cassi Fenili, and, now, Sarah Abel; my chief of staff Andrea Berkeland; and to Governor Evers and Senator Baldwin for their steadfast support and close collaboration at every step through these very intense years. 

And most of all, I’m grateful to my wife Beth and our kids, Mac, Suzy, and Jack. On my first day as chair, they were seven, four, and one year old. Now they’re thirteen, ten, and seven. They’ve weathered—including primaries (but not specials)—sixteen election days. This work has been a family-wide project (plus help from grandparents!), and I’ve been so lucky to have their unflagging support. I’ve promised each of them that we’ll go on a solo adventure this summer. Meanwhile, our huge dog, Pumpkin, is overdue for some trips to the dog park.

* * * 
This is a wrenching time for our country. But in Wisconsin’s path over the last 15 years, we can see what we need to do to fight through it. It’s on all of us to find ways to contain the damage, look out for one another, and build the strength to end the destruction—and then rebuild. I’ll be looking for new ways to contribute to that vital work. As I do, I know the labor of building a great Democratic Party—the last line of defense of our battered but immeasurably valuable democracy—will continue. We will not let our country fall, and we will continue to write the story of Wisconsin’s resurrection as a bastion of progress. 

Thanks again to all who have placed their trust in me for these last six years. Here’s to the next chapter. 

In solidarity, 

Ben