Three Democrats gunning for party chairmanship

(The Center Square) – Wisconsin Democrats are gearing up to elect their new state party chairman and other roles at this weekend’s convention in Wisconsin Dells.

Chairman Ben Wikler, in role since 2019, announced he wouldn’t seek another term after losing a bid for Democratic National Committee’s chairmanship in April.

Gunning for Wikler’s seat are former state party Executive Director Devin Remiker, 3rd Congressional District chairman and LaCrosse County party cochairman William Garcia, and Milwaukee-area communications operative Joe Zepecki.

The party’s choices this weekend will help shape their 2026 strategy in the swing state as they eye the governor’s seat, a state Supreme Court seat, the attorney general’s office, and several competitive congressional and state legislative seats.

“The great unfinished task is to win the legislative majorities and be able to deliver the chance in people’s lives that Democrats have been fighting for this entire time,” Wikler said in an interview with WisPolitics.

The chairman will be elected Sunday by way of ranked-choice ballot.

Notably, Remiker has received the most statewide endorsements, including from Wikler himself in a break from his former committed neutrality that bristled both Zepecki and Garcia.

“The Democratic Party of Wisconsin is widely considered to be the strongest state party in our country,” Wikler said in a statement. “Devin has been a huge part of how we built that strength.”

Wikler especially touted Remiker’s focus on local strength.

“Devin knows rural,” Wikler said. “And he knows urban, suburban, and small towns. He knows, in other words, Wisconsin.”

Remiker, like Zepecki and Garcia, has been campaigning on a plan to focus on the party’s local and statewide development with his “72 County Strategy.”

If he wins, Remiker pledges to “zero in on critical races for councils, school boards and county boards” in a way that’s unique to every county’s party.

He has received endorsements from Senate Minority Leader Sen. Dianne Hesselbein, D-Middleton; Assembly Minority Leader Greta Neubauer, D-Racine; and U.S. Rep. Gwen Moore, D-Wis.

However, Zepecki criticized Wikler’s break from neutrality by endorsing Remiker in a Facebook video May 20.

“Two things can be true at the same time: Ben and his team have strengthened our party, and Democrats have a ton of work to do,” Zepecki said in the video. “Our brand is busted, our communications and messaging aren’t landing, and organizing and infrastructure is too top-down, one-size-fits-all.”

Zepecki promised the party that he would deliver on “new leadership and a fresh perspective.”

Since 2016, Zepecki has run his communications company and assisted in several campaigns across the country.

Numerous state lawmakers and former party chairwoman Linda Honold as well as several county party chairs have endorsed Zepecki.

Garcia’s “Grow, Persist, Resist” platform has been focused on providing resources and support for county parties as well as maintaining the national focus on Wisconsin politics.

In La Crosse, he helped flip the 96th Assembly seat, which had been held by Republicans for nearly 40 years.

“We were able to flip that through hard work,” Garcia said in a statement first reported by Wisconsin Examiner. “That was because of the strong infrastructure that we built at the county. What I want to do is replicate that all across the state.”

While he wants to make Wisconsin Democrats’ voices heard nationally, Garcia seeks to ensure that county parties have a “bigger seat at the table” when it comes to messaging and decision-making.

“County parties are the experts in what is happening in their own communities, and we need to be listening to them in ways we’re not right now about the best way to really reach out and talk to voters in those areas,” Garcia said.

Garcia has been endorsed by Democrats local to him, including La Crosse mayor Shaundel Washington-Spivey and Rep. Tara Johnson, D-Town of Shelby.

Overall, Democrats are itching to win a trifecta in Madison with the governor’s seat, state Senate, and state Assembly in 2026.

“What we see right now in Wisconsin, I think, is a burgeoning blue wave that’s going to hit the state in 2026 with full force,” Wikler previously said.

While the new chairman would need to fill Wikler’s shoes quickly, especially given the record $200 million the party has raised under his leadership since 2019, Wikler said he doesn’t doubt the party will continue to work to “carry that trust forward” in future years.