Senate Minority Leader Dianne Hesselbein on floor of Senate. (Courtesy Hesselbein's office)

Wisconsin Senate Democrats knew going into this year’s elections that their opportunity to flip the Senate wouldn’t come until 2026, but they had a goal of flipping four seats and keeping every seat already held by a Democrat. They succeeded, and now the caucus is preparing for a legislative session with high hopes for bipartisan work.

Senate Minority Leader Dianne Hesselbein (D-Middleton) told the Wisconsin Examiner in a year-end interview that her 15-member caucus is bringing “a lot of energy, enthusiasm and honesty” to the Senate and is looking forward to working next session. She said the bolstered caucus is returning for the next two-year session with “a lot of good ideas.”

Hesselbein said lawmakers have already started to talk about what happened on the campaign trail, and the caucus will begin having more robust conversations next week about their priorities for the session. She said the importance of public schools including K-12, universities and technical colleges has been a recurring theme already.

Hesselbein sees new influence for Democrats in a few ways. For one, Senate Democrats now have the numbers to stop Senate Republicans from overturning Gov. Tony Evers’ vetoes. Hesselbein said this is “huge.” Senate Republicans held a 22-seat supermajority in the 2023-24 session, which allowed them to vote to overturn some of Evers’ vetoes, though these efforts weren’t successful since Assembly Republicans didn’t hold a supermajority. Senate Republicans’ majority  was trimmed back to 18 out of 33 seats in the recent election. 

With a more evenly split Legislature, Hesselbein said there will be the potential to get more things done in a bipartisan way. She noted that last session several big pieces of legislation, including funding renovations at the stadium where the Milwaukee Brewers play, investing in the state’s local government funding and overhauling the state’s alcohol licensing, had bipartisan support. 

“They have a lot of Republicans on their side that don’t vote for much of anything, so we will see going forward,” Hesselbein said. She said that she has spoken with Leader Devin LeMahieu (R-Oostburg) and newly-elected Senate President Mary Felzkowski (R-Tomahawk) about the upcoming session, and the conversation was good. She said Senate Republicans plan to caucus on Monday and Senate Democrats will caucus on Tuesday, and the leaders will hopefully meet again in January. 

“I’m going to have conversations with Sen. LeMahieu and Sen. Felzkowski, and figure out if there’s a way we can move forward in a bipartisan manner,” Hesselbein said. 

One area ripe for work next year is the state’s two-year budget. With a $4 billion budget surplus, lawmakers will return in January with the task of deciding how to spend the money. 

Hesselbein said she believes that Democratic votes could be necessary to successfully pass a budget. The Senate Democratic leader hasn’t voted in favor of a state budget in her 12 years in the Legislature, and hopes that can change. 

“I don’t know how they would pass a budget without Democratic votes. They have a lot of Republicans on their side that don’t vote for much of anything,” Hesselbein. She pointed to Sen. Steve Nass (R-Whitewater), who voted against the last state budget, as an example. Nass’ Chief of Staff Mike Mikalsen noted in an email to the Examiner that Nass has voted against “many fiscally flawed and big spending state budgets,” but that “since his first election in 1990, he has voted in favor of a few fiscally-sane state budgets.” 

Agencies recently submitted their budget requests, and when it comes to education funding, DPI Superintendent Jill Underly submitted a request for an additional $4 billion and the UW System has asked for an additional $855 million. Hesselbein said she was surprised that the requests were so high. 

“They’re big numbers but you know what? They have been underfunded for decades,” Hesselbein said. 

Underly’s job, Hesselbein said, is “to run the Department of Public Instruction and let us know what she thinks she needs for that budget, and she did that.” She said that UW System President Jay Rothman had the same responsibility. 

“I know we couldn’t meet both their expectations, right, without blowing a huge hole in the budget,” Hesselbein said.

Shoring up education

Hesselbein said that investing in the state’s special education reimbursement for public schools could be particularly important as there is uncertainty about what could happen under the new Trump administration.

“If Donald Trump gets rid of the Department of Education on a federal level, what does that do for special education in the state of Wisconsin? We have students that have IEPs, and they have federal protection so that they can get help but they might be learning different ways,” Hesselbein said. “There’s a lot of unsure things going on right now.”

Hesselbein said investing in mental health resources in K-12 schools and higher education will be important as well. 

Republicans have said tax cuts will be one of their highest priorities next year. Hesselbein said that any tax cuts would need to be “micro-targeted” to gain Democratic support, and she doesn’t know if Republicans will “get there based on what they did last session.” Republican lawmakers had proposed several tax cuts that Evers vetoed, including an income tax cut.  

Hesselbein added that property tax relief could be an interesting proposition, given that many communities have decided to raise their property taxes to help with education costs. A recent Wisconsin Policy Forum report found that gross K-12 property taxes in the state are expected to rise by the largest amount since 2009 due in part to referendum requests. 

“Really the reason why we have billions of dollars in our surplus is because we haven’t been funding K-12 education the way we should for years,” Hesselbein said. “People over and over again will raise their property tax if they want to support their neighborhood schools, so those people are agreeing to tax themselves higher because they care so much about K-12 education, but they’re making those decisions because the state of Wisconsin isn’t keeping up their promise to pay for those services and that school.” 

Other Democratic prioirites

When it comes to health care issues, Hesselbein said that she hopes lawmakers will be able to expand Medicaid coverage for postpartum mothers to 12 months. She noted that Wisconsin is one of two states in the U.S. that haven’t accepted the expansion. The Senate passed a bill to do so  in the most recent legislative session, but it never received a vote in the Assembly. 

“We have it on the books where you get 60 days and if you’re postpartum 61 days, too bad, you don’t get any services,” Hesselbein said. “That’s not how your body works after you have a baby.” She said women who have just given birth need support and resources.  

As Democrats are still in the minority, Hesselbein admitted there will likely be limits to what Democrats can accomplish on certain issues next session as much will depend on Republicans.

Hesselbein said Democrats will continue working to eliminate the 1849 statute that went into effect when Roe v. Wade was overturned, causing the cessation of abortion services in Wisconsin. That law is currently being challenged in the Supreme Court. She said that she also wants to pass a bill for a fairer process for drawing voting maps. Wisconsin implemented new maps this year after the state Supreme Court ruled that the last set of maps, drawn to heavily favor Republicans, were unconstitutional. However, the laws guiding how Wisconsin draws voting maps haven’t changed.

“I don’t know if that’s going to happen until we’re in the majority, but we’re going to continue to push for that,” Hesselbein said. 

Hesselbein said it would be a “missed opportunity” if Republicans choose not to work with Democrats to get things done, and said voters will remember “if we don’t get the budget done on time…if we’re not meeting as much” and what bills get completed.

“I can’t force Republicans to work with me if they won’t do that,” Hesselbein said. “I can offer an olive branch. I can say, ‘My door is open. Let’s have these conversations.’ But at the end of the day if they refuse to work with me, that’s on them.”

Hesselbein recalled that on the last day of session Senate Republicans ended debate even as Democrats wanted to speak, which led to Sen. Tim Carpenter (D-Milwaukee) throwing papers up in the air in frustration.

“We answer to the voters in our district and it’s awful when the Republican Party silences Democrats, just because they don’t want to hear what we need to say to represent the communities that we represent. That’s unfair,” Hesselbein said. “And we won’t do that, by the way, when we’re in the majority. We’re going to let people be able to talk and be able to say what they want and have robust conversations.”

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Underly accepted the 2024 Diversity Award from the State Council on Affirmative Action on behalf of her agency. (Screenshot via Wisconsin DOA YouTube)

Department of Public Instruction Superintendent Jill Underly became tearful Friday while speaking about a friend she knew in high school, who was kicked out of her home after coming out as gay to her parents.

“Her parents were furious. They said it went against everything they believed, everything they hoped for her, and when she started to cry her dad said, ‘I want you to give us the key’ and she said, ‘My key? My key to my car?’ and her mom chimed in and said, ‘No, the key to our house.’” Underly said, adding that the friend had to stay on another friend’s couch. 

“When I saw her at school, she was so tired and worried. She said she missed her dog. She missed her bed. She missed her brother,” Underly said. “What this story teaches us is the critical lesson — inclusion begins at home. Our families play a critical role in fostering an environment of love and acceptance for everyone and other identities. But what about our schools? What about our teachers?” 

Underly was accepting the 2024 Diversity Award from the State Council on Affirmative Action on behalf of her agency. She noted that many Wisconsin children are continuing to deal with mental health challenges with students of color and LGBTQ+ students facing disproportionate challenges. 

“There’s so many kids who cannot be themselves at home, so they see school as that safe place of belonging,” Underly said.

The council established the Diversity Award in 2000 to “recognize state agencies, Wisconsin Technical Colleges and UW campuses for their strong commitment to the recruitment, retention and promotion of a diverse workforce as measured by the creation of programs, initiatives and practices.” 

This year DPI received the award because of its work on its 2024-26 Equity and Inclusion Strategic Plan. The agency developed the plan in accordance with Executive Order 59, which Gov. Tony Evers signed in 2019. The order requires state agencies to create equity and inclusion plans and other strategic plans, analyze how much is spent by agencies for DEI activities, including for staffing, and review reported outcomes resulting from DEI activities. 

DPI’s plan laid out the current status of diversity of the agency and laid out specific goals and actions that it could take to improve equity and inclusion, including addressing disparities throughout its hiring process, improving retention of staff from underrepresented and historically marginalized groups and fostering an inclusive community and creating a culture that is “respectful, free of bias and where accountability is present at all levels of the agency.” 

“While a significant portion of public school students identify as being of color or of mixed races, a much smaller percentage of DPI staff and teachers reflect this diversity. Addressing this imbalance is vital,” the plan states. “To effectively serve all students, especially those from historically marginalized groups, it is crucial to enhance staff diversity throughout the educational system, from the DPI down to individual classrooms.” 

The plan notes that among 576 permanent DPI employees in 2021-2023, an average of 11% were staff of color, 18% had disabilities and 3% were veterans.  

One way the agency could improve its workforce diversity is by increasing outreach to and visibility of the state application and hiring process for DPI positions, the plan suggests. 

Underly thanked Gov. Tony Evers for his dedication to diversity, equity and inclusion in her speech and said the award is a “testament to the dedicated efforts that the team at DPI, who built and continue to implement our equity and inclusion plan with passion and purpose.” 

“We aren’t afraid of the politics, and we will support diversity. We will support equity. We will support inclusion and we will support belonging for employees, for our teachers across the state and for every single child,” Underly said. 

The celebration of the agency’s DEI efforts comes in a year when efforts to foster diversity have been increasingly targeted by Republicans in the state. In May, Republicans launched an audit to look at DEI initiatives throughout state government, including to determine specific activities that are being performed in compliance with Executive Order 59.

At the time, Sen. Eric Wimberger (R-Green Bay) called DEI a “neo-Marxian philosophy meant to pit one socially-constructed class against another,” and said that Evers’ executive order “divided Wisconsinites into identity groups against each other’s benefit.” 

Lawmakers in the last legislative session also introduced a bill to eliminate DEI statements and a proposed constitutional amendment to eliminate DEI throughout state agencies. 

DPI’s interim communications director Chris Bucher told the Examiner in an email Friday that it “would probably be safe to assume” that similar efforts will come forward next legislative session as “some continue to seek to divide instead of bring us together.” 

“All kids belong in Wisconsin’s schools, no matter their background, and our schools are some of the most diverse places. As you have seen with bills and rhetoric the last few legislative sessions, promoting inclusion and belonging in our schools has been coined by some as a negative thing,” Bucher wrote.

Bucher said the work of the department would not be affected by efforts to “minimize the unique backgrounds and perspectives of kids in our schools and meet their individual needs,” and that that the department would continue to advocate for inclusion. 

“Our diversity is a strength, and as the needs of kids continue to grow, finding ways to improve belonging in our schools is critical,” he said. “We will continue advocating for our diverse schools to be places where all perspectives are welcome, and the provisions outlined in Dr. Underly’s budget proposal are a good starting point in achieving our goals.” 

Underly has proposed spending an additional $4 billion for education, including increasing the state’s share of funding for special education, creating additional mental health supports, and implementing free school meals for all students and early literacy initiatives.

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Committee co-chair Sen. Julian Bradley noted that many of the issues discussed will need continued discussion from lawmakers and members of the public in the future as AI continues to develop and become a bigger part of Wisconsinites’ lives. (Screenshot via WisEye)

A Wisconsin study committee met Thursday to discuss regulation of artificial intelligence as well as investments in AI that it will recommend to the state Legislature. 

The committee includes four lawmakers — Sen. Julian Bradley (R-New Berlin), Rep. David Armstrong (R-Rice Lake), Sen. Tim Carpenter (D-Milwaukee) and Rep. Clinton Anderson (D-Beloit) — as well as eight members of the public. Members have been meeting monthly since July to hear from an array of stakeholders about the ways that AI is currently being used in the state, issues that have or could arise from the technology and ways to address those and how the state could capitalize on potential benefits.

The study committee is the latest effort as Wisconsin government and business leaders attempt to confront increased use of and ongoing advancements of AI technology. Gov. Tony Evers and Assembly Speaker Robin Vos both organized task forces in the last year to address the issue.

Bradley, the committee’s co-chair, noted at the end of the meeting that many of the issues will need continued discussion from lawmakers and members of the public as AI develops and becomes a bigger part of Wisconsinites’ lives. The committee is considering recommending an ongoing and more permanent body that will continue looking into AI after members end their work this year.

“I believe that a lot of these start with an ongoing committee. There’s a lot of things that say we need to continue to explore … because the technology is changing,” Bradley said. “Things are changing constantly, so we want to be able to have public members with the Legislature come together and say, ‘Hey, maybe not yet,’ or ‘OK, it’s time now.’ ” 

A final report with recommendations for lawmakers will be put together in coming weeks. 

Potential regulations and state uses 

The committee considered a number of proposals during the meeting for regulating the use of artificial intelligence, protecting consumers and exploring how state government will interact with the existence of AI. 

One of the first proposed concepts was to apply existing state laws to AI models in the same way the laws apply to humans, including when it comes to disinformation, impersonation and creating and distributing fake imagery.

“Anything that’s illegal for a human, should be illegal for AI — as a general principle,” CEO of the MKE Tech Hub Coalition Kathy Henrich said during the meeting. 

Wisconsin has already enacted two laws that regulate the use the AI: 2023 Wisconsin Act 123, which requires disclosure of the use of generative AI in political ads, and 2023 Wisconsin Act 224, which made it a crime to possess virtual child pornography and obscene material, including that created with generative AI.

Henrich acknowledged that this could be a complicated issue because any law would need to be able to determine a liable party. 

“Is it the developer? The deployer? The consumer?” Henrich said. “The devil will be in the details of making sure we’ve really thought through how you hold people accountable and where that accountability lies.” 

Sarah Alt, the chief process and AI officer for Michael Best, said the question of accountability for new technology is not a new dilemma, but it is complex because of how quickly AI has developed. 

Aly also proposed that the Legislature enact a couple of laws related to data privacy. 

Wisconsin considered a bill, 2023 Assembly Bill 466, that would have established certain requirements for “controllers and processors” of consumers’ personal data, including confirming what information they have, obtaining that data and requesting the deletion of data. It also included financial penalties of a forfeiture of up to $7,500 per violation. Three states, including Colorado, Connecticut and Utah, enacted similar data privacy laws in 2023.

Alt said that data is a “crucial raw material for artificial intelligence.” 

“If we’re not going to be able to legislate every possible use case … I do believe data is certainly one of the places where we would declare that to be no different than other raw materials that are regulated,” Alt said. She compared data to asbestos, saying, “there are safe ways that you can use asbestos and there are also very harmful ways that you can use asbestos.”

Jay Hill, Vice President of Advanced Technology for GE Healthcare, agreed that this type of regulation could help keep people accountable for how data is used.

“If it’s free, then people could do all sorts of crazy and exploitative things, but if there’s some cost to it, I think it elevates the level of responsibility for people who will use those data,” Hill said. 

Alt also said that lawmakers should look at resurrecting a bill similar to 2023 Wisconsin AB 824, which would have defined various roles and laid out a set of responsibilities for people or groups that own, control and share personal data. 

Members also discussed three other issues that lawmakers could explore including requiring the labeling of communications that use AI, possible bias embedded in the algorithms of large language models and requiring companies to publish clear AI guidelines and principles.

Anderson said that he thought that requiring disclaimers of AI when communicating with the public would be best practice. 

“I think I’m pretty good at discerning when AI is being used or not, but I think of my dad, who’s definitely not capable of determining what’s AI and what’s not. … So, just making sure we’re protecting the public, so they’re aware,” Anderson said. 

Henrich cautioned that legislation such as that could potentially set a bad precedent by discouraging people from using their own discernment skills to determine whether AI was used. 

“If you legislate that you mark things as AI, people will get trained to believe that anything that’s marked as AI is AI, and anything that isn’t is human,” Henrich said. “If I’m a bad actor, I’m more likely to not mark it and therefore I’m more likely to fall for bad actors who may be using AI in the wrong ways.” 

Henrich said that lawmakers would also need to think about how that kind of legislation would be enforced.

Potential Investments in AI

The committee also considered potential areas where the state could invest to help support universities, technical colleges, businesses and other stakeholders in the ongoing education, innovation and integration related to AI.

One suggestion the committee could make is to expand Fast Forward, a program administered by the Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development that provides grants to employers to provide training to workers, and specifically dedicating funding to learning how to work with AI and requiring courses on computer science and statistics for students. 

Henrich said an investment in teaching people skills related to AI could be essential as the technology may affect the job market and could come through the Fast Forward program and through technical colleges and universities. 

“I’ve seen market dynamics in play, and as much as people want to say everyone will be employable long-term with AI, I am a firm believer that there’s disruption in the middle, that as AI is implemented normal market dynamics will go to saving costs and may result in people losing roles as a result of that,” Henrich said. “Investing up front and people understanding AI so that they maintain employable skill is going to be very critical.”

Henrich noted that there might need to be changes to the Fast Forward legislation to make it applicable to AI. 

Two potential suggestions the committee discussed involve incentives for businesses, including tax breaks and a grant or revolving loan program. 

Armstrong suggested that lawmakers could explore creating a program that would give small manufacturers an incentive to adopt automation and AI through a revolving loan fund or a small grant. He said he did a survey of small manufacturers in his part of the state and found that many aren’t really exploring the use of AI currently. 

“Only 4% of them were even looking at AI right now,” Armstrong said. “A lot of them, when I started talking to them [said] we don’t even know where to start at this point. … They’re looking for somebody within a company to develop a curiosity about, what could AI do for us, and then I think you’d probably have a champion within that company that can run with it. This is more of a way to maybe jump-start that.”

Alt said she liked the concept of a revolving loan because of how quickly technology moves and the fact that a company would have to keep working on improvements. 

“If your grant is one and done, then even if you do get what you needed that first time that you implemented it, there is still the constant tuning and the constant investing and the constant improving, and because the technology moves so quickly your idea is already old within months, if not a couple of years,” Alt said. 

The full list of potential recommendations to lawmakers can be found here. 

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Assembly Minority Leader Greta Neubauer (D-Racine) speaking at a press conference before an April 25, 2023 floor session. (Baylor Spears | Wisconsin Examiner)

A bolstered Assembly Democratic Caucus voted unanimously Tuesday to elect Rep. Greta Neubauer (D-Racine) to another term as Assembly minority leader. Her continued leadership was confirmed after Democrats gained 10 additional seats in the Assembly this year.

New electoral maps passed by the Republican Legislature and signed by Gov. Tony Evers gave Democrats the chance to compete for more seats in newly competitive districts this November. While Assembly Republicans will hold a 54-seat majority next year, Assembly Democrats grew their caucus from 35 members to 45 members. 

Neubauer has served as the leader of Assembly Democrats since 2021. She was first elected to the Assembly in 2018. 

“Our caucus will return to the Assembly floor in January with ten new members — the largest increase in membership in one election in more than 50 years. The next session will present us with new opportunities and new challenges, and our work is cut out for us,” Neubauer said in a statement. “We will put forward a visionary and inclusive policy agenda. We will help craft a budget that works for every Wisconsinite, in every community. And we will reflect the will of the people.” 

Other leaders in the Legislature were also reelected in the last two weeks with Assembly Speaker Robin Vos (R-Rochester), Senate Majority Leader Devin LeMahieu (R-Oostburg) and Senate Minority Leader Dianne Hesselbein (D-Middleton) all chosen to continue in their positions. 

Other members of Assembly Democratic leadership include: 

• Rep. Kalan Haywood (D-Milwaukee) as Assembly minority assistant leader 
• Rep. Lisa Subeck (D-Madison) as Assembly minority caucus chair 
• Rep. Clinton Anderson (D-Beloit) as Assembly minority vice-caucus chair
• Rep. Mike Bare (D-Verona) as Assembly minority caucus secretary
• Rep. Jodi Emerson (D-Eau Claire) as sergeant-at-arms

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With less than 50 days until Election Day, the Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee, the national organization that works to elect Democrats to state legislatures, announced its endorsement of 14 candidates for the Wisconsin State Legislature. (Henry Redman | Wisconsin Examiner)

With less than 50 days until Election Day, the Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee, the national organization that works to elect Democrats to state legislatures, announced its endorsement of 14 candidates for the Wisconsin State Legislature where new maps adopted this year have opened opportunities for Democrats to increase their numbers.

DLCC President Heather Williams said in a statement that “Wisconsin represents one of the most exciting opportunities to shift the balance of power” this election cycle, and said the organization is “proud” to uplift the candidates. 

“For too long, Republicans have weaponized gerrymandered maps to lock themselves into power,” Williams added. “This cycle, with new maps finally in place, there’s a real opportunity for voters to fairly elect their leaders and carve a new future for the state.” 

The organization consulted with Wisconsin Senate Minority Leader Dianne Hesselbein and Assembly Minority Leader Greta Neubauer in choosing the candidates. Neubauer said the attention on the races from the DLCC demonstrates the importance of the Wisconsin Assembly at a national scale. 

Currently, Republicans hold 64 seats in the Assembly — a majority that was achieved under gerrymandered maps. New maps adopted by the state Legislature and Democratic Gov. Tony Evers, after the state Supreme Court threw out the previous maps, has made the state Legislature competitive for the first time in over 10 years. Neubauer told the Examiner she is confident that Democrats can win a majority in the Assembly this year. 

Neubauer said control of the Assembly is “essential for quality of life for people in our state,” and that Republicans have used the Legislature to “change the rules and insulate their own power in Wisconsin.”

“The question at hand is will Republicans be able to continue using the Legislature to consolidate their own power and serve their own interests, or will we have a Legislature that truly reflects the will of the voters in Wisconsin and passes the policy that people need to thrive?” Neubauer said. 

The DLCC is highlighting 10 Assembly candidates, who are running in districts that under the new maps President Joe Biden would have won or lost by about two percentage points. They include: 

• David Marstellar (AD-21) 
• Joe Sheehan (AD-26) 
• Alison Page (AD-30) 
• Duane Shukoski (AD-53)
• LuAnn Bird (AD-61)
• Rep. Jodi Emerson (AD-91) 
• Yee Leng Xiong (AD-85) 
• Christy Welch (AD-88)
• Ryan Spaude (AD-89)
• Rep. Steve Doyle (AD-94)

Five of the candidates are seeking to unseat Republican incumbents. In two races in the Milwaukee area, Marstellar is seeking to unseat longtime Rep. Jessie Rodriguez (R-Oak Creek), who has served in the Assembly since 2013, and LuAnn Bird is challenging incumbent Rep. Bob Donovan. Sheehan is seeking to oust first-term Rep. Amy Binsfeld in the district representing Sheboygan. Page is challenging Rep. Shannon Zimmerman in a seat representing parts of western Wisconsin, and Xiong is seeking to oust Rep. Patrick Snyder in the race for the 85th district, which includes Wausau.

Neubauer said that the political environment and enthusiasm since Vice President Kamala Harris entered the race for president is important. 

“We are seeing reflected in the polls and hearing at the doors that people are really excited to vote for Kamala Harris and so that, of course, is helpful to our candidates that brings more voters to the polls,” Neubauer said, adding that the competitive races at the state legislative level will also help the top of the ticket. 

Neubauer said Democratic candidates are centering their Assembly campaigns on having direct conversations between candidate and voter with candidates knocking doors every day in the leadup to the election. 

“We know that that is the most persuasive tool that we have in our toolbox, and that is how we are going to win these extremely close races,” Neubauer said. 

The four Senate candidates include Jodi Habush Sinykin, who is running against Sen. Duey Stroebel in the 8th Senate District, Sarah Keyeski who is running against Sen. Joan Ballweg in the 14th Senate District, Kristin Alfheim who is running against Anthony Phillips in the 18th Senate District and Jamie Wall who faces Jim Rafter in the 30th Senate District.

Republicans currently hold a 22-seat supermajority, and with only even-numbered districts up for election, Democrats in the Senate are seeking to win the targeted seats this cycle as well additional seats during the 2026 election cycle, with the goal of taking the majority.

Hesselbein said the “spotlight” candidates are running in areas where Democratic Gov. Tony Evers won in 2022 and President Joe Biden won in 2020. She also noted excitement since Harris has entered the race.

“It is an easy argument to make that we should do well in these districts, and I felt like at the beginning of the cycle, we were going to do well in these districts,” Hesselbein said. “But now, with the enthusiasm level that we are seeing with Kamala Harris being at the top of the ticket, I am extremely enthusiastic about our chances.” 

Hesselbein said she continues to feel the excitement, including after last week’s debate between Harris and Trump, and her job is to “keep the wind at our backs.” She said she is also encouraging candidates to participate in debates as well. 

Hesselbein said debates for each race are important so “voters of the state of Wisconsin see a true contrast between the individuals that are running for State Senate.” She noted that she has experienced and observed challenges in getting Republican candidates to agree to debates. 

With less than seven weeks to go, Hesselbein identified funding as one challenge for Democrats. She said the DLCC helps a “great deal” with funding and messaging, and having the group’s backing is “extremely important.”

“Unfortunately, campaigns are expensive,” Hesselbein said, noting that state Democrats are asking for donations and holding fundraisers. The additional help from the national level is a big boost. “We’re doing a good job,” she said, “but we always have room to improve.”

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