Gerrymandering is a Cancer — Just Ask Wisconsin Republicans

Gerrymandering Is Bad. Period.

Anyone who cares about democracy — or fairness — knows that gerrymandering is bad.

Here in Wisconsin, we’re a 50/50 state (as swingy as a swing state gets!). But in 2010, Republicans won a trifecta — taking the governor’s office, the State Assembly, and the State Senate — and they used that power to draw maps that rigged the game, guaranteeing themselves control of our State Legislature for a generation.

For years, Republicans had an easier path to a supermajority than Democrats had to a simple majority. That might make sense in California or Alabama. In purple Wisconsin? It’s a travesty.

It took Wisconsin 15 years to claw its way back from these undemocratic maps.

This is from a blog post I wrote in 2018, after an election where State Assembly Democrats got 54% of the popular vote but only 36% of the seats. See the full post here.

But we did it!

In 2024, Wisconsin FINALLY got fair maps.

Fair Maps Took 15 Years to Win

This week, we elected a new member of the Wisconsin State Supreme Court. Had Democrats lost, we would have gone right back to Republican gerrymandered maps.

But fortunately, all the money in the world (literally!) couldn’t help Elon Musk buy a Supreme Court seat.

But this isn’t a post about our recent election.

This is a post about why gerrymandering is toxic for everyone — not just the party it shuts out.

Gerrymandering Hurts the Party in Power, Too

It’s obvious why gerrymandering is bad for the party out of power.

Democrats in Wisconsin won almost every statewide election for years but still had to genuinely worry about Republican super majorities in the State Legislature. That’s obviously bad.

But what gets too often overlooked: It’s also bad for the party in power.

Really.

Now on the surface, that might seem silly — Robin Vos and Wisconsin Republicans have ruled Wisconsin with an iron fist since before President Obama took out Osama bin Laden!

They have jammed their pro-corporate profit agenda down our collective throats for a decade and a half.

They have put their donors before the people, time and time again.

And they could do it, because the maps they drew protected them from facing repercussions.

But That Protection Came at a Cost

That’s the thing — they disconnected themselves from the voters.

It didn’t matter what they did:

• They could gavel out of session in March year after year, despite being paid a full-time salary, without hurting themselves at the ballot box.
• They could be deemed the least productive full-time legislature in the country — in the middle of the COVID pandemic no less! — and it wouldn’t cost them any seats.
• They could gavel in and gavel out whenever Governor Evers called a special session on important issues like gun violence or chronic workforce challenges.

They were safe to do literally whatever they wanted to do.

And they clearly enjoyed their freedom.

But it came at a huge cost.

In the last four statewide elections where Wisconsin Republicans didn’t have an incumbent on the ballot, their bench was so weak, they struggled to find credible candidates to run.

2022

In 2022, they had to look out of state to find a candidate to run against Governor Tony Evers.

Tim Michels might have roots in Wisconsin, but he’s spent most of his adult life in Connecticut.

He also previously ran for US Senate against Russ Feingold and lost by over 10 points.

In 2022, he went on to lose to Governor Evers in a Wisconsin landslide (aka – he lost by more than one point).

2023

In 2023, Janet Protasiewicz ran against Dan Kelly for the Wisconsin State Supreme Court.

The last time Kelly had been on the ballot, just a few years prior, he’d lost by over 10 points to Jill Karofksy. An actual landslide!

In 2023, he lost again… by about the same margin.

2024

In 2024, when it was time to take on US Senator Tammy Baldwin, Wisconsin Republicans again had to look out of state.

This time, they called on Eric Hovde, who, like Michels had roots in Wisconsin, but was as California as they come.

He too had also run for office in the past and lost in a primary to Tommy Thompson in his bid to challenge Tammy Baldwin during her first run for US Senate.

2025

In 2025, Susan Crawford ran against Brad Schimel for the Wisconsin State Supreme Court.

Schimel served as Wisconsin Attorney General, a statewide role he lost to current AG Josh Kaul in 2018.

Schimel lost this week to Crawford by well over 10 points.

Let’s Connect The Dots

To recap:

• Wisconsin Republicans have ruled the Badger State with an iron fist since the year Justin Beiber released Baby.
• They had an outright super majority in the State Senate as recently as last year, and at the same time were barely shy of a super majority in the State Assembly.
• Yet in their last four open statewide seats, they couldn’t find a single candidate to run for office who wasn’t from out of state and/or a former statewide loser.

Despite having all of this power, they have literally no bench.

Because gerrymandering is a cancer.

Yes they drew maps that guaranteed their power. But by “protecting” themselves from the voters, they also lost touch with the voters.

For 15 years, Wisconsin Republicans could govern however the hell they wanted, without having to worry about electoral consequences. And it destroyed them as a party.

They’ve struggled to win any statewide election for the last 10 years…

…and now they can’t even find credible candidates to run for higher office.

Let Wisconsin Republican losses be a lesson for the country: gerrymandering is a cancer. It may secure power in the short term — but in the long run, it rots your party from the inside.

When politicians choose their voters instead of the other way around, everyone loses — even the people who think they’ve won.