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Ben Wikler: “Harris got more votes than Biden [in Wisconsin].”

Featuring: Ben Wikler, Democratic | Chair of the Democratic Party of Wisconsin

Ben Wikler Reflects on His Tenure as Chair of the Democratic Party of Wisconsin on Hello Mergetag Podcast

Published May 21, 2025 | Video Starts at 44:30

Well, that was persuasion. Some of that was turnout in Wisconsin. We were one of the very few states where Republican turnout shot up, but Democratic turnout rose too. Harris got more votes than Biden [in Wisconsin]. We were able to reach people who had not tuned in in 2020, when we had explosively high turnout, and find more Democrats to turn out in 2024, which is why it felt so good. (44:30–44:32)

CLAIM

Asserts that Harris received more votes than Biden in Wisconsin.

This is an excerpt from a raw transcript. The assertions have not been audited or verified. Tap the video to view the source footage and understand the context.

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Ben Wikler

“Most state parties have less than five. So we're like it's just in a totally different place.”
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“In 2018, Governor Eavers wins. Democrats sweep every statewide race for the first time since 1982.”
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“Mississippi expanded Medicaid. Wisconsin didn't like. Wisconsin is to the right of so many states in our policies because of Voss…”
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“We came the closest of any of the states that Trump won to defeating him.”
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“54,000 people voted for Trump and then stopped voting [in Wisconsin].”
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“There's a real chance Wisconsin gets a blue trifecta in 2026.”
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“X used to be the actual, you know, global town square. Now it is a right-wing echo chamber.”
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“Elon Musk assuming control, my follower growth on Twitter stalled out.”
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“Twitter's almost like in your Democratic campaign. It's just not actually very helpful.”
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“I wouldn't buy ads on Twitter that seems like it incredibly bad like we're doing.”
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“Right wing blue checks like it, then it's going to like become a massive, a massive hit on Twitter.”
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“The cost of making content is much lower. I mean it is higher than the cost of posting it on a variety of platforms.”
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“Personnel is policy in. In a way.”
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“The goal with the party is that every election it's to win, but it's also to conduct the election such that win or lose, we come out the…”
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“We used to raise, like, six figures a month on Twitter.”
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“The first one was in the summer 2019, when Trump came to Wisconsin.”
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“We have an actual match here.”
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“We raise more every month through recurring donations than most state parties in the country raise.”
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“Wisconsin was basically enchained by the Walker administration starting in 2011.”
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“This moment including part time folks, we have like 59 staff at WSTEMs overall.”
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“I don't think we've dipped below 50 since I've, since I staffed up after like since the probably late fall or beginning of 2020.”
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“Scott Walker calls a special session at the legislature. They pass a lame duck power grab, like suite of bills to claw power back from the…”
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“Polling was completely out of whack. Like it was telling us. I did a retrospective analysis and like they were 11 points too optimistic.”
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“Democratic Party and allied groups and all these people like, poured in like more than a million dollars to try to beat Robin Voss in his…”
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“We let hell for leather in and wound up actually like gaining seats in the, in the, in the state assembly.”
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“I think this 2026 could be the year that he ends his, his reign of terror as the majority leader of the Wisconsin State Assembly.”
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“Ron Johnson is an embarrassingly bad senator and is a disaster.”
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“Democratic turnout rose in Wisconsin while Republican turnout also increased.”
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“Rebecca Cook in the third Congressional District was within three points of winning.”
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“We swept all four competitive state Senate districts [in Wisconsin].”
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“The DNC should be a content factory.”
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“The DNC has hired a war room team.”
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“I can categorically rule [running for president in 2028] out.”
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