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Ben Wikler: “It's widely reported that this is because of the blowout…”

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

Ben Wikler Discusses Transition from Wisconsin Democratic Party Chair and Reflects on Political Landscape

Published May 23, 2025 | Video Starts at 01:30

Say that today feels like an auspicious day to join you because today this week Elon Musk has announced that he's going to stop spending so much money in politics. And It's widely reported that this is because of the blowout where he fell on his face in Wisconsin. And so that feels very good to have be, you know, looking towards the towards my next chapter, knowing that the richest man in the world is no longer looming … (01:30–01:36)

CLAIM

Asserts that reports suggest Musk's decision is due to a political failure 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

“Susan Crawford wound up getting more votes than any Republican candidate for governor in a November election in Wisconsin.”
Ben Wikler Discusses Transition from Wisconsin Democratic Party Chair and Reflects on Political Landscape | Uploaded May 23, 2025 | 02:58-03:05
“They did turn out more people than any Supreme Court candidate in the history of Wisconsin had ever gotten.”
Ben Wikler Discusses Transition from Wisconsin Democratic Party Chair and Reflects on Political Landscape | Uploaded May 23, 2025 | 03:18-03:23
“Leonard Leo, who led the Federalist Society, got a $1.6 billion grant to launch an initiative.”
Ben Wikler Discusses Transition from Wisconsin Democratic Party Chair and Reflects on Political Landscape | Uploaded May 23, 2025 | 10:28-10:39
“Trump is currently touting things that happened under Biden. There are 11 car plants being built in the United States.”
Ben Wikler Discusses Transition from Wisconsin Democratic Party Chair and Reflects on Political Landscape | Uploaded May 23, 2025 | 16:03-16:11
“We did cut child poverty in half.”
Ben Wikler Discusses Transition from Wisconsin Democratic Party Chair and Reflects on Political Landscape | Uploaded May 23, 2025 | 18:37-18:40
“Elon Musk has announced that he's going to stop spending so much money in politics.”
Ben Wikler Discusses Transition from Wisconsin Democratic Party Chair and Reflects on Political Landscape | Uploaded May 23, 2025 | 01:27-01:31
“Musk's PAC put out a memo saying that Schimmel's message needed to get Trumpier.”
Ben Wikler Discusses Transition from Wisconsin Democratic Party Chair and Reflects on Political Landscape | Uploaded May 23, 2025 | 05:11-05:16
“Republicans have built a permanent campaign in the form of for-profit companies.”
Ben Wikler Discusses Transition from Wisconsin Democratic Party Chair and Reflects on Political Landscape | Uploaded May 23, 2025 | 10:10-10:13
“Governor Evers ran on fixing the damn roads and has been the bulwark in the defense of democracy in this state.”
Ben Wikler Discusses Transition from Wisconsin Democratic Party Chair and Reflects on Political Landscape | Uploaded May 23, 2025 | 13:32-13:37
“Thanks to Biden Initiatives, the initiative to make sure folks can get access to federally funded federal research is now coming into…”
Ben Wikler Discusses Transition from Wisconsin Democratic Party Chair and Reflects on Political Landscape | Uploaded May 23, 2025 | 16:13-16:22
“There was only a couple of times in American history that have had this kind of ping pong back and forth.”
Ben Wikler Discusses Transition from Wisconsin Democratic Party Chair and Reflects on Political Landscape | Uploaded May 23, 2025 | 19:24-19:30
“We're the only state in the country where for two presidential elections the presidential campaign has come along and it has said your…”
Ben Wikler Discusses Transition from Wisconsin Democratic Party Chair and Reflects on Political Landscape | Uploaded May 23, 2025 | 22:29-22:43
“In every other state they set up a separate coordinated campaign.”
Ben Wikler Discusses Transition from Wisconsin Democratic Party Chair and Reflects on Political Landscape | Uploaded May 23, 2025 | 22:42-22:46
“Here we have one continuous program, whether county parties and other neighborhood teams all across the state.”
Ben Wikler Discusses Transition from Wisconsin Democratic Party Chair and Reflects on Political Landscape | Uploaded May 23, 2025 | 23:13-23:20
“Devin has really led and driven that work.”
Ben Wikler Discusses Transition from Wisconsin Democratic Party Chair and Reflects on Political Landscape | Uploaded May 23, 2025 | 23:33-23:36
“Ranked choice voting encourages a level of civility because if someone's not your supporter, you still have an incentive to try to earn…”
Ben Wikler Discusses Transition from Wisconsin Democratic Party Chair and Reflects on Political Landscape | Uploaded May 23, 2025 | 29:13-29:25
“Wisconsin, unlike a lot of states, we have a pretty broadly participatory system for choosing chairs, vice chairs, treasurer, secretary, the…”
Ben Wikler Discusses Transition from Wisconsin Democratic Party Chair and Reflects on Political Landscape | Uploaded May 23, 2025 | 31:17-31:27
“Anyone until the 24th of May can ask their county chair to make them a delegate to the state convention.”
Ben Wikler Discusses Transition from Wisconsin Democratic Party Chair and Reflects on Political Landscape | Uploaded May 23, 2025 | 31:31-31:38
“I think we need more communicators, period.”
Ben Wikler Discusses Transition from Wisconsin Democratic Party Chair and Reflects on Political Landscape | Uploaded May 23, 2025 | 33:34-33:36
“I've not heard anyone say that our messaging was off in the spring Supreme Court election.”
Ben Wikler Discusses Transition from Wisconsin Democratic Party Chair and Reflects on Political Landscape | Uploaded May 23, 2025 | 33:49-33:53
“I think that there's a lot that folks across the country honestly can learn from, from the way that Wisconsin Democrats communicate.”
Ben Wikler Discusses Transition from Wisconsin Democratic Party Chair and Reflects on Political Landscape | Uploaded May 23, 2025 | 34:38-34:49
“There's a federal budget debate over whether to execute the biggest transfer of money from the poor to the rich.”
Ben Wikler Discusses Transition from Wisconsin Democratic Party Chair and Reflects on Political Landscape | Uploaded May 23, 2025 | 37:06-37:13
“This is trillions of dollars that would be cut from Medicaid, from health care for, you know, often for, for working families.”
Ben Wikler Discusses Transition from Wisconsin Democratic Party Chair and Reflects on Political Landscape | Uploaded May 23, 2025 | 37:16-37:31
“Transferred in the form of massive tax cuts for the ultra wealthy.”
Ben Wikler Discusses Transition from Wisconsin Democratic Party Chair and Reflects on Political Landscape | Uploaded May 23, 2025 | 37:27-37:31
“Trump was trying to rip money away from regular folks and give it to his, you know, multi billionaire buddies.”
Ben Wikler Discusses Transition from Wisconsin Democratic Party Chair and Reflects on Political Landscape | Uploaded May 23, 2025 | 40:10-40:16
“We actually pay for health insurance. At the Democratic Party of Wisconsin, we have a 401k match.”
Ben Wikler Discusses Transition from Wisconsin Democratic Party Chair and Reflects on Political Landscape | Uploaded May 23, 2025 | 42:51-42:56
“In most states it's five or fewer staff in Wisconsin, we haven't had less than 50 staff since I staffed up in the fall of 2019.”
Ben Wikler Discusses Transition from Wisconsin Democratic Party Chair and Reflects on Political Landscape | Uploaded May 23, 2025 | 45:17-45:25
“I think Tony Evers has been extraordinarily effective.”
Ben Wikler Discusses Transition from Wisconsin Democratic Party Chair and Reflects on Political Landscape | Uploaded May 23, 2025 | 46:02-46:06
“In every budget [Tony Evers has had] a set of things that I dearly want to be in Wisconsin policy that Republicans have ripped out of the…”
Ben Wikler Discusses Transition from Wisconsin Democratic Party Chair and Reflects on Political Landscape | Uploaded May 23, 2025 | 46:07-46:14
“The idea of winning a trifecta in 2026 and actually passing these things into law is something that I relish.”
Ben Wikler Discusses Transition from Wisconsin Democratic Party Chair and Reflects on Political Landscape | Uploaded May 23, 2025 | 46:15-46:20