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Ben Wikler: “I've seen Republicans running as Democrats in order to…”

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

The Democratic Party Needs Change | The Ezra Klein Show

Published July 28, 2026 | Video Starts at 23:14

I think it should be a very big tent. There it is possible to get so far beyond the pale that party members themselves will vote to do something. I've seen Republicans running as Democrats in order to become spoilers. We saw Republican super PACs funding avowed anti Semites in Texas. We saw these things happen. (23:14–23:19)

CLAIM

Asserts that some Republicans have run as Democrats to disrupt elections.

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

“It was the fifth of the last seven presidential races that came down to less than 1 percentage point [in Wisconsin].”
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“This is the only year on record where the ruling party, regardless of whether it was left, right or center, lost ground.”
The Democratic Party Needs Change | The Ezra Klein Show | Uploaded July 28, 2026 | 03:19-03:26
“Republican super PACs [were] funding avowed anti-Semites in Texas.”
The Democratic Party Needs Change | The Ezra Klein Show | Uploaded July 28, 2026 | 23:18-23:25
“A North Carolina state Supreme Court race that the Democratic candidate lost by 401 votes led to the re-gerrymandering of the state.”
The Democratic Party Needs Change | The Ezra Klein Show | Uploaded July 28, 2026 | 45:47-45:54
“The United States Republican House majority [was affected by the North Carolina state Supreme Court race].”
The Democratic Party Needs Change | The Ezra Klein Show | Uploaded July 28, 2026 | 45:53-45:59
“Kamala Harris lost Wisconsin by less than a percentage point.”
The Democratic Party Needs Change | The Ezra Klein Show | Uploaded July 28, 2026 | 02:04-02:10
“Harris had done better than she had in any other battleground state in terms of how she did versus how Biden did.”
The Democratic Party Needs Change | The Ezra Klein Show | Uploaded July 28, 2026 | 02:45-02:53
“We actually gained 14 state legislative seats and won the U.S. senate race at the same time as we lost the presidential.”
The Democratic Party Needs Change | The Ezra Klein Show | Uploaded July 28, 2026 | 03:01-03:07
“The overwhelming issue in races all around the world and with the voters who actually shifted their vote choice between 2020 and 2024, one…”
The Democratic Party Needs Change | The Ezra Klein Show | Uploaded July 28, 2026 | 03:25-03:36
“There are Republicans who think Democrats are too liberal, there are Democrats who think Democrats are not fighting hard enough for change.”
The Democratic Party Needs Change | The Ezra Klein Show | Uploaded July 28, 2026 | 05:03-05:10
“There's a third category of people who feel like all of politics is messed up, that they can't trust either party.”
The Democratic Party Needs Change | The Ezra Klein Show | Uploaded July 28, 2026 | 05:10-05:16
“I would not expect for Democratic Party approval ratings to bounce back until people can see tangible results.”
The Democratic Party Needs Change | The Ezra Klein Show | Uploaded July 28, 2026 | 05:23-05:30
“Democrats are the party that wants to make government work for people.”
The Democratic Party Needs Change | The Ezra Klein Show | Uploaded July 28, 2026 | 08:24-08:28
“Our government, in so many ways, is set up to meet a million different goals other than delivering great public services.”
The Democratic Party Needs Change | The Ezra Klein Show | Uploaded July 28, 2026 | 08:39-08:47
“There's a ton that gets in the way right now of having a government that's capable of being responsive and effective.”
The Democratic Party Needs Change | The Ezra Klein Show | Uploaded July 28, 2026 | 09:05-09:11
“It's never been more urgent to have a government that is both responsive and effective.”
The Democratic Party Needs Change | The Ezra Klein Show | Uploaded July 28, 2026 | 09:20-09:25
“Democrats can rebuild trust in government and in themselves by being excellent and actually delivering.”
The Democratic Party Needs Change | The Ezra Klein Show | Uploaded July 28, 2026 | 09:27-09:34
“There were times in American life when parties were a huge part of your daily and monthly and weekly existence.”
The Democratic Party Needs Change | The Ezra Klein Show | Uploaded July 28, 2026 | 12:36-12:45
“When you became a naturalized citizen of the country, the local Democratic Party and sometimes the Republican Party was there to greet you.”
The Democratic Party Needs Change | The Ezra Klein Show | Uploaded July 28, 2026 | 12:44-12:51
“If they [Republicans] had won that super majority, they could have destroyed the Wisconsin Elections Commission and guaranteed future…”
The Democratic Party Needs Change | The Ezra Klein Show | Uploaded July 28, 2026 | 14:19-51:53
“It's in the state party's constitution that it is neutral in primaries.”
The Democratic Party Needs Change | The Ezra Klein Show | Uploaded July 28, 2026 | 15:45-15:49
“It's also part of that tradition to have the public get to call the shots.”
The Democratic Party Needs Change | The Ezra Klein Show | Uploaded July 28, 2026 | 15:54-16:00
“Wisconsin was the state that created open primaries.”
The Democratic Party Needs Change | The Ezra Klein Show | Uploaded July 28, 2026 | 15:59-16:03
“In 1948, there was this watershed moment. Joe McCarthy had just become the Republican senator in Wisconsin and the Democratic Party of…”
The Democratic Party Needs Change | The Ezra Klein Show | Uploaded July 28, 2026 | 16:09-16:28
“There is a essentially unified message this election cycle around affordability.”
The Democratic Party Needs Change | The Ezra Klein Show | Uploaded July 28, 2026 | 21:00-21:05
“Our federal government works for a cabal of far right billionaires and not for working people.”
The Democratic Party Needs Change | The Ezra Klein Show | Uploaded July 28, 2026 | 21:26-21:31
“Republicans in Wisconsin in the governor's race had a contested primary, and then it evaporated when Donald Trump tapped his favorite…”
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“Maybe 90% of voters already know who they're going to support even before they know who the candidates are.”
The Democratic Party Needs Change | The Ezra Klein Show | Uploaded July 28, 2026 | 27:54-28:00
“The GOP has announced they're going to run a campaign of hate, that Axios had this report that they're going to run a campaign trying to…”
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“Ron Johnson won by 1 percentage point [in 2022].”
The Democratic Party Needs Change | The Ezra Klein Show | Uploaded July 28, 2026 | 33:27-33:33
“Ron Johnson holds teletown halls all the time.”
The Democratic Party Needs Change | The Ezra Klein Show | Uploaded July 28, 2026 | 33:35-33:39
“Ron Johnson is a huge vaccine skeptic and COVID vaccine skeptic.”
The Democratic Party Needs Change | The Ezra Klein Show | Uploaded July 28, 2026 | 33:42-33:48
“There are five candidates for governor in Wisconsin right now, and they represent kind of the. A big part of the range of the Democratic…”
The Democratic Party Needs Change | The Ezra Klein Show | Uploaded July 28, 2026 | 36:32-36:43
“Wisconsin has almost perfectly evenly divided voters across the two parties.”
The Democratic Party Needs Change | The Ezra Klein Show | Uploaded July 28, 2026 | 37:07-37:16
“It often comes down to the final ballots that are counted through the Milwaukee Central count system.”
The Democratic Party Needs Change | The Ezra Klein Show | Uploaded July 28, 2026 | 37:15-37:22
“It comes down to the margins in red rural counties that have voted 70% for the GOP, but this time they vote 68% and you're able to win.”
The Democratic Party Needs Change | The Ezra Klein Show | Uploaded July 28, 2026 | 37:22-37:31
“There are voters all across our state who are furious about the way things are right now, who have not yet been reached by any message from…”
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“Nancy Pelosi has a three item list for what it takes to win elections. She says it's message, money and mobilization.”
The Democratic Party Needs Change | The Ezra Klein Show | Uploaded July 28, 2026 | 42:40-42:47
“The Scott Walker loophole, a Wisconsin law that allows the state parties to fund state candidates to an unlimited degree.”
The Democratic Party Needs Change | The Ezra Klein Show | Uploaded July 28, 2026 | 43:49-43:57
“The Democratic Party of Wisconsin can receive big donations and then make big donations to state candidates.”
The Democratic Party Needs Change | The Ezra Klein Show | Uploaded July 28, 2026 | 44:00-44:06
“The US Supreme Court has changed federal laws to allow the national parties to play a bigger role with their money than they did before.”
The Democratic Party Needs Change | The Ezra Klein Show | Uploaded July 28, 2026 | 44:16-44:24
“Those limits [on party organization contributions to candidates] have been obliterated.”
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“In a lot of elections, voters find out who the candidate is when they walk into the polling place for state legislative races.”
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“The Democratic Party of Wisconsin has built hundreds of neighborhood teams across our state.”
The Democratic Party Needs Change | The Ezra Klein Show | Uploaded July 28, 2026 | 47:04-47:18
“There are people in New York and California and across the country who go through a training with our state party and learn how to staff the…”
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“Slay has made a difference in Wisconsin and a whole bunch of other states.”
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“Wisconsin had a free and fair election in 2024.”
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