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Ben Wikler: “Kyrsten Sinema and Joe Manchin are no longer senators.”

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

Ben Wikler has a plan for Democrats to save democracy. He'll take our questions.

Published August 6, 2026 | Video Starts at 28:21

We came very close to banning partisan gerrymandering in 2021, there were two US senators who refused to change filibuster rules. Kyrsten Sinema and Joe Manchin are no longer senators. If Democrats win a majority in the Senate, I'm very confident they'll be winning with candidates that believe that we should change the rules to prevent the rigging of democracy itself. (28:21–28:25)

CLAIM

Asserts that Kyrsten Sinema and Joe Manchin are no longer serving as U.S. senators.

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

“Democrats swept every statewide office for the first time since 1982 in Wisconsin.”
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“They were the biggest funders of the Stop the Steal movement during the, you know, the period after. After Trump lost in 2020.”
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“They've put in like $20 million at this point. Something in that. In that range into helping Republicans retain control of the state.”
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“Republicans have a majority in the U.S. house because of 7,309 votes across three congressional districts.”
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“They have a US House majority because of 401 votes in a 2020 North Carolina Supreme Court race that led to the gerrymandering of that state.”
Ben Wikler has a plan for Democrats to save democracy. He'll take our questions. | Uploaded August 6, 2026 | 26:37-26:45
“D.C. would not be the smallest state.”
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“There's one study that found that the opinions of the bottom economic 90% of Americans have no discernible impact on the policies that…”
Ben Wikler has a plan for Democrats to save democracy. He'll take our questions. | Uploaded August 6, 2026 | 34:34-34:43
“We've had more changeover in who, which party has the White House, which party has the U.S. house, which party has the Senate in this…”
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“The Menominee Tribe's recognition by the federal government had been terminated and [Ada Deer] led a campaign that wound up passing a…”
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“The fight to stop the repeal of the Affordable Care Act... ultimately, millions of people got involved.”
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“State legislative races on Alaska, Wisconsin and a whole bunch of other places in these next 90 something days... will determine whether we…”
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“Both parties nationally don't actually exercise that much power.”
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“In the United States, individual people decide if they're going to run for office.”
Ben Wikler has a plan for Democrats to save democracy. He'll take our questions. | Uploaded August 6, 2026 | 09:32-09:49
“The Democratic Party can mean the amorphous blob of candidates, of pundits, of consultants, or the formal legal entity.”
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“In Wisconsin, we have hundreds of neighborhood teams across the state that work on a year-round basis.”
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“The Democratic National Committee and state parties are generally trying obsessively to stay neutral in primaries.”
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“I would expect Wisconsin specifically to be a toss up again this year.”
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“Tom Tiffany, who's a real profound extremist who tried to overturn the 2020 election, running for governor.”
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“He has been backed by two billionaire families. One of them Diane Hedricks. The other is Dick and Liz Uline.”
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“Tom Tiffany specifically is such a perfect example of someone who's made life more expensive for everyone in the state.”
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“The GOP has actually got the filibuster exactly where they want it right now.”
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“You can cut taxes for rich people, you can confirm U.S. supreme Court justices without a filibuster, but for anything that brings down the…”
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“We came very close to banning partisan gerrymandering in 2021, there were two US senators who refused to change filibuster rules.”
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“If Democrats win a majority in the Senate, I'm very confident they'll be winning with candidates that believe that we should change the…”
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“Almost every Democrat and the vast majority of Americans believe that no one should not get health care when they're sick.”
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“There is a stark difference between a Democratic Party that universally rejected the $1 trillion in cuts to health care to fund tax cuts for…”
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“Wisconsin legislators and the Wisconsin idea...regulated the railroads, put workplace safety rules in place, unemployment insurance, workers…”
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“We're a country where so clearly the rules are being written by a handful of far right billionaires for their own benefit.”
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“In my own state, I experienced a political system more rigged, more dominated by the right than the US national government is right now.”
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“We have actual small d democratic elections this fall where whoever wins the most votes wins the state legislature and could pass laws.”
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