Democrats in Wisconsin counting down one year until the presidential vote

Wisconsin will be a “tipping point” to decide the next presidential election, one year from this coming Sunday.

The Democratic Party of Wisconsin has members spreading across the state this weekend to launch a “one year to win” campaign.

In an online presentation Thursday, state party chair Ben Wikler said it’s important for U.S. Sen. Tammy Baldwin to be re-elected to help Democrats retain narrow control of the Senate.

“Then there’s the House,” Wikler said, “where MAGA Republicans, like Derrick Van Orden and Bryan Steil, give the GOP their five-seat majority to put Mike Johnson in the speakership — someone who wants to criminalize same-sex relationships, someone who is ardently in favor of a national abortion ban.”

Van Orden is in his first term representing the 3rd District, which includes the La Crosse area. Steil is in his third term, representing the 1st District, in southeast Wisconsin.

The Republicans have a 10-seat majority in the House, which Wikler believes can be flipped to Democratic control next fall.

Democrats will be knocking on doors around the state this weekend.

That includes Baldwin, who’s running for a third term, and Melissa Agard, the leader of Democrats in the state Senate. She said they are recruiting candidates in hopes of winning all 33 Senate seats.

“We are ready to run competitive races in every corner of the great state of Wisconsin, from Racine to Superior, La Crosse to Green Bay, and everywhere in between,” said Agard.

Baldwin will not be in La Crosse County as part of her weekend trip around the state, but she has scheduled a stop in Richland Center on Friday afternoon.