On a warm early September evening, Ben Wikler is talking to a group of volunteers packed into a former EVP coffee shop on Mineral Point Road, impressing on them what is at stake in the Wisconsin governor’s race.
“This is a moment that is, simultaneously, one of the most hopeful moments in our state’s history, and one of the most terrifying political moments in all of our political lives,” the former chair of the Democratic Party of Wisconsin tells the room of Madtown O’s, a neighborhood canvass team on Madison’s near-west side.
In Wikler’s view, electing a Democratic ticket is key to “unlocking the shackles” around democracy. A Democratic governor could block an attempted coup on the presidency in 2028 and victories in down-ballot races would give Democrats control over the legislative agenda for the first time in a decade and a half. Wikler has a wish list, with repealing Act 10 at the top…