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Like a lot of progressives, I’ve spent much of my professional life carping about my own team — about how we’re not smart or strategic or disciplined enough in our fight against the right.
But I’m not doing that as much anymore. Instead, I keep seeing more examples of how savvy and effective the left has become.
The recent mobilization around the Wisconsin Supreme Court election is a great example. In the past, a race to fill a judgeship on a state supreme court — even a super-important race like this one — wouldn’t have attracted much attention. Democratic political operatives and some progressive organizers would have tuned in, but not many others.
That was then. Today, an array of organizing groups and fundraising networks are laser-focused on winning the April election for an open seat on the court. And for good reason.
If we win, a liberal majority of judges could overrule extreme gerrymandering and produce new, fair maps for state legislative and congressional districts. It could also reverse other antidemocratic rulings by the court, such as its 2022 decision to ban ballot drop boxes. These moves could have a big impact on the 2024 election — helping both flip the U.S. House and secure a Biden win in Wisconsin. Likewise, a liberal Wisconsin high court could be a crucial firewall in the face of attempts to overturn the presidential election results in that state.
But there is even more at stake in April’s election, as Trip Brennan explains in this Blue Tent post. Wisconsin has had a statewide abortion ban on its books for over a century, which has suddenly become relevant again after laying dormant for 50 years. The state’s Supreme Court will inevitably face a challenge to the law’s constitutionality and flipping the court before that happens may be Wisconsin’s only chance to prevent the criminalization of reproductive rights for years to come.
In the past few weeks, I’ve sat in on four briefings about why this race is so important, who’s mobilizing to win it, and what donors can do to help. The election is coming up fast, in April, so time is short. The Democratic Party of Wisconsin and a number of national and state groups are going all-out to organize for victory. Voter outreach is key here since many people skip off-year elections and those who do turn out may have no clue who the judicial candidates are.
Based on analysis by Focus for Democracy, which specializes in identifying the most cost-effective electoral strategies, we’re recommending that donors give to Working America and Movement Labs. We’ve promoted these two groups before; both are known for using evidence-based tactics to turn out Democratic voters at a low cost. Each has a sophisticated strategy to engage and mobilize Wisconsin voters to win the Supreme Court race.
Donate to Working America and Movement Labs
In addition, donors may consider giving to the Wisconsin Democratic Party, which can use your money in a wide range of ways, including running television ads and transferring funds directly to Judge Janet’s campaign. WisDems is known as one of the nation’s most effective state Democratic parties.
Thanks for tuning into this race. Blue Tent has long been banging the drum about state supreme courts. See our strategy brief on the growing power of these courts as the U.S. Supreme Court devolves more power to the states, including over voting rules and reproductive rights. These institutions need to be on donors’ radar — and stay there.