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The vast majority of Americans most likely never had good reason to wonder, “Who is the attorney general of Wisconsin?” Strange as it may sound, the answer to that question could soon be vital to the fate of American democracy.
Like other swing states from the 2020 elections, Wisconsin has become a setting for increasingly fraught battles over voting rights and election law. In March, an investigation launched by the Republican-controlled legislature issued a report calling for President Joe Biden’s 2020 victory in the state to be potentially “decertified,” with lead investigator and former State Supreme Court Justice Michael Gableman citing a string of baseless and increasingly unhinged conspiracy theories in his testimony before the state assembly. Gableman has also subpoenaed the Democratic mayors of Wisconsin and Green Bay, and in February asked a judge to jail both mayors for refusing to give closed-door testimony.
Last November, Republican Sheriff Christopher Schmaling concluded an investigation of five of Wisconsin state election commissioners, concluding that their decision to send absentee ballots to nursing homes without an in-person visit due to the COVID-19 pandemic was criminal. Schmaling is seeking felony charges and prosecution by the state.
In Michigan, another perpetual swing state, the Republican-controlled state legislature’s investigation into the 2020 elections found no evidence of mass voter fraud, but that isn’t discouraging the state GOP’s continued embrace of Trumpist candidates and conspiracy theories. Many of the party’s leading contenders for governor, attorney general, and secretary of state are 2020 deniers, as are a large number of candidates for state legislature.
Across the country, Republican elected officials and their lawyers have been taking to the courts with outlandish claims of fraud and election rigging during the 2020 contests. While most of their arguments have been soundly rejected by judges at every level, were Republicans to take control of attorney general offices in places like Wisconsin and Michigan in 2022, those same spurious theories and lawsuits could instead have the full backing of state governments in 2024 and beyond. Even in GOP primary races where Trumpist candidates aren’t poised to win, they succeed in pulling “establishment” Republicans even further right, to a place where questioning the veracity of the 2020 elections results is a litmus test.
Midterm elections are almost always difficult for the party in the White House, but as Blue Tent explains in our latest brief, flipping or retaining the attorney general’s office in key swing states could decide the fate of a free and fair election in 2024. Further, Democrats are better positioned than you might think to maintain a firewall, with strong incumbents like Dana Nessel in Michigan and Josh Kaul in Wisconsin, as well as winnable races in Arizona, Georgia, and Texas. For donors looking to get the biggest bang for their buck, these states are also all-important battlegrounds for the future, meaning that an investment in the AG’s race would be an investment in longer-term Democratic organizing goals. Conversely, giving to grassroots groups in the state could help push statewide progressive candidates over the top, including those running for attorney general.
As the last several months have shown, the unprecedented attacks on democratic elections in 2020 were merely a dress rehearsal for a far more cynical and wide-ranging conspiracy in 2024. To be ready for it, progressives need to keep a firm grip on state attorney general offices.