Contact: Austin Kieler, (262) 501-9880
Trio Aims to “Supercharge the Grassroots”
MADISON—Ben Wikler today announced his candidacy for State Chair of the Democratic Party of Wisconsin (DPW). Ben is joined on the ticket by Milwaukee County Board Supervisor Felesia Martin as candidate for First Vice Chair and Appleton-based former State Senate candidate Lee Snodgrass as candidate for Second Vice Chair of the party.
The announcement took place in the Madison, Wisconsin home where Ben grew up and now lives. Ben, now 38, got his start in Wisconsin politics as an eleven-year-old volunteer for his godmother Ada Deer’s 1992 Congressional campaign; organized a statewide student campaign that won $20 million education funding while a student at Madison West; and volunteered and interned for Tammy Baldwin, Russ Feingold, and Ed Garvey during high school and college. A lifelong progressive activist and currently Senior Advisor at MoveOn.org, he has played a national leadership role in fights including the battle to save the Affordable Care Act and the efforts to build the blue wave in the 2018 elections. Ben and his wife, Beth, and three children moved home to Wisconsin last year, after Ben worked to elect Governor Evers and Lt Governor Barnes and combat the GOP power grab in the December special legislative session.
“I’m running for chair of the Democratic Party of Wisconsin because I believe in the power of grassroots activists,” said Wikler. “The stakes in 2020 couldn’t possibly be higher. It’s time to supercharge our party in every corner of the state to fight for our progressive agenda, defeat Trump, and win Democratic victories up and down the ballot.”
“As a co-chair of President Obama’s reelection campaign and a Milwaukee County Board supervisor, I have worked to build a culture in the Democratic Party where everyone is welcome and valued,” said Felesia Martin. “Our whole ticket is committed to building the Democratic Party of Wisconsin around the Obama values of ‘respect, empower, include.'”
“As a recent State Senate candidate and current chair of the Outagamie County Democratic Party, I know firsthand how vital county parties and volunteers are to our success in electing Democratic candidates to office,” said Lee Snodgrass. “Our ticket will prioritize the voices of county party members and leadership to make sure that their unique challenges are understood by the state party and that Democrats across all of our diverse regions are working as a unified team.”
