Governor Evers signs new state legislative maps into law. (Photo/The New York Times)
By Karen Stokes
Governor Tony Evers has signed into law new legislative district maps on Monday February 19, bringing an era of fair representation for Wisconsin for the first time since 2011.
Since 2011, Wisconsin Democrats in the state Legislature have found it challenging to escape a persistent minority status. This predicament was established when Republicans crafted and endorsed legislative maps, acknowledged by redistricting experts as among the most gerrymandered in the nation, securing substantial majorities for Republicans in both houses for more than a decade.
Evers became the first Democrat in 13 years to achieve this goal of the party to win back political capital in the Wisconsin statehouse.
“To me the decision to enact these maps boils down to this: I made a promise to the people of Wisconsin that I would always try to do the right thing,” Evers said at a press conference Monday in the state Capitol. “Keeping that promise, to me, matters most, even if members of my own party disagree with me.”
Eric Holder, Jr., the 82nd Attorney General of the United States and Chairman of the National Democratic Redistricting Committee (NDRC), response to the new legislative maps:
“The new legislative maps mark the start of a new chapter for democracy in Wisconsin and a potential end to the GOP’s illegitimate hold on political power. Thanks to Governor Evers’ leadership, a fair-minded state Supreme Court majority and the great people of Wisconsin, Wisconsinites have a chance for the first time in more than a decade to elect a state legislature that more closely reflects the will of the people and enacts policies that are actually popular and productive.”
Under the current Republican-drawn maps, Republicans hold 64 of 99 Assembly seats and 22 of 33 Senate seats.
The 99 Assembly districts drawn by Evers are about evenly split between Republican and Democratic-leaning districts. Forty-five districts are more Democratic than Republican, and 46 districts are more Republican than Democratic.
That leaves eight districts that are more likely to be a toss-up between Democrats and Republicans.
Wisconsin is among the most evenly and closely divided and contested 50/50 states in the nation.
Democrats hailed the signing as a major political victory in the swing state where the Legislature has been firmly under Republican control for more than a decade, even as Democrats have won 14 of the past 17 statewide elections.
The new legislative district maps will provide far more competition in legislative elections in our state than we have experienced in many years. The quality of candidates as well as the power of policy prescriptions and ideas will once again determine the outcome of more elections instead of preordained outcomes derived from district lines devised and skewed for partisan advantage, according to Common Cause Wisconsin.
“Today, we made progress towards true democracy in Wisconsin—thanks to the efforts of so many grassroots activists, tireless supporters, and elected leaders. We stand ready to fight back against any attempt by Republicans to undermine the path towards democracy and accountability, and we commit to doing everything in our power to ending the Speakership of Robin Vos and paving the way towards a Democratic trifecta that can, at long last, translate the will of the people of Wisconsin into the law of the land,” said Ben Winkler, chair Democratic Party of Wisconsin.
“Wins today can indeed lead to transformational change later, turning even more states into beacons of hope like Wisconsin is today,” said Holder