As someone who gets to spend their days thinking about redistricting policies — AND as someone who grew up in Wisconsin — I am so proud of what the fair maps movement has accomplished in the Badger state.

This election cycle, our Democracy Defenders helped flip 14 seats from red to blue across both the state assembly and state senate — ending the GOP’s underearned advantage that had been in place for the last 13 years.

Fair maps won big. It’s now quite possible that Democrats could take back majorities in both chambers in 2026.

This didn’t happen overnight. These wins took years of organizing, activism, and holding Republicans accountable. It’s the long-term vision of Attorney General Holder and this organization that made this possible.

Let’s quickly review the last decade or so:

Upon taking office in 2011, newly elected Governor Scott Walker wasted no time focusing on manipulating the state's legislative maps.

I spent three weeks sleeping on the cold marble floor in the state capitol building with 100,000 other concerned citizens, as part of a protest against his administration’s power grab.

Nevertheless, Governor Walker and his extreme allies in the state legislature changed the rules of the state supreme court to undermine the state’s longstanding chief justice, gutted the state’s nonpartisan elections board, and enacted a horrifying gerrymander, which guaranteed them an unearned lock on power for a decade .

And then in 2017, the NDRC was founded. And the organization began building an infrastructure for activism and organizing which put a spotlight on just how badly Republicans were bending the rules — not just in Wisconsin but all across the country.

The NDRC endorsed Tony Evers as a Democracy Defender, and in 2018 he was elected Governor of Wisconsin, promising to be a fair maps champion. But the GOP-controlled legislature immediately stripped away many of his powers.

Instead of backing down, this community doubled down .

Since then, NDRC Chair Eric Holder has made numerous trips to mobilize voters, raised millions of dollars, and brought increased national attention to critical state-level races in Wisconsin.

All that work culminated last year in the election of Judge Janet Protasiewicz to the Wisconsin Supreme Court, breaking the long-held conservative stranglehold on the body. Republicans knew their days of running rampant with maps were over. The legislature passed Governor Evers’ fair maps ahead of this year’s elections.

This cycle, for the first time since I became eligible to vote, Wisconsin’s state legislative maps were finally fair.

The NDRC endorsed 90 Wisconsin candidates as a part of our Democracy Defenders program. Committed Democrats like you understood the importance of these state-level races that too often go overlooked — and you put in the work.

That’s how we won: Laying the groundwork for fair representation by securing fair maps. But our work is far from over. We need to build on the momentum from these incredible gains and bring it to other states in need of reform.

I’m excited — and so grateful for the chance — to do that with this fair maps movement. Thank you.

All the best,

Jacob

Jacob Carrel
Deputy Director of Litigation & Policy

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Since 2017, the NDRC has executed a comprehensive redistricting strategy that shifts the redistricting power, creating fair districts where Democrats can compete. Our victories have been made possible by our strong community of grassroots supporters.
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