MEMORANDUM
TO: Interested Parties
FROM: DNC Chair Ken Martin
DATE: April 2, 2025
RE: Last Night’s Results Show Democrats the Path Forward
In their first two months in office, Donald Trump and his shadow president Elon Musk have taken a sledgehammer to Social Security and veterans’ support. They have threatened Medicaid and Medicare in the name of gifting trillions in tax cuts to billionaires, and they continue to slash the critical programs Americans rely on. Today, on so-called “Liberation Day,” Trump is tanking our economy as consumer confidence plunges to a four-year low and fears of recession spike.
In response, Americans across blue, purple, and red states are furious. They are showing up to Republican town halls across the country to demand accountability from their GOP representatives. And though midterm elections are more than a year away, where they’ve had the chance, Americans are also making their discontent with Trump, Musk, and the GOP heard at the ballot box.
Last night’s decisive victory in Wisconsin is the clearest example of discontent with Trump and Musk yet.
Elon Musk and the Republican turnout machine put everything they had into winning this race, and yet the people of Wisconsin squarely rejected them and billionaire special interests as they elected Susan Crawford to the state Supreme Court by nearly double digits.
Musk poured tens of millions of dollars into the Wisconsin Supreme Court race, promoted a million-dollar giveaway to Brad Schimel supporters, and gave his favored candidate a microphone on his social media platform Twitter/X – all as Musk’s company Tesla prepares for the possibility of hearings in the Wisconsin Supreme Court.
Right-wing influencers promoted the importance of this election for weeks, and Musk turned Twitter/X into his own turnout platform to try to drive votes for the candidate he bought and paid for.
Yet, Wisconsin voters decisively rejected all of this and chose people over billionaires. It wasn’t even close.
On top of this, last night’s special elections in Florida showed Trump, Musk, and Republicans that they’re in trouble in even the reddest of districts.
Democrat Gay Valimont claimed the best performance from a Democrat in Florida’s 1st Congressional District this century and became the first Democrat in almost two decades to flip Pensacola.
In Florida’s 6th, Democrat Josh Weil secured a massive overperformance in this Trump +30 district and validated Republicans’ widely-covered concerns about Republican candidate Randy Fine.
Democratic overperformances in elections have become an undeniable trend. In 2025, Democrats have consistently overperformed the top of the 2024 ticket in special elections.
Earlier this year, Democrats maintained control of the Virginia House of Delegates and Virginia Senate.
In Iowa, Democrat Mike Zimmer flipped a district Trump won by 21 points, overperforming the top of the November ticket by 14 points, while Iowa Democrat Nannette Griffin overperformed by 24 points.
Last month, Minnesota Democrats held the Minnesota Senate and won a House seat.
Last week brought even more warning signs for Republicans.
Democrat James Malone claimed an upset victory in an R+23 district in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, crediting voters’ anger at Trump’s chaos as a major factor in his win.
Louisiana voters overwhelmingly rejected ultra-conservative Republican Governor Jeff Landry’s constitutional amendments.
Trump pulled his UN nominee Rep. Elise Stefanik – worried voters in her district would opt for Democratic representation if the question was put to them.
And after last night, Republicans everywhere can no longer deny the toxicity of Trump 2.0.
Democratic momentum goes beyond winning special elections. The last two months were the best February and March in DNC history for grassroots fundraising. We know there’s still a long way to go to winning the House in 2026 and the presidency in 2028, but we’re seeing early what happens when we organize everywhere, fight like hell, and mobilize grassroots energy in defense of the values we hold near and dear.
Yesterday’s election in Wisconsin reaffirmed that the American people won’t tolerate Trump and Musk’s chaos. Our overperformances in Florida showed that no area is out of reach. It also affirmed that Democrats are rising again. As Trump’s approval ratings continue to fall and Musk’s plummets, Democrats are overperforming, winning races, and building momentum. The DNC proudly invested in GOTV efforts in both Wisconsin and Florida. In the days and months ahead, we will continue to show up and organize everywhere, because we know our message is resonating.
As we look to the future, Democrats are ready to hold Republicans accountable and win critical elections in Virginia, Pennsylvania, and New Jersey this year and – with the people on our side – take back the House in 2026.
