Politics of Wisconsin

[1] Wisconsin's political history also encompasses, on the one hand, Robert La Follette and the Classical Progressive movement, and on the other, the Republican and anti-Communist Joe McCarthy.

Socialist newspaper editor Victor Berger was repeatedly elected as a U.S. Representative, although he was prevented from serving for some time because of his opposition to the First World War.

[4][5][6] Some political scientists classify Wisconsin as a hybrid regime;[4] the state's House of Representative and legislature elections are considered to be free but not fair, with districts undergoing "extreme partisan gerrymanders" to entrench Republicans "beyond electoral rotation".

[4][5][7] In 2020, Wisconsin leaned back in the Democratic party's direction as Joe Biden won the state by an even narrower margin of 0.7%.

[9] Wisconsin has leaned Democratic in recent presidential elections, although Donald Trump managed to win the state in 2016 by a narrow margin of 0.8%.

Both the 2000 and 2004 presidential elections were quite close, with Wisconsin receiving heavy doses of national advertising, in accord with its status as a "swing", or pivot, state.

Republicans had a stronghold in the Fox Valley, but elected a Democrat, Steve Kagen, of Appleton, for the 8th Congressional District in 2006.

The City of Milwaukee heads the list of Wisconsin's Democratic strongholds, which also includes Madison and the state's Native American reservations.

His first year in office saw the introduction of the 2011 Wisconsin Act 10, which removed collective bargaining rights for state employees.

Walker enacted other bills promoting conservative governance, such as a right-to-work law,[14] abortion restrictions,[15] and legislation removing certain gun controls.

When Walker lost re-election in 2018, he collaborated with the Republican-held legislature to strip several powers from the incoming Governor and Attorney General.