Matthew Norman
Evers could have a substantial impact on the redistricting process after the 2020 Census.
It was a mixed night for Wisconsin Democrats, except that it appears that their candidate for governor has defeated Scott Walker. Of course, that’s kind of like being able to report in February that the Packers had a mediocre regular season before they went on to win the Super Bowl.
Evers and attorney general candidate Josh Kaul won narrow victories subject to potential recounts but their party actually lost ground in the state Senate and remains deep in the minority in the Assembly. Democrats also failed to pick up House Speaker Paul Ryan’s seat in southern Wisconsin or Glenn Grothman’s seat northwest of Milwaukee. The Grothman seat would have only fallen and the state Senate would have only flipped in a blue wave, and there was nothing of the sort sweeping across the state.
Tammy Baldwin did win an easy victory over Leah Vukmir, but that had been predicted for months and Vukmir was a remarkably bad candidate.
But Evers seemed to have been just what was needed to finally oust Walker. Calm, decent, and arguably the most centrist of all the candidates in the crowded primary field, Evers emphasized meat and potatoes issues like improving education and fixing the roads. He is no Democratic Socialist.
He also probably got a boost from a sensible national Democratic strategy to attack Republicans, like Walker, over their efforts to allow insurance companies to once again deny coverage based on pre-existing conditions. Walker has backed a lawsuit to repeal Obamacare and protection for pre-existing conditions is a key provision of that law.
The major implication for Evers’ win, if it holds up, is that he will force a fair redistricting process after the 2020 census, which could eventually result in Democrats regaining control of one or both houses of the Legislature as early as the 2022 elections. The biggest immediate policy implication is that he might be able to reach a deal with legislative Republicans on more funding for roads. We can expect pretty much everything else to be a knife fight.
But here’s the thing. A governor — especially when his party holds no legislative majorities — is the clear leader of his party. If Evers can build a party in his image — practical and focused on issues that most people actually care about — combined with fair legislative maps, he could be the guy who produces a long-term Democratic renaissance here.
Another thing in the Democrats’ favor is their support among younger voters. Exit polls indicate that Evers won 60 percent of voters under 30 and 56 percent of voters who are 30 to 44.
Who would have figured that an unassuming guy like Tony Evers could be the architect of a new blue majority? But Evers is a Wisconsin guy through and through. If Tommy Thompson was the quintessential extrovert Wisconsin guy, Evers may be the prototype introvert Wisconsin guy. Either way, it looks like a good fit.
As a party, Wisconsin Democrats may still be in disarray. But if Tony Evers can set about making it his party, that could be just the ticket to the Democrats’ future success.
