On April 4, Wisconsin has an extraordinarily important election. Yes, the state Supreme Court race. But also a state Senate seat that will determine whether Republicans get a supermajority. Let’s win it.
Read, share—and chip in for Jodi Habush Sinykin, the Democrat.
Wisconsin is a 50-50 state, but Republicans have gerrymandered our legislative maps so ruthlessly that they are now just one seat away from a 2/3 supermajority in the state Senate.
The reason the GOP doesn’t quite have 2/3 of the Senate is because Alberta Darling, a Republican who served District 8 for 29 years, announced her retirement last year and vacated her office on December 1, 2022. As a result, the GOP has 21 seats. Dems have 11.
On April 4, Wisconsin will hold a special election to fill the seat. Senate District 8, in the Northern Milwaukee suburbs, is conservative but trending bluer. The Democratic nominee is Jodi Habush Sinykin. The Republican is Dan Knodl—a guy who puts the “ultra” into “ultra-MAGA.”
Knodl was a cheerleader for Trump’s attempted coup.
When election deniers circulated a letter urging Mike Pence to ignore Wisconsin’s legitimate electors on January 6, 2021, Knodl was one of the signatories. That’s right. He tried to help overturn the results of a free and fair election.
For years, Knodl has been scheming to roll back reproductive freedom in Wisconsin. Before Roe was overturned, Knodl sponsored legislation that banned abortion at 20 weeks with no exceptions for rape or incest.
Right now, Wisconsin is in legal limbo—a near-total abortion ban, passed in the year 1849, has ended all access to safe and legal abortion in Wisconsin. Governor Evers proposed repealing it. Dan Knodl didn’t lift a finger to respond.
Knodl also has the unqualified endorsement of Wisconsin Right to Life, a leading anti-abortion special interest group that opposes abortion in nearly every circumstance, including rape and incest.
Dan Knodl is long affiliated with the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC), even serving on their Public Safety & Elections task force—and has backed calls for rewriting the U.S. Constitution through an “Article V” convention. He’s a menace to democracy.
Knodl’s too extreme for Wisconsin.
This is a very far cry from his predecessor, Alberta Darling. He’s just a terrible fit for this district.
Jodi Habush Sinykin, though, is just the opposite.
Jodi is a 28-year Wisconsin business owner who has created hundreds of good union jobs here in Wisconsin. She’s exactly the kind of public-spirited leader that anyone would want in office.
Jodi’s running on a platform that aligns with Wisconsin’s values. She knows that reproductive freedom is on the ballot—and if elected, she’d work to defend it.
Wisconsinites deserve clean water and a healthy environment. Jodi’s background as an environmental lawyer protecting our Great Lakes would be absolutely vital in moving change forward. We need Jodi in the legislature.
If Dan Knodl wins this seat, the GOP would get the State Senate supermajority they crave.
In that scenario, only a two-seat margin in the Assembly would stand in the way of Republicans overriding Governor Evers’s veto. Republicans would be on the brink of total control.
We know what the GOP would do if they got that power. They’ve never tried to hide it. They’d rig our electoral system in their favor, stomp on reproductive freedom, allow guns on school grounds, legalize discrimination, and further trample workers’ rights.
If we win the April 4 Supreme Court race, there could be a path to overturning the gerrymandered maps. Maybe even as soon as 2024. But until then, we have to prevent the GOP from getting total control. And this election is key.
We have a stellar organizing program on the front lines in SD8. They’re working every single day to win this race on April 4. Even one volunteer shift helps us get closer to that win. Can you join us? Sign up here, and recruit friends and family to do the same.
Keeping these programs running isn’t possible without direct donor support. Grassroots donors make our efforts possible. We’ve reached this moment thanks to our extraordinary grassroots network. We need that network—you—again to make these last 25 days count.
We know that Jodi’s message is stronger than Dan Knodl’s. But that only matters if people actually hear it. The WisDems is proud to be a major supporter of her Senate campaign, ensuring she has the resources to run ads that move voters. Can you help us ramp that up?
This once-red district has been trending purple. And special elections can trend even faster. SD8 is flippable, but it’ll take all of us.
We can elect Jodi Habush Sinykin on April 4—but only if we draw support from friends of democracy and freedom everywhere. Help out.