The Republican-controlled legislature in Wisconsin unveiled their proposed redistricting map today. If you're getting a strong sense of deja vu, though, it's because the map that was released today looks
virtually identical to the map that was leaked a few weeks ago. It looks like their plan is to go ahead and push the map through the legislature (and GOP Gov. Scott Walker's desk) before the recall elections later this summer, where their hold on the state Senate may come to an end (and with it, their control of the trifecta for redistricting purposes).
That said, this map isn't a Machiavellian triumph in the same way as last North Carolina's map, but more of a reinforcement of the status quo designed to shore up the delegation's 5-3 GOP majority around the margins. Probably the most significant change-up is swapping territory between the southwestern WI-03, held by moderate Dem. Ron Kind (who may be vacating to run for Senate, though), and the northern WI-07, picked up in 2010 by GOP frosh Sean Duffy. Kind's district picks up Democratic-leaning Portage County (home of college town Stevens Point), while Duffy's district picks up swingy but Republican-trending St. Croix County, which is at this point becoming a distant exurb of the Minneapolis area. Even this change is pretty marginal, though, probably making the 3rd and 7th two or three points more blue and red, respectively. (If you want to see a map that overlays the current boundaries with the proposed new ones, check out this Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel article.)
The Republicans also look to be shoring up Paul Ryan's Racine-based WI-01, by giving him a bigger share of Waukesha County, Milwaukee's western suburbs and the epicenter of conservatism in the state; previously Jim Sensenbrenner's WI-05 occupied most of Waukesha Co. (Ryan hasn't been challenged seriously before, despite occupying a pretty swingy district that went 51% for Obama.)
They're also apparently looking at WI-06, a district that hasn't really ever been on the map in my lifetime, occupied for more than 30 years by sorta-moderate GOPer Tom Petri, probably with an eye toward nailing it down in the likelihood of an open seat at some point this decade. The district was 50% Obama in its current configuration, so they took away affluent exurban Ozaukee County from Sensenbrenner and gave it to the 6th. (To make up for losing Ozaukee and parts of Waukesha, the 5th instead sheds the Democratic-leaning North Shore suburbs within Milwaukee County, like Whitefish Bay and Fox Point, so the 5th can safely stay red. See here for a closeup of the Milwaukee-area map.) The 6th also gives suburban areas around Oshkosh in the Fox Valley to the 8th, which may make GOP frosh Reid Ribble's district a tiny smidge bluer.
Neither of the state's other two Democrats, Gwen Moore (in Milwaukee's 4th) or Tammy Baldwin (in Madison's 2nd) are in any danger under the new map. As most experts expected, the Republicans had limited options and were mostly oriented toward maximally protecting the gains they made from their overperformance in 2010. At this point, the question is whether they can successfully push this through before the recalls are done.