Wisconsin is a mini-Hungary, where a rightwing minority imposes its will on a more liberal majority.
The state is heavily gerrymandered; in 2018, Republicans “won” two-thirds of the Assembly seats with 45% of the popular vote. The state supreme court is brazenly partisan, but conservative control of the court is hanging by the slenderest of threads.
An election on April 4, 2023, could flip the court from conservative to liberal, which would help safeguard everything from abortion rights to the state’s 2024 electoral votes. Given Wisconsin’s role as a swing state (Biden narrowly won there in 2020), it’s widely regarded as the most important election anywhere in the U.S. in 2023.
I haven’t found any polls, but the liberal candidate has raised five times as much money as the conservative (whose donations are coming mostly from rightwing billionaires), and she got nearly twice as many votes as he did in the primary. It doesn’t look good for the conservatives.
Republicans, apparently scared of an abortion backlash, are floating a compromise: “A group of Republican lawmakers released legislation Wednesday that would [amend the state’s existing 1849 abortion law to] allow doctors to provide abortions to victims of rape and incest and in situations when the mother is experiencing serious pregnancy complications.” (Read story here.)
Mighty generous of ’em. It took a dagger aimed at their heart to get that little bit out of them. But no, Wisconsin voters shouldn’t take that deal. They should play their hand. There are times you don’t negotiate, and this is one of them.