MADISON, Wis. — Ben Wikler, the chair of the Democratic Party of Wisconsin, said he will not seek reelection.

Wikler has served as the chair of the state’s party for three terms. His current term ends in June 2025.

In a letter to Wisconsin Democrats, Wikler said working as the party’s chair was “the honor of [his] life.”

“Our state party is now in extraordinarily strong shape, we have secured a pro-democracy Supreme Court majority for at least the next two years, and Democrats are poised to win a trifecta in 2026,” he wrote, in-part.

“Now is the right time for me to take a breath, and to find new ways to advance the fight for a country that works for working people, and one that honors every person’s fundamental freedom and dignity. When my third term as chair ends this June, I will be passing the torch,” he continued. Read Wikler’s full letter, here. 

Wikler said he’s not sure what his next steps are just yet, but plans to spend time with family.

Earlier this year, Wikler lost the race to serve as the chair of the Democratic National Committee. Ken Martin, the party leader in Minnesota, stepped into the national leadership position.

His unsuccessful run for national party chair a few months ago was also an indicator that he was looking to do something different.

Charles Franklin, the state’s top pollster and a professor at Marquette University, said there’s definitely going to be a hole in the Democratic Party.

“Wikler has been a remarkably successful chairman of the party,” Franklin said. “Under his leadership, Democrats have won 12 of the last 15 statewide races, though losing significantly in the Senate race [in 2022] and the presidential race this past fall.”

Franklin said Wikler revolutionized fundraising for Democrats, raising money from big- and small-dollar donors.

“I think it’ll be an interesting question whether someone can replicate the successful national fundraising that Wikler was able to put together,” Franklin said. “We saw things like the cast from the 'West Wing' doing table reads of scripts, for example. We saw people from the 'Princess Bride' doing fundraisers to the Democratic Party. Maybe the new chair can be equally or even more successful at those things, but they really did stand out as unusual and unique fundraising successes for a party here in the Midwest to nevertheless get Hollywood stars to do fundraisers for the party.”

After a landslide win for the liberal candidate for the Wisconsin Supreme Court last week, the Democratic Party will now turn its attention to the governor’s race in 2026 and trying to flip two seats in Congress.

“I think the disruption of changing the party chair a year and four or five months before the election is pretty good timing. It gives new leadership time to settle in,” Franklin said. “Also, Wikler points out that he’s leaving the party in good shape… a good position for new leadership to take over, where they don’t have to manage a crisis…. The challenge for them will be to build on the past successes and see if they can sustain the fundraising and organizing success that occurred under Wikler.”

WisDems said that all Democratic Party of Wisconsin elected positions will be up for election; terms last two years. The election will take place over the WisDems state party convention from June 14 to 15.