The Republican Party has its historical roots firmly planted in Wisconsin, where the party was founded in 1854. Over 150 years later, a modern wave of conservative Wisconsinites have thrust the state back into the party’s national spotlight.
Just four years ago, Wisconsin had two Democrats in the U.S. Senate, a Democratic governor and voted overwhelmingly for Barack Obama over his Republican opponent in the Presidential election.
But today, with Gov. Scott Walker, who is one of the most recognizable governors in the nation, chairman of the Republican National Committee Reince Priebus and Vice-Presidential nominee Paul Ryan all hailing from the dairy state, Wisconsin has become an ideologically and politically important state for Republicans.
University of Wisconsin-Madison College Republicans Chair Jeff Snow credited the success of the three fresh-faced Wisconsinites to their willingness to risk their political careers to make bold moves.
Ryan, as House Budget Committee chairman, put forward a budget proposal that Democrats harshly criticize for its massive cuts to government programs that would allegedly hit the neediest Americans hardest and cut taxes for the wealthy. Walker faced a bitter recall effort against him for a similarly divisive budget bill.
UW-Madison Political Science Professor Ken Mayer said while you cannot deny the national prominence of the three Wisconsin conservatives, it does not necessarily signal a shift in the electorate in the state.
“I don’t think the emergence of Ryan, Walker and Priebus signifies an enduring shift in the Republican direction,” Mayer said. “That might happen, but I don’t think that this is a sign that that has happened or a cause that it has happened.”
Wisconsin has voted for the Democratic nominee in every presidential election since Ronald Reagan in the 1980s, and an Aug. 23 poll shows Obama leads by two points in the race for the state’s 10 electoral votes, even after the excitement generated by Romney’s vice presidential selection.
But Snow said the recent rise of the “Cheesehead Revolution,” as Walker and Priebus have dubbed it, demonstrates the growing strength of conservatism in Wisconsin and the nation.
“In many ways, Wisconsin is a microcosm of America,” Snow said.
Despite Obama’s current advantage, Republicans will fight to win majorities nationally in the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives, and polls indicate the party will likely gain control of both of Wisconsin’s Senate seats, with current U.S. Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Wis., two years into his six-year term.
Former Republican Gov. Tommy Thompson, who also served as Health and Human Services secretary under former President George W. Bush, leads U.S. Rep. Tammy Baldwin, D-Wis., by six points in the race to take over retiring U.S. Sen. Herb Kohl’s, D-Wis., seat, according to an Aug. 23 CBS/New York Times/Quinnipiac poll.
