Mike Sheridan, the last Democrat to serve as the Wisconsin state Assembly speaker, predicts a decline in Republican influence following the introduction of new electoral maps and said he won’t be ruling out another future run for office.
Sheridan spoke with The Daily Cardinal to discuss a surge in political polarization, new legislative maps and voter turnout ahead of the 2024 election.
Sheridan represented the 44th Assembly District from 2005-11 and served as speaker from 2009 until the end of his term. Sheridan was succeeded by Republican Speaker Jeff Fitzgerald and later current Speaker Robin Vos, R-Rochester.
“My goal was to bring civility back, try and find common ground, and work together,” Sheridan said. “We got a lot of good things done.”
Sheridan worked at the General Motors-Janesville Assembly for over 30 years prior to running for office and served as president of the United Auto Workers 95 labor union. After taking office, Sheridan said he worked to increase the state’s minimum wage and protect workers’ rights.
As speaker, Sheridan was instrumental in implementing infrastructure projects, including a recent I-39/90 highway project south of Madison that aimed to improve commerce throughout the state.
Since his time in the Legislature, Sheridan has worked for the Wisconsin State American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL-CIO) as a lobbyist advocating for workers’ rights, and he worked as a recovery coach and trainer in emergency rooms during Wisconsin’s opioid crisis. He also met his wife, Kim Sheridan, whom he’s been married to for nine years.
Polarization, gerrymandering are Sheridan’s top concerns
For Sheridan, one pressing issue facing Wisconsin today is an increase in political polarization. “It certainly has worsened,” he said.
The former speaker isn’t the only one to sound alarms as leaders on both sides of the aisle have drawn attention to the issue. Statewide political divisions have grown in recent years as Wisconsin elections have become closer and more contested and partisan polarization has deepened nationally.
Sheridan also suggested long-standing partisan gerrymandering facilitated growing division in the state.
“For [Republicans] to hold on to power, they gerrymandered the districts,” Sheridan said. “They gerrymandered the state so much that they’ve been allowed to hold on to power for a long time.”
The 2011 election brought a large shift to Wisconsin politics as Republicans gained majorities in both the legislative and executive branches and drew new legislative maps, ousting many high-ranking Democrats.
Republican-drawn maps established in 2011 cemented the party’s majorities and were widely criticized by experts as being among the most gerrymandered in the U.S.
“It was so disappointing to see that happen to the state because we’ve always been a state where people from all over the country would look to Wisconsin and say, ‘This is how government should be run,’” Sheridan said.
But Sheridan said he is optimistic about the new legislative maps approved in February by Gov. Evers after the Wisconsin Supreme Court overturned the prior Republican-drawn maps closely resembling those drawn in 2011.
“I’m very excited to see that we’re finally going to bring justice back to Wisconsin,” Sheridan said.
The new maps will take effect before the upcoming 2024 elections and could have broad implications for Republican leadership in the state and narrow the party’s majority.
Sheridan predicts Vos will fade with new maps
Sheridan and Vos entered the state Legislature together in 2005 and have been on opposing sides of many issues since taking office.
Vos is the longest-serving speaker in Wisconsin history but has faced dwindling approval ratings in recent months. The latest Marquette Law School poll released February shows the current speaker had a favorability of just 17%. Recent efforts to recall Vos have also raised new challenges to his leadership.
Sheridan criticized the current speaker for his “extreme nature” in leadership and predicted his stock would decline in coming years.
“Robin, I would predict that he’s not going to be around much longer. I know that he’s being attacked from all sides,” Sheridan said. “He’s got a real challenge on his hands.”
Sheridan not ruling out another run for office
Sheridan campaigned for Wisconsin’s Senate District 15 in 2014 but came in third. Democrat Janis Ringhand, the former mayor of Evansville, won the Janesville seat instead and served for 10 years until January 2023.
Sheridan has not run for elected office since but said he is “most definitely” leaving the option open.
“It’s always a temptation to get back into it,” Sheridan said.
U.S. Representative Brian Steil currently represents Sheridan’s home District 1 of Wisconsin. The former speaker criticized Steil for not taking a harsher stance against former President Donald Trump’s policies and far-right views.
“That has led me to consider running for Congress a number of times, but I don’t know if that’s in the cards for me at this point, but you never know,” Sheridan said.
Sheridan said it is crucial for young voters to cast their ballots ahead of the 2024 elections as Wisconsin is an important swing state.
“I think now more than ever, young people need to be engaged in elections,” Sheridan said. “They really can make a difference in not only what direction the state of Wisconsin goes but also the United States of America.”
