The chair of the Wisconsin Republican Party, Brian Schimming, is facing calls to resign after a disastrous performance in the latest state Supreme Court race.
According to Politico, "Tuesday night’s state Supreme Court race saw liberal judge Chris Taylor trounce conservative appeals court judge Maria Lazar by a margin of more than 20 points. The scope of that defeat in the closely divided swing state — the latest in a string of recent GOP losses — is fueling calls from a growing number of party insiders that the affable Schimming, a longtime fixture in local Republican politics, should step down from his post at the top of the party.
Supreme Court races in Wisconsin are nominally nonpartisan, but in practice, each party always chooses a candidate.
Democrats' endorsed candidate has won in the last four consecutive races, swinging control of the court to a 5-2 advantage for liberals and leaving some GOP strategists despairing that it basically doesn't matter if they win statewide anymore.
"The dissent is bubbling ahead of critical November elections that will see voters choose Wisconsin’s next governor — and a wide open 2028 presidential race where Wisconsin will once again be one of the nation’s top battlegrounds," noted the report. "Schimming’s departure, his critics say, would mark the first step in a long road to revitalizing the state’s GOP political apparatus — once dubbed the 'Seal Team Six of the Republican Party' — that’s now seen as woefully lacking in fundraising capacity."
One state party executive, Ken Sikora, bluntly told Politico, “As a leader, he’s failed.” Another party official said, “While all of us had high hopes, I think the time has run out. And it’s time we go a different direction for the sake of our philosophy.”
Ever since Trump has headed up the GOP, the party's committees in key states have faced struggles, and the issue isn't just contained to Wisconsin. For instance, in the leadup to 2024, even though Trump was ultimately successful in Arizona, it came despite the state party facing a hollowing out of talent and massive financial difficulties.