Delegates at the Dem state party convention today gave varied answers on whether the party is effectively pushing back against President Donald Trump with a GOP trifecta at the national level. 

At the convention in Madison yesterday, U.S. Sen. Tammy Baldwin told party activists Democrats are fighting back against Trump using the tools they have and defended their efforts to push back against him. But she said it’s a challenge with Republicans controlling both houses of Congress. 

Several delegates told WisPolitics Democrats were doing the best they could considering the challenges of being in the minority in Congress under a GOP trifecta with Trump in the White House. Others argued Democrats could be doing more and that national party leaders have been ineffective. 

Scott Walker of Crawford County, who has previously run for the 49th AD, told WisPolitics elected officials have grown too accustomed to relying on the justice system as a check on Trump. 

“Donald Trump is working at such speed to demolish democracy that our courts are not able to keep up. Furthermore, the highest court is probably on his side. So their methods are flawed,” Walker said. 

He said those in Congress know the rules and are playing by them, but “these are extraordinary times and we need extraordinary measures.” 

Noah Higgins of Racine County said he doesn’t think the party’s pushback against Trump has been nearly as effective. He said he considers Baldwin one of the better Democratic senators and that she has “served the state pretty decently.”

“However, the leadership of the party, Chuck Schumer, Hakeem Jeffries, they have been completely and utterly ineffective, and Trump has largely been able to implement his agenda with very little repercussions,” he said. 

He argued Dems have been ineffective because of accepting corporate money. 

“Truthfully, they accept the same money from the same billionaires and powerful interests that also give money to the GOP, and I think that needs to stop,” Higgins said.

A March Marquette University Law School Poll of Wisconsin voters found 35% had a favorable impression of the Dem Party, while 58% had an unfavorable one. The split for the Republican Party was 42-52.

Josh Pade of Kenosha County said he thinks Dems are countering Trump effectively given the circumstances but that there’s only so much members can do while in the minority.

“There’s just so much that happens every day it’s hard to keep track, and I feel like Democrats, people that watch the news, get overwhelmed by it and then they just become demoralized pretty quickly. You know, you see the White House getting torn down and ICE troops in Minnesota, and it’s just like, ‘can someone do something?’” 

He argued leadership at the national level could “use some help,” saying their autopsy of the 2024 presidential race distracts from “what really matters,” like focusing on voters and affordability. 

Benjamin Ruch of Washington County also argued Dems are “just doing the best they can.” 

“You know, you can only stem so much of the bleeding … within the confines of what you can do as a minority party,” Ruch said.