Media Contact: media@platform-communications.com

Building on bipartisan Badger Battleground brand, partnership to integrate Handrick’s district-by-district legislative analysis with Platform’s polling

MADISON, Wis. — Platform Communications announced today a new partnership with Joe Handrick, the nationally recognized political analyst behind the Wisconsin Legislative Almanac whose analysis is closely watched on election nights in Wisconsin, combining over a decade of district-by-district legislative analysis with Platform’s bipartisan Badger Battleground Poll to create a unique source of Wisconsin political data. 

The partnership debuts with the release of the 2026 Open Seat Almanac, examining the 19 Wisconsin legislative districts — seven State Senate and 12 State Assembly seats — with no incumbents on the ballot this fall, the largest open-seat field of any cycle since the post-redistricting reset. This year’s almanac combines Handrick’s analysis – long coveted by government relations professionals and election watchers of all stripes – with Platform’s polling data and other enhancements. 

A former state representative and redistricting consultant who helped craft Wisconsin’s legislative maps in 1991, 2001, and 2011, Handrick has spent the last decade publishing district-by-district forecasts that have become required reading for the state’s lobbying corps, government affairs teams, election watchers on both sides of the aisle, and political reporters. His Safe/Strong/Lean/Highly Competitive classification system has become a de facto reference point in Wisconsin political circles, with eight of 10 Assembly races in 2024 called within roughly one point of his projection.

“Since compiling the first Wisconsin Legislative Almanac in 2012, I’ve always tried to do one thing well: tell people what each of the 132 districts actually looks like, in numbers that come from real elections, not from gut feel,” Handrick said. “My Almanac has always told you what a district has done, and Platform’s poll tells you what voters are thinking right now. Pairing the two is the most natural fit I’ve found in more than a decade of this work.”

Platform Communications, a Madison-based public affairs and strategic communications firm that does work across the country, launched the Badger Battleground Poll in 2024. The bipartisan effort, guided by an advisory team of Republican strategist Keith Gilkes and Democratic strategist Tanya Bjork, generated more than 100 media placements with its last release, with coverage from outlets including the New York Times. The poll’s findings have also been featured on WISN’s prominent Sunday Morning Show “UpFront.”

“Joe has built one of the most trusted political products in Wisconsin,” said Rusty Schultz, EVP of Platform Communications. “In forming this partnership, Platform aims to make sure this work reaches more people, in a format that respects the analysis on which it’s built, and pairs it with the public-opinion data we’ve spent the past several years building through the Badger Battleground Poll. This is our shot at giving Wisconsin real political intelligence, not just more numbers.”

Polling Opportunities for the 2026 Cycle

As part of the partnership, the Badger Battleground Poll will offer organizations the opportunity to field custom, private polling questions alongside its statewide bipartisan survey ahead of this fall’s elections. The poll arms advocates, associations, and government affairs teams with credentialed data to sharpen messaging, pressure-test positions, and brief lawmakers, donors, and members — all at a fraction of the cost of commissioning an independent poll.

The process is simple: Organizations work with Platform’s polling experts to craft one or more questions on the issue they are advancing or opposing. Those questions run within a statewide survey fielded alongside the poll’s public, bipartisan questions. And participating organizations receive a private briefing and full cross-tabs, with the option to keep results confidential or release them publicly to drive their messages.

The next poll will be in the field in summer 2026, with a limited number of question slots available.

Organizations interested in discussing polling opportunities or message development should contact Rusty Schultz directly at rs@platform-communications.com.

The Open Seat Almanac is the first deliverable in a partnership expected to continue throughout the 2026 cycle and beyond, with future installments pairing Handrick’s structural district analysis with real-time Badger Battleground polling data as the elections take shape.