MADISON, WI – A Politico article published over the weekend, emphasized the nationwide trend of Republican state lawmakers stepping down, with Wisconsin Republicans being among the most eager to retire. In a year where Democrats have already picked up 30 state legislative seats, Senate Republicans have lost their Leader, two must-win incumbents, and now the Wisconsin Republican Party chair is expressing concern over the outlook of the 2026 election.

Read More on Republicans worrying and retiring ahead of the 2026 Midterms:

Politico: Republicans are losing clout in statehouses in another possible sign of midterm trouble

  • “‘If the election were next week, I’d be bothered,’ said Wisconsin GOP Chair Brian Schimming.’”
  • “‘I think he puts Republicans on the defensive with his actions,’ said Dick Wadhams, a longtime consultant and a former state GOP chair in Colorado. ‘They can’t stand it anymore.’”
  • “Still he concedes the loss of Republicans from the legislature in Wisconsin, where Assembly Speaker Robin Vos announced his retirement in February and Senate Majority Leader Devin LeMahieu followed suit last month, will make it harder for the party to hold its razor-thin margins, at least in the upper chamber. ‘The Senate side is just more problematic,’ he said.”
  • “…Republicans facing down a stormy November as polls show President Donald Trump’s popularity sinking amid higher gas prices and doubts about the Iran war. ‘The GOP could be facing another midterm like 2018, when Democrats flipped six legislative chambers and netted over 300 seats nationwide.’”
  • “Democrats view the departures of senior Republicans as a sign of momentum.”
  • “The loss of GOP leadership crescendoed last month, when Wisconsin’s LeMahieu and Speaker Pro Tempore Kevin Petersen announced their retirements…”
  • “Democrats and Republicans are most focused on Wisconsin. Democrats flipped 10 Assembly seats in 2024 after the Wisconsin Supreme Court ordered maps redrawn, bringing Democrats within five seats of a majority.”
  • “The state Senate is two seats from flipping, and half its members face the redrawn maps for the first time this cycle. The prospect of taking both chambers has already led Democrats to an off-year fundraising record, with the Democratic Assembly and Senate committees collectively reporting nearly $3.3 million in 2025. That compares to $2.2 million in 2023.”
  • “A recent Marquette Law School poll showed just 42 percent of Wisconsin voters approve of Trump’s performance, a finding that Schimming dismissed eight months before election day.”