Wisconsin Dems express shock, anger over Minnesota lawmaker shootings, call for action against gun violence 

As Wisconsin Democrats gathered in the Wisconsin Dells, they expressed shock, anger and determination to prevail following the shootings of two Dem Minnesota lawmakers over the weekend. 

Said one delegate: “We’re going to fight this madness to the end.” 

Former Minnesota House Speaker Melissa Hortman and her husband, Mark, were shot and killed Saturday morning. Minnesota state Sen. John Hoffman and his wife, Yvette, were also shot several times in an assassination attempt and underwent surgery, but are expected to survive.

Georgia Sen. Raphael Warnock while delivering the keynote address on Saturday noted the shootings as well as the handcuffing and forced removal of U.S. Sen. Alex Padilla, D-Calif., from a Department of Homeland Security press conference.

He urged listeners to remember that they are “not at war with one another.” 

“We are in a fight, but we are not at war with one another,” Warnock said. “At the end of the day, we’re all we’ve got — Democrats, independents and Republicans, red, yellow, brown, Black and white, urban and rural, liberal and conservative, male and female, whoever we are, we are all we’ve got. And if you want to fight, you ought to fire for the U.S., you ought to fight for us.” 

Meanwhile, U.S. Rep. Gwen Moore, D-Milwaukee, called on convention-goers to think of “our brothers and sisters in Minnesota.” 

“I’ve checked in with all of our counterparts in Minnesota, and they’re doing well. But you know what, y’all, this will not prevail. We gon’ win,” Moore said. 

U.S. Sen. Tammy Baldwin, D-Madison, said she first heard about what had happened from her Minnesota Senate colleagues, Tina Smith and Amy Klobuchar. She also tied the shootings to the altercation with Padilla. 

“What we’re seeing, what we saw with my colleague Alex Padilla, what we’re seeing is an effort to silence. And we will not be silenced. … Let’s keep them in our hearts, in our minds, in our prayers, and let’s carry on in their memories,” Baldwin said. 

Several delegates WisPolitics spoke to expressed sadness, dismay, and anger over the shootings. 

Sabrina Jordan of Milwaukee County said she was “completely and totally stunned, and immensely saddened” when she heard the news. 

“It’s difficult to put into words how we see things escalating in the way that they are,” Jordan said. “People are afraid. But I’m going to tell you — I’m here at this convention, in addition to being afraid, we’re very angry. So that combination of things leads to bravery, and we’re going to fight this madness to the end.” 

Clara Serrano of Eau Claire County called the attacks “absolutely chilling.” She expressed concerns that political violence could deter qualified people from running for office. 

“It’s hard enough to sacrifice other careers and family to run for office and to serve the public, and to have any kind of element of fear like this enter into this, it’s just chilling. It’s chilling for people,” she said. 

Liz Crites, a delegate from Waukesha County, said the goal of such violence is “to make people fearful.” 

“But in many ways, that’s going to backfire. That will not stop people,” she said.

Crites noted she attended a “No Kings” protest in Waukesha against the Trump administration. 

“And that was the sentiment there, is that, you know, their ugliness is not going to stop our concern to save democracy. It just won’t. In fact, it’ll make us dig in our feet even more, quite frankly.” 

Delegates also said the news of the violence should be a call to action to address harmful rhetoric and gun violence. 

John Zarbano from Winnebago County said the Trump administration has encouraged violence by sending troops into Los Angeles to “deal with a problem that doesn’t exist.” 

“That begets violence all the way down,” Zarbano said. “The Trump administration has emboldened the radicalization of American politics.” 

Zarbano said leaders need to emphatically reject violent language and “chastise anyone who says that violence is a pathway for change.” 

Bailey Conradt from Brown County called the event an “atrocity” and argued this should motivate lawmakers to address the root cause of gun violence. 

“We need to do something about gun violence in this country,” Conradt said, emphasizing the importance of background checks and enforcing stricter mental health checks on gun buyers. 

Lee Polencheck from Outagamie County said politicians can try to be more aware of their safety, but the situation was difficult and hard to avoid, adding it’s hard to know what comes next. 

“I think it was a terrible thing that happened, and I don’t know what they’re going to do about it,” Polencheck said.