Tommy Thompson Says Wisconsin is a blue state after Democratic trifecta

Former Republican Gov. Tommy Thompson isn’t mincing words about Tuesday’s election results. In an interview with Wisconsin Public Radio’s “Wisconsin Today,” the governor who held office for 14 years declared that Wisconsin has returned to its natural political alignment—and it isn’t purple.

“Wisconsin is a blue state,” Thompson said. “It was before I got elected governor, and it’s gone back to that after the Republicans had control for several years.”

Wisconsin voters handed Democrats complete control of state government Tuesday night, electing Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley as governor and flipping both chambers of the state Legislature. Crowley, who gave his victory speech at Landmark Credit Union Live in Milwaukee on Nov. 3, will be sworn in this January, giving Democrats the trifecta for the first time since 2008.

The Math Behind the Blue Wave

Thompson, who served from 1987 to 2001, said the Republican loss was a “repudiation of what’s going on in the country.” He pointed to pocketbook pain as the catalyst, noting that when gas hit over $5 a gallon and diesel crossed $6, he knew the GOP was in trouble.

“Our party got drubbed,” he said. “It was an old-fashioned arse kicking.”

He dismissed recent Republican victories as statistical noise. When asked about Donald Trump’s 2024 win in Wisconsin and Sen. Ron Johnson’s reelection, Thompson noted that Johnson prevailed by less than one percent.

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“Trump was an aberration,” Thompson said. “When you lose the Supreme Court justices by 15, 20 points, and you lose the governorship by eight points last night, it tells me it’s trending, and I think it’s already there.”

The former governor, now 84, insisted his party must rebuild to remain viable. “You need two vigorous and very competitive parties in a society,” he said.

Why Madison Decides Elections

Former Democratic Gov. Jim Doyle, who served from 2003 to 2011, agreed with Thompson’s assessment. Doyle said Dane County and the city of Madison are growing faster than anywhere else in the state and voting 80 percent Democratic.

“As long as they keep that strategy going, I don’t see how they win statewide elections again,” Doyle said of Republicans’ habit of fighting Madison and Dane County.

Thompson, the only Republican to carry Dane County during his gubernatorial runs, said the path back for his party runs through the state’s two biggest population centers. He carried Milwaukee County twice by spending time there and championing local projects like the Brewers’ stadium.

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“You’ve got to go where the votes are,” he said. “Votes are where? Milwaukee County and Dane County. And if you want to overlook those counties, you’re never going to win. Simple as that.”

“Neither party has a monopoly on all the correct answers. Let’s bring them together and become the governing party now — not Republicans and Democrats so much, but the governing party for the good of the state of Wisconsin.” — Tommy Thompson, via WPR

Coffee and Rolls with the Opposition

Both former governors offered similar counsel to Crowley as he prepares to take office with Democratic majorities in the Legislature. Thompson urged weekly meetings with legislative leadership, recalling how he governed when Democrats held both houses.

“I would urge Governor-elect David Crowley to sit down with the leadership on a weekly basis when they’re in session,” Thompson said. “I did that when I first got elected governor. Democrats overwhelmingly held both houses and said, ‘Tommy will never get anything done.'”

Thompson famously held Tuesday morning coffee-and-rolls sessions with Democratic leaders Tom Loftus and Tim Cullen, hashing out compromises that became law. “That’s what it’s all about: compromises and good government,” he said.

Doyle, who served as attorney general under Thompson before becoming governor, echoed that advice. He faced divided government during two sessions and found Republican leaders who would attack him publicly but negotiate privately. “Having that kind of communication is really critical,” Doyle said.

He also urged Crowley to develop his own governing style and remember he serves the entire state. “You really have to make sure that you’re the governor for the whole state, even for the people who don’t like you,” Doyle said.

From BadgerCare to Bipartisanship

The two men, who once battled over policy but now consider themselves friends, represent a tradition of cross-party cooperation that both say is needed now more than ever. Thompson started BadgerCare in 1999 to provide health insurance to low-income families; Doyle expanded it to BadgerCare Plus in 2008, making every child in the state eligible regardless of income—a move that helped middle-class families with children facing expensive medical conditions.

During the 2008 recession, Doyle’s administration expanded the stewardship fund to unprecedented levels and held school and university funding steady while other states made deep cuts. “We had the second highest percentage of people covered with insurance,” Doyle said of that era.

Doyle drew a parallel to his own experience with trifectas. After winning a Democratic trifecta in 2008, his party lost control of both legislative chambers just two years later in 2010. He warned Democrats not to seek revenge now, pointing to child care costs and health care coverage as the issues voters actually care about.

“Donald Trump’s going to leave the scene. He is ugly. He’s mean. He doesn’t care about people. He’s corrupt. And the public saw that.” — Jim Doyle

As Crowley prepares to move into the governor’s mansion, the message from two former governors who have occupied it is clear: Wisconsin is a blue state, but governing requires compromise and working across the aisle.