Republicans take stock of special-election results in Wisconsin and Georgia
Republicans in Wisconsin and Georgia took stock of Tuesday’s special-election outcomes with a sharper sense of urgency heading toward the November 2026 midterms, even as some party leaders urged caution against over-reading the results. In Wisconsin, U.S. Rep. Tom Tiffany, a Republican candidate for governor, said, “We got our butts kicked,” after Democrats scored wins that expanded Democratic control in statewide contests and delivered a victory in Waukesha, a conservative suburb outside Milwaukee.
The assessments reflect a wider effort by both parties to gauge whether recent Democratic gains are translating into durable momentum as voters prepare to decide control of Congress and state governments. Some Republicans emphasized fundraising strength and argued that the contests represent unique local circumstances, while Democrats pointed to multiple races as evidence of a shift in voter behavior.
Democratic consultant Jared Leopold, whose clients include Georgia gubernatorial candidate Keisha Lance Bottoms, said, “In rural, urban, red, blue, Democrats have overperformed everywhere.” Leopold described the pattern as a “canary in the coal mine” about what the November campaign environment might look like.
Georgia: Fuller’s narrower win becomes a campaign talking point
In Georgia, Democrats and Republicans focused on a congressional special election to replace Marjorie Taylor Greene, who resigned from Congress in January after a falling out with President Donald Trump. Republicans’ nominee, Clay Fuller, won by 12 percentage points, a margin that party figures described as decisive, including via a social media post by Josh McKoon, chairman of the Georgia Republican Party, that Fuller “CRUSHED” his opponent in a race “wasn’t close.”
But some comparisons to the previous cycle underscored why the result also raised questions for Republicans. Two years ago, Greene won by 29 percentage points, and Trump carried the district by almost 37 percentage points, prompting Democrats to argue the special election signaled vulnerability for the GOP.
Democratic strategist Meredith Brasher described the outcome as “a red alarm for Republicans.” She said Democrats planned to test that vulnerability further, with Shawn Harris planning to challenge Fuller again in November.
Other Republicans sought to keep the message focused on strategy rather than panic. Georgia strategist Stephen Lawson said “the sky is not falling,” while also conceding that the party was running behind where it had been in the past and that Republicans needed to be “looking at these results carefully.”
Wisconsin: Democratic wins add to momentum and campaign pressure
In Wisconsin, Democrats credited Tuesday’s statewide outcomes as both evidence and fuel for their broader midterm effort. The state held elections for Supreme Court seats, and liberals expanded their majority with a 20-percentage-point blowout victory, according to the AP report. Democrats said they also saw gains across different types of counties, including red, blue and purple areas, compared with another judicial race won by a liberal candidate last year.
Wisconsin Democratic Party Chairman Devin Remiker said, “This to me was a very clear sign of momentum and enthusiasm for Democrats in the fall.” The AP account tied those results to Democrats’ hopes for statewide contests that could reshape the state’s political balance, including an open governor’s race this year and Democratic efforts to take control of the state Legislature and oust Republican U.S. Rep. Derrick Van Orden.
Mandela Barnes, a Democratic former lieutenant governor running for governor, said it was time for Democrats to “put this thing in overdrive,” while Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley said it was clear that people were “really upset with the Republican Party and their brand right now.” Crowley said that upset alone would not ensure voters would automatically switch to Democrats, adding that the campaigns still had to focus on issues and speak to the values of all voters in Wisconsin.
Waukesha win and the role of national uncertainty
Tuesday’s Wisconsin results also included a change at the local level in Waukesha, where Democrats won the mayor’s office. Democrat Alicia Halvensleben, president of the city’s Common Council, defeated Republican Scott Allen, described as one of the state Assembly’s more conservative members. Halvensleben said Trump came up “a lot” when she campaigned, but she said her victory also reflected local issues and the view that the state Legislature was not addressing them.
Halvensleben said, “There’s so much uncertainty at the national level,” and she added that “I think that level of uncertainty is causing people a lot of anxiety, all the way down to the local level.” The AP account also featured Tiffany’s caution that the results should not be treated as a straightforward roadmap for the next election cycle.
Democrats point to broader signals across races
Democrats said the special-election outcomes in Georgia and Wisconsin fit into a broader set of recent results that they believe show momentum heading into the midterms. The AP report said Democrats flipped a Texas state Senate district and won a state House seat in a Florida district that includes President Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort in Palm Beach, then gained ground in Georgia in the contest to replace Greene.
Democratic strategists also treated these outcomes as part of a larger narrative about how voters are responding to the parties. In Georgia, however, Democratic party leaders emphasized careful expectations for the statewide races. Charlie Bailey, the chair of the Georgia Democratic Party, said his party was trying to maintain modest expectations.
Bailey said, “We could cement ourselves, put ourselves, on the slightly bluer side of purple,” and he added, “We’re not going to overnight turn into Colorado.” The AP report framed those remarks against the backdrop of key Georgia contests this year, including an open race for governor and Jon Ossoff’s effort to defend his U.S. Senate seat.