‘Wisconsin is a blue state,’ says former Gov. Tommy Thompson

By Richelle Wilson

Wisconsin voters gave Democrats the trifecta last night: control of the governor’s mansion and both chambers of the state Legislature. In January, Democrat David Crowley will be sworn in as Wisconsin’s next governor.

Far from being surprised by this “blue wave,” former Republican Gov. Tommy Thompson says that Wisconsin is at its heart a blue state, even though it has had ebbs and flows of Republicans coming into power, including his own 14 years in the governor’s mansion from 1987 to 2001.

Thompson was known for his ability to work across the aisle politically. In 1999, he started BadgerCare to provide health insurance to low-income families — a program that has since become popular with Democrats in the state, including Democratic former Gov. Jim Doyle, who expanded the program to BadgerCare Plus in 2008.

Before serving as governor for two terms from 2003 to 2011, Doyle was the state’s attorney general under Thompson. While Doyle has said he and Thompson had “big battles” over policy, he said there was never political overreach.

The two former governors now consider themselves friends, and they both feel strongly that political cooperation is needed to overcome rising polarization. 

“Neither party has a monopoly on all the correct answers,” Thompson told WPR’s “Wisconsin Today.” “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.”

Thompson and Doyle joined “Wisconsin Today” to discuss where their parties stand after last night’s “blue wave,” insights from their time in office, and their hopes and advice for the new state Legislature and governor.

Rob Ferrett: Gov. Thompson, what do you think was behind last night’s unhappy outcome for Republicans? Why did voters move toward Democrats in Wisconsin and around the country?

Tommy Thompson: Well, first off, our party got drubbed. It was an old-fashioned arse kicking. … It was a repudiation of what’s going on in the country. Anytime you pay $5 plus on gas, over $6 for diesel, as soon as (that was happening), I knew that was coming. I knew that the Republicans were definitely in a terrible situation. 

I’m the only one saying this, but I’ve been saying it for quite some time: Wisconsin is no longer a purple state. It hasn’t been. We haven’t won a statewide race for a long time. Wisconsin is a blue state. It was before I got elected governor, and it’s gone back to that after the Republicans had control for several years. But now it’s back to being where it was for a long time. It’s a blue state. 

RF: But wait, Donald Trump won Wisconsin last election. Ron Johnson won his seat. 

TT: Ron Johnson won by what?

RF: One percent. 

TT: No, less than 1 percent. And Trump was an aberration. But Wisconsin is still a blue state. And you guys have gotta realize that. Nobody can convince me this is a purple state anymore. 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.

RF: Do you agree, Gov. Doyle? Is Wisconsin a blue state again? 

JD: It certainly has been in statewide elections for some time now.

The Republicans in the state — and I shouldn’t let out this secret — but they just keep fighting against Madison all the time, and Dane County. And Madison is growing, and it is growing faster than any place in the state, and it’s voting 80 percent Democratic. So as long as they keep that strategy going, I don’t see how they win statewide elections again.

RF: Gov. Thompson, do you have advice for your party to get back on the map? 

TT: Absolutely. We’ve gotta rebuild. The Republican Party’s got to rebuild. You need two vigorous and very competitive parties in a society.

Jim Doyle is right: There’s no sense in fighting Madison and Dane County. I’m probably the only Republican that’s ever carried Dane County when I was governor, and I carried Milwaukee County twice. And that’s because I spent a heck of a lot of time there. I love the university. I love the people in Madison. I love Milwaukee. I helped build the Brewers — well, I was responsible for getting the Brewers’ stadium built. So, basically, you’ve got to go out and you’ve got to go where the votes are. 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.

RF: Gov. Doyle, midway through your second term, 2008, President Obama leads a wave election. Wisconsin Democrats have the trifecta. Wisconsin’s a blue state forever. But wait, no — 2010, you lose it all after you’ve stepped down. You didn’t run for reelection. How would you advise your party now to avoid going from a hero to zero in two years? 

JD: I had a Democratic trifecta for two years, and I think of the things we were able to do — much of it then undone by (former Gov. Scott) Walker — but from a Democratic point of view, we expanded BadgerCare in the state to the point where we had the second highest percentage of people covered with insurance. We had every child in the state, regardless of income, eligible for BadgerCare, which made a huge difference to middle-class families that had children that had particularly expensive medical conditions. We expanded the stewardship fund to levels that had never been before. And most importantly, this was during the recession, and we were one of if not the only state that held our school funding and our university funding, even at a time when every other state was making deep cuts.

But you’d better be careful. I think this election was all about Donald Trump. 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. So he’ll leave the scene, and there will be a strong, healthy Republican Party. 

Democrats have to make sure they address what people care about here. You know, child care costs are through the roof. They are just very serious issues that people are dealing with — healthcare coverage — and they have to really deal with those kinds of issues and not worry about, “We won this election. Let’s get even.”

RF: I want to get a piece of advice from each of you for incoming Gov. David Crowley. Gov. Thompson, you’ve experienced running the trifecta and divided government as well over your career. What is your advice for the governor-elect?

TT: I would urge Governor-elect David Crowley to sit down with the leadership on a weekly basis when they’re in session. Invite them into his office. I did that when I first got elected governor. Democrats overwhelmingly held both houses and said, “Tommy will never get anything done.” I was extremely successful because I sat down with Tom Loftus and Tim Cullen and all the Democrat leadership every Tuesday morning and had coffee and rolls with them and talked to them about the legislation. We were able to make compromises, and that’s what it’s all about: compromises and good government. And that’s what both Gov. Crowley and the Republican leadership should strive for in the coming months.

RF: Gov. Doyle, your advice for the incoming governor? 

JD: Well, I agree with all that Gov. Thompson just said there as well. Having that kind of communication is really critical. I went through two sessions where I had divided government, and I had some really good leadership on the Republican side that, you know, would kill me out publicly but would come in and always talk things through. So I think that’s really critical. David Crowley’s good at that. 

The other thing is, I would say just personally: He really has to develop his own style. I’m so happy we’ve turned to a younger generation here. He’s got to really decide who he wants to be as governor and then let that lead him. But he has shown, in my view, he’s open. He’s very smart. He talks to people. 

You really have to make sure that you’re the governor for the whole state, even for the people who don’t like you.