Democratic-affiliated accounts recently criticized a Republican lawmaker’s announcement not to run for reelection, citing his family’s struggles with health issues.
Senator Van Wanggaard, a Republican from Wisconsin, revealed on Tuesday that he would not participate in the upcoming November election. At 73 years old, he pointed to personal circumstances, including serious health challenges within his family, as primary reasons for stepping back. Coincidentally, on the same day, the Wisconsin Senate Democrats’ X account shared an image of a Republican congressman with the caption #OPENTOWORK, which seemed to mock Wanggaard’s situation.
Wanggaard later responded on Thursday to the Democrats’ post, saying, “It’s been 48 hours since I lost three brothers, and my daughter was diagnosed with stage 4 cancer. I’ve decided to retire to focus on family. This shows that Democrats care more about power than people.” He urged Wisconsin Senate Minority Leader Dianne Hesselbein to have her team retract the post.
Despite the backlash, the Democratic post remained active as of Friday. Efforts by the Daily Caller News Foundation to get a comment from Hesselbein regarding the removal were unsuccessful at that time.
Wanggaard’s response had garnered about 16,000 likes by Friday noon, while the Democratic post received only 185 likes after being online for over two days.
Wanggaard’s chief of staff, Scott Kelly, expressed that Wanggaard’s challenges were widely known within the state Senate. He criticized the Democrats’ remarks as insensitive and called for a retraction and apology, labeling the comments as “hurtful and outrageous” given the context of Wanggaard’s family health struggles.
Wanggaard has served in a battleground district in Racine, which has become increasingly favorable to Democrats. This shift was influenced by redistricting led by Democratic Governor Tony Evers.
The Wisconsin Senate Democratic Committee issued a statement indicating that, in light of multiple Republican retirements, it seems members prefer to step down rather than risk losing their seats. They suggested that voters are frustrated with the perceived dysfunction from Senate Republicans and expressed optimism about the Democrats gaining control in the upcoming elections.
As of now, the response from the SSDC regarding any further comments remains pending.
Election analysts have indicated that the Democrats may take control of both the Wisconsin Senate and Assembly in the near future, currently, Republicans maintain a majority in both chambers.
