Yesterday, DNC Chair Ken Martin hosted a press call alongside Wisconsin Democratic Party Chair Ben Wikler and Florida Democratic Party Chair Nikki Fried, touting the stunning overperformances of Florida Democrats Gay Valimont and Josh Weil, and Susan Crawford’s victory in Wisconsin’s Supreme Court race. The chairs highlighted Democrats’ momentum heading into November elections in 2025 and 2026. This Tuesday’s elections were a referendum on Trump and Musk’s unpopular, dangerous agenda – and voters made their rejection of it loud and clear.
Take a look at the coverage highlights below:
The Hill: Breaking down the Wisconsin, Florida special elections
[Julia Manchester and Caroline Vakil, 4/3/25]
“‘Republicans everywhere can no longer deny the toxicity of Trump 2.0,’ Democratic National Committee Chair Ken Martin told reporters on Wednesday, predicting a possible ‘blue wave’ in 2026.
“Florida state Democratic Party Chair Nikki Fried added that Tuesday’s results should ‘send shivers’ down the spines of every Republican running in a district who won by 15 points. …
“Wisconsin Democratic Party Chair Ben Wikler, on the other hand, argued Musk gives Democrats a boost at the ballot box.
“‘Elon Musk’s money might buy some ads, but it repels voters,’ Wikler said. “‘I hope he stays at the White House with Donald Trump.’”
Florida Politics: Nikki Fried says Special Election overperformance lays groundwork for future Dem success
[Jacob Ogles, 4/2/25]
“Fried the next day participated in a Democratic National Committee (DNC) press call with DNC Chair Ken Martin to tout the overperformance.
“Seeing President Donald Trump hold telerallies for both candidates showed Florida Democrats can still get national Republicans’ attention, she said. …
“Martin, while touting the victory of a Liberal Wisconsin Supreme Court justice over a conservative publicly championed by billionaire Elon Musk, also saw good things from the election results in Florida.
“‘Last night’s Special Elections in Florida showed Trump, Musk and Republicans that they’re in trouble in even the reddest of districts,’ Martin said.
“‘Democrat Gay Valimont claimed the best performance from a Democrat in Florida’s 1st Congressional District this century, and became the first Democrat in almost two decades to flip Pensacola. In Florida’s 6th, Democrat Josh Weil secured a massive overperformance in this Trump plus-30 district and validated Republicans’ widely covered concerns about Republican candidate Randy Fine.’ …
“Fried said this year’s Special Elections will lay the groundwork for strong performance in the Midterms next year.
“‘People are coming out of their homes, wanting to be part of this revival of the Democratic Party and this retaking back of our state,’ she said. ‘These important elections are a message test. It is an opportunity to organize, to galvanize our base, but also to make sure that we are creating this momentum going into the ‘26 actual elections year,’ she said.”
Washington Examiner: Elon Musk fans GOP anxiety with off-year election performance
[Christian Datoc, Samantha-Jo Roth, Ramsey Touchberry and Rachel Schilke, 4/3/25]
“Democratic National Committee Chairman Ken Martin, Wisconsin party Chairman Ben Wikler, and Florida party Chairwoman Nikki Fried similarly targeted Musk on a Wednesday press call.
“‘Voters gave us the clearest evidence yet that Elon Musk and Donald Trump are on the ropes,’ Martin stated. ‘Musk poured tens of millions of dollars into the Wisconsin Supreme Court race, promoted a million-dollar giveaway, and he gave his favorite candidate a microphone on his social media platform X, all as Tesla prepared for the possibility of hearings in the Wisconsin Supreme Court. Yes, Wisconsin voters decisively rejected his influence and chose people over billionaires. It wasn’t even close.’
“Fried argued that, despite Democrats losing both the 6th Congressional District special election and another in the 1st District, Florida was back in play for the midterm elections, and it was beyond thanks to a highly motivated grassroots.
“‘Instead of trying to buy votes like Elon Musk,’ she explained, ‘we put a down payment on our future, and we’re going to make Republicans pay for it in the long run.’
“Wikler took a shot at Musk directly, gleefully declaring that ‘Democrats are back’ after donning a cheesehead of his own.”
Semafor: How Democrats found their voters again
[David Weigel, 4/2/25]
“Last month, Wisconsin GOP chairman Brian Schimming said that Judge Brad Schimel would win if 60% of Donald Trump’s 2024 voters came out to support him. At a rally in Waukesha County, former Gov. Scott Walker set another benchmark; if ‘roughly 200,000’ Trump voters who typically skipped off-year elections could be turned out, Schimel would ‘win in a landslide.’
“Republicans hit those targets. Schimel ran nearly 250,000 votes ahead of Daniel Kelly, the party’s 2023 court nominee, whose reluctance to take support from the GOP itself became a model of how not to win. As of Wednesday morning, Schimel’s vote was equal to around 63% of Trump’s 2024 vote in Wisconsin, when he edged past Kamala Harris to win the state.
‘They got enough votes to win the 2023 Supreme Court race, but they were fighting the last war,’ Democratic Party of Wisconsin chairman Ben Wikler told reporters on Wednesday.
“Schimel lost because Democrats broke their own turnout records, too. Judge Susan Crawford ran nearly 280,000 votes ahead of Janet Protasiewicz, the 2023 candidate who defeated Kelly. Crawford’s total vote was equal to 78% of the ballots cast for Harris last year.”
Florida Phoenix: Democrats try to make the most out of Tuesday night’s election results in Florida
[Mitch Perry, 4/2/25]
“‘These races should have never been competitive, but we outworked them,’ Florida Democratic Party Chair Nikki Fried said in a Zoom call Wednesday afternoon, referring to the candidacies of Democratic candidates Gay Valimont in Congressional District 1 and Josh Weil in Congressional District 6.
“‘We outraised them and we slashed their margins by more than half,’ Fried added. ‘And they panicked. They had to call Daddy [Donald Trump], hosting emergency town halls, slashing last-minute cash and even sacrificing [New York U.S. Rep. Elise] Stefanik’s nomination [as U.N. ambassador] to protect their very slim majority.’ …
“Fried … saying that the Florida outcome ‘is a warning sign for Republicans in Florida and around the country, and it should send shivers to the spine of any Republican, in an R-plus-15 seat or below. There are no more safe seats in Florida.’ …
“Democratic National Committee Chair Ken Martin promised that the resources the party brought to the Florida races will continue into next year’s midterms.
“‘You’re going to continue to witness a level of aggressive investment in organizing from this DNC that’s unlike anything that we’ve done before,’ he said on the Zoom call, organized by the DNC. ‘Last night’s special elections in Florida show Trump, Musk, and Republicans that they’re in trouble even in the reddest districts.’”
Business Insider: Democrats want Elon Musk to keep hitting the campaign trail
[Bryan Metzger and Brent D. Griffiths, 4/2/25]
“Ben Wikler, the chair of the Wisconsin Democratic Party, told reporters on a Wednesday press call that Musk should become President Donald Trump’s ‘special envoy for midterm elections.’
“‘At the same time, Elon Musk should be removed as quickly as possible from any position of power over the federal government,’ Wikler added, referring to the billionaire businessman’s role as the de facto leader of DOGE. …
“‘Elon Musk’s money might buy some ads, but it repels voters,’ Wikler said. Polling has broadly shown that Musk is less popular than Trump.
“Ken Martin, the chairman of the Democratic National Committee, also mentioned Musk on the call.
“‘The more Elon Musk wants to get out there, I say go for it Elon,’ Martin said. ‘There are plenty of other states we would love you to campaign in.’”
USA Today: Democrats stopped being dupes for Trump and Musk. Wisconsin made sure of that. | Opinion
[Chris Brennan, 4/3/25]
“Speaking on the conference call with Wikler, Fried said Democrats overperforming in ‘ruby red’ Republican districts sends a signal about the 2026 midterm elections in more competitive districts.
“‘We’ve got a lot of races here in Florida that I know they’re starting to sweat a little bit today,’ Fried said.
“Wikler expects the same political perspiration in Wisconsin and other states.
“‘There are a lot of Republican members of Congress who might wonder how they would fare if the political needle moves 15 points nationwide,’ he added. …
“‘For Elon Musk to tie himself to Republican candidates is the political kiss of death,’ Wikler said.
“Ken Martin, the new chair of the Democratic National Committee, hosted the media call. Like Wikler, Martin hopes the Republicans keep trotting out Musk as the face of their party.
“‘He’s one of the most unpopular people in the country right now,’ Martin said of Musk. ‘So the more Elon Musk wants to get out there, I say, go for it.’”
The Independent: Trump just watched a referendum on Elon Musk and DOGE. He should be worried
[John Bowden, 4/2/25]
“‘Elon Musk made this a referendum on himself. [Brad] Schimel tried to make it a referendum on Donald Trump,’ declared a triumphant Ben Wikler, chair of the Wisconsin Democratic Party, after the results came in.
“Wikler, along with Florida Democratic Party chair Nikki Fried, was set to host a press conference Wednesday afternoon touting the results alongside the Democrats’ new national chair, Ken Martin.
“‘The voters’ verdict sends a resounding message: Wisconsin’s supreme court election demonstrates Musk and Trump have gone too far, and any politician allied with them could swiftly face the end of their political career,’ he added.”
Associated Press: Democrats demoralized by Trump get a boost from Wisconsin voters and Cory Booker’s speech
[Steve Peoples, 4/2/25]
“‘Elon Musk and Donald Trump are on the ropes,’ charged Ken Martin, the newly elected chair of the Democratic National Committee. ‘We’re just getting started.’ …
“Indeed, talking points distributed by the Democratic National Committee on Wednesday reinforced that notion while pointing to what the committee described as ‘an undeniable trend’ after recent lower-profile Democratic victories in Virginia, Iowa, Pennsylvania, Louisiana and Minnesota.
“‘In 2025, Democrats continue to overperform in special elections as voters send a resounding message: They want Democrats to fight for them, and they want the Trump-Musk agenda out of their communities,’ the talking points read.”
Fox 35 Orlando: Florida Democrats view special congressional election results as encouraging, despite loss
[Marie Edinger, 4/2/25]
“He beat out his Democratic opponent by about 14 percentage points in Tuesday’s special election. Florida’s Democratic Party Chair, Nikki Fried, is saying that’s a surprising and comparatively narrow margin.
“‘Even if we weren’t to have an actual electoral win last night, that moving the needle in Florida in these very ruby-red districts showed the nation what is possible — not just in Florida, but across the country,’ Fried said.”
AlterNet: Republicans ‘are at a disadvantage’ as GOP ‘can no longer deny the toxicity of Trump’: analysts
[Ailia Zehra, 4/3/25]
“Democratic National Committee (DNC) Chair Ken Martin said Wednesday Republicans cannot deny ‘the toxicity of Trump 2.0,’ predicting a possible ‘blue wave’ in 2026.
“‘Republicans everywhere can no longer deny the toxicity of Trump 2.0,’ Martin told reporters on Wednesday, adding that Democrats might make major gains in 2026.”
MeidasTouch News: Musk To Step Back From Trump White House After Electoral Defeat in Wisconsin
[Troy Matthews, 4/3/25]
“‘Please, Elon. Don’t go,’ DNC Chair Ken Martin said sarcastically on a call to reporters Wednesday, stating in no uncertain terms that Democrats attribute their string of special election victories since November, including Tuesday in Wisconsin, to the Musk/DOGE effect. Americans are increasingly disapproving of the richest man in the world running roughshod through the federal government at great expense to services for working people and retirees, as well his attempt to meddle in elections by heavily funding Republican candidates.”
Washington Post: What the parties learned from Florida and Wisconsin
[Patrick Svitek and Meryl Kornfield, 4/3/25]
“‘It’s clear that when Elon Musk comes to town, Republicans should flee in panic, and for that reason, I hope that Elon Musk stays extremely involved in Republican politics,’ Ben Wikler, the chair of the Democratic Party of Wisconsin, told reporters on a Democratic National Committee call while wearing his own cheese hat.”
Washington Post: Musk setback in Wisconsin raises questions about his future role
[Naftali Bendavid, Patrick Marley and Trisha Thadani, 4/2/25]
“‘Elon Musk’s money might buy some ads, but it repels voters,’ Wisconsin Democratic Party Chairman Ben Wikler told reporters Tuesday. ‘From here on out, it’s clear that when Elon Musk comes to town, Republicans should flee.’”
Associated Press: Democrats take hope in flipping a county in a ruby red corner of the Florida Panhandle
[Kate Payne, Stephany Matat and Adriana Gomez Licon, 4/3/25]
“‘It is a warning sign for Republicans in Florida and across the country, and it should send shivers down the spine of any Republican,’ said Florida Democratic Party Chair Nikki Fried, who said the results were proof her party had a ‘pulse’ in this state that lost its battleground status over the past few years.
“Fried noted there are four military bases in or near Pensacola. And in Florida’s 6th Congressional District, about 60% of residents receive benefits through Veterans Affairs, Social Security, Medicare or Medicaid.
“‘Those are the issues that are really going to be waking up the sleepy beast,’ she said. ‘It’s not just Democrats, but Americans understand that the Trump and Musk platform and issues are not going to work.’”
