The Democratic Party of Dane County is part of the Democratic Party of Wisconsin (http://www.wisdems.org/). The modern Democratic Party in Wisconsin got its start in 1949, when the progressive wing of the state’s Republican Party broke away and joined Wisconsin’s Democratic Party. Over the next decade, Democrats, invigorated by the new blood brought into the party by those progressives, racked up an impressive series of wins. This included the election of the first Democratic Governor and U.S. Senator, knocking out Joe McCarthy in doing so.
Since that time, the Democratic Party of Dane County has fought for those same progressive principles–rallying against unjust wars, fighting along with our labor and environmental allies on issues impacting workers’ rights and wages and our shared natural environment. We’ve taken a lead in the Wisconsin Democratic Party to ensure openness for all party members in our decision-making processes.
We support Democrats running for elected office in Dane County and around the state. You can support our efforts by contributing to the party through ActBlue.
The Democratic Party of Dane County has the largest membership of any county party in the state, with membership numbers in the thousands. We have active Young Democrat chapters at the UW-Madison, MATC, and Edgewood College, with hundreds of students being involved in activities every year.
The Democratic Party of Dane County has monthly meetings from January to May, and from August to November. These meetings feature elected Democratic speakers from across the state, as well as progressives such as Ed Garvey and Joel Rogers. In July we have a summer picnic. In December we have a holiday party at which we honor our Democrat of the Year–who in past years have included Senator Russ Feingold, Lt. Governor Barbara Lawton and Governor Jim Doyle.
In election years, we often host candidate forums during the summer months throughout the county.
We hope you’ll join the Wisconsin Democratic Party and become active in the Dane County Party too!!
