MADISON, WI (WTAQ-WLUK) – For state Democrats, the chance to regain control of Madison is in sight.

“For 12 years, Democrats started every election cycle at the 30-yard line because of gerrymandering, but now the era of gerrymandering is over and the game begins, as it should, in the middle of the field,” Ben Wikler, chairman of the Wisconsin Democratic Party, said in a press conference Friday morning.

To regain control, Democrats must get voters from all parts of the state to the polls.

During Friday’s press conference, the Democratic frontrunners announced their so-called “running lines,” the key races they must win to win the majority in state legislatures.

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“For the Senate, this is just the beginning of our fight this year, because it will not be over in 2026, when every single seat in the House is actually fairly apportioned and fairly divided among those who are fairly divided,” said Senator Dianna Hesselbein, the Senate Minority Leader. “We know that Democrats are working on the winning side of the issues, and the next two cycles under fairly apportioned districts will prove what we’ve been saying all along, which is that they are ready and hungry.”

In the Senate, Democrats are highlighting five key races that they hope and believe they can win to close the Senate gap.

These races take place in Green Bay, Milwaukee, Fox Valley and two in and around Madison.

In the Assembly, Democrats must win 15 races to gain a majority.

“For far too long, Wisconsin communities like Sheboygan, Wausau, Superior and Chippewa Valley have been denied the floor by gerrymandering, but thanks to the tireless work of volunteers, organizers and Democratic leaders who have never stopped fighting for fair districting, many more communities across the state are finally seeing contested elections,” added Assembly Minority Leader Greta Neubauer.

The races they are campaigning in are Menasha and Neenah, Sheboygan, De Pere and Allouez, Ashwaubenon, Stevens Point, Wausau, Eau Claire, Onalaska, Chippewa Falls, Dodgeville, Baraboo, Milwaukee and Greenfield.

Republican Rep. David Steffen of Ashwaubenon, one of the districts where Democrats are hoping to win, says that while the new legislative maps are likely to change the composition of the state legislature, he does not expect a change of power to occur anytime soon.

“For that to happen, you would have to deal the Democrats the equivalent of a royal flush, but I just don’t think that’s going to happen. It’s going to be a tough fight, we’re going to have a narrower lead in the Assembly, but I’m completely confident that we’re going to maintain Republican control in the Assembly,” he tells FOX 11.

Steffan and his Republican colleagues are convinced that their lead over the Democrats will continue to be based on the candidates they have nominated.

“We believe we have top-notch candidates, people we’ve worked hard to find who meet all the criteria that people want. They want people with leadership experience, often private sector experience, who have done more than just live in government and have unique and high-quality ideas to move Wisconsin forward. That’s usually our secret sauce for winning elections: having the best candidates on the ballot, the ones who represent those districts.”

The Brown County Republican Party added the following following the Democratic press conference on Friday:

“The residents of Northeast Wisconsin love our community. We believe in safe neighborhoods, economic prosperity and opportunities for our children to learn and grow. These are timeless values ​​represented by the Brown County Republican Party and the reason voters elected Republicans to all but one seat in the Senate and State Assembly in districts that border Brown County. We look forward to sharing our platform with voters and are confident we will win their votes again in November.”

Ultimately, the decision will be in the hands of the voters in less than three months.

But for now, both parties in Wisconsin are confident.