Republican state Sen. Van Wanggaard fired back Thursday at Wisconsin Senate Democrats, saying their celebratory reaction to his retirement announcement shows they “don’t care about people, only power.”
Wanggaard, 73, representing the 21st Senate District that includes parts of Racine and Milwaukee counties, announced earlier this week he will not seek a fifth term. In a statement and on the Senate floor, he cited his age — he would turn 78 at the end of another term — and overwhelming family health challenges, including the deaths of three siblings in the past year, another brother who recently suffered a heart attack and is dealing with dementia, and his daughter’s Stage 4 cancer diagnosis.
“My health, and the health of my family, will not allow me to put my all into this campaign or serving the 21st District,” Wanggaard said. “That weighs on me more than you can know.”
Senate colleagues, including Democrats, gave him a standing ovation and congratulated him on his nearly two-decade career as a former police officer before he left what may have been the final session of the current Legislature.
While Senate Democrats were celebrating and applauding Wanggaard from the floor, the official Wisconsin Senate Democrats campaign account posted on X: “Another one bites the dust,” accompanied by a celebratory graphic. The post made no mention of Wanggaard’s stated reasons for retiring.
Forty-eight hours after the tweet, Wanggaard responded directly on X, quoting the Democrats’ post:
Wanggaard’s longtime chief of staff, Scott Kelly, confirmed the decision was personal and long-considered, not a political maneuver. In a post on X Tuesday night, Kelly wrote that his boss had been weighing retirement for two years, with the final decision made two weeks ago:
The Democrats’ online reaction drew immediate criticism from conservatives who noted the contrast between the Senate’s respectful applause and the partisan taunt. The original Heartland Post report highlighted the post as tone-deaf and a new low in political discourse, especially as Democrats eye gains in the Senate under new maps and view Wanggaard’s open seat as a top target.
Wanggaard, who survived a serious on-duty injury as a police officer, has served four terms as the longest-tenured Republican in his district. No immediate response came from Senate Democrats or Sen. Dianne Hesselbein to Wanggaard’s demand that the post be removed.
