A Path Forward for Wisconsin.

• Author: Barnes, Mandela
• Position: On Wisonsin

Wisconsin is known for a handful of things: our world-famous cheese, the Green Bay Packers, and homegrown indie folk artist Justin Vernon (a.k.a. Bon Iver). But most people likely never considered its potential to shape the future of the entire nation until the November 2016 presidential election, when a narrow majority of voters delivered the state to Donald Trump.

No one can blame Wisconsin alone for the Trump presidency, but it is equally impossible to deny our states role in securing his victory. Wisconsin was undeniably the tipping-point state--had Hillary Clinton won fellow swing states Pennsylvania and Michigan, she still would have lost the election without Wisconsin's ten electoral votes.

Ever since these consequential events shattered the assumptions of some and confirmed the fears of others, Wisconsin has been ground zero for winning back the presidency for Democrats, progressives, and anyone who seeks a President actually capable of leading our diverse and complex nation.

But Wisconsin is not the same state it was in 2016. Since that wake-up-call election, progressives have been organizing around more issues in more places than ever before. We elected a new governor--one who actually cares what the people of this state want and who, as a former state schools superintendent, has the best interests of our kids at heart.

We have elected two fair and progressive justices in the last three Wisconsin Supreme Court elections, chipping away at the hyper-partisan conservative majority that has sided with those in power over the people at every turn.

All of us have lived through the trauma and recklessness of the Trump presidency, from communities of color and immigrants who have been directly targeted by the Presidents racist policies to the farmers who have paid the price for his trade wars.

But perhaps the biggest change in Wisconsin since 2016 is the one we have been dealing with nonstop since March: the COVID-19 pandemic. This coronavirus has taken the lives of more than 900 Wisconsinites and threatened the livelihoods of tens of thousands more.

While it is often seen as a new crisis--requiring new research, medicines, and vaccines--in reality, the problems that COVID-19 is exposing are not new at all. Inadequate access to health care, income inequality, few options for child care, and digital divides are all issues that Wisconsin residents have faced for years.

Even when they controlled the legislature and governors office...