I agree with Mark Belling on this one:

While state GOP operations improved marginally under Hitt, it is still a Madison-based organization that relies heavily on Madison based consultants who seem talented at only one thing: losing elections.

There is virtually no paid grass roots operation in Wisconsin and the GOP was incompetent at stopping the rush to early voting approved by the state Election Commission and which was largely responsible for President Trump’s Wisconsin loss.

Hitt has also done nothing about the sellout performances of the two GOP members of the state Election Commission who routinely side with democrats and the commission’s liberal staff in egregious rulings that harm Republicans.

If Hitt is reelected, it will prove my point that the Madison-based operation cares only about reelecting cronies in the state legislature and has no concerns about winning either local or statewide races. GOP voters and volunteers in this state, who worked so hard for Trump, deserve better than this incompetent and apathetic Madison bunch.

My observation is that there is a good grass roots organization in some counties, but it is really driven by the leadership of the county organizations. Regardless, the state GOP needs change.

First and foremost, the state GOP operation needs to move out of Madison and nest where Republican voters live. Everybody is subject to the pressure in their personal lives. Madison is a radical leftist enclave. As hard as they try, the Republicans who live there wouldn’t be human if the constant barrage of leftist pressure didn’t influence their behavior. It isn’t the big things. It’s the little ones. It’s the “let’s soften that message because Democrat A’s sister is my kid’s teacher,” or “I lunch with Democrat B and he wouldn’t really do that” (yes, he would). By surrounding themselves with actual conservatives and Republicans, the GOP state party staff would get the support they need to carry the GOP banner.

Furthermore, the Republican coalition is changing and the state party officials need to connect with people. Thanks to Trump, the Republican Party has made great strides with working class people. Madison is dominated by white collar workers and government employees. That is what most Republican Party staffers are too. As they hang out with the other parents at soccer games, attend neighborhood parties, or gather for a local show or sporting event, the Republican Party staffers are part of that crowd. That is their cultural normal. The issues of that crowd are the issues that the Republican Party staffers are internalizing and prioritizing.

If the Wisconsin Republican Party is going to really understand the issues that impact factory workers, farmers, construction workers, small business owners, etc., then they need to make THAT their crowd. They need to live amongst actual grass roots Republicans who care about these issues because it matters. It isn’t a just parlor game for politicians and politicos to win. It matters.

Moving the state party would go a long way to enabling the state GOP to be more successful in the future. I’m thinking Fond du Lac or Wausau would best.