A Better Wisconsin Together (ABWT)

Donors include the Laborers’ International Union of North America, Strategic Victory Fund, Together Wisconsin Acts, North Fund, America Votes, and Tides Foundation. ³

Background

A Better Wisconsin Together (ABWT) formed in 2020 to advance left-wing values. It publishes its messages on social media as well as on paid digital, television, and radio communications. Liberal issue advocacy organization One Wisconsin Now merged operations to become a project of ABWT, bringing experienced staff to the organization. ^{4 1}

ABWT describes itself as a “state-based research and communications hub for progressives.” ⁵ WisPolitics describes it as “one of Wisconsin’s key progressive organizations.” ⁶ It is the lobbying and electoral advocacy arm of the charitable nonprofit A Better Wisconsin Together Institute and the political-focused A Better Wisconsin Together Policial Fund. ⁷

ABWT is a ProgressNow State Partner organization. ProgressNow describes itself as a “year-round, never-ending progressive campaign.” It is a left-of-center advocacy coalition that has developed a network of state partners to promote a liberal agenda through online media and targeted emails with an audience of over five million people at the local, state, and federal levels. ⁸ There are 25 state partners including Battle Born Progress in Nevada, Progressnow Colorado, Progress Arizona, Alabama Values Progress, and Progress Michigan. ⁹

ABWT and its political fund was one of the top political donors in Wisconsin in 2020 and 2021. It supported several Democratic candidates including Wisconsin state Senate candidate Neal Plotkin (D), Wisconsin state Senator Brad Pfaff (D-Onalaska), and Wisconsin state Senate candidate Jonathon Hansen (D). It is major contributors during its first two years included American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, National Education Association, Service Employees International Union, America Votes Action Fund, National Democratic Redistricting Committee, and American Federation of Teachers. ¹⁰

In 2022, ABWT spent approximately $600,000 for online ads supporting Wisconsin Governor Tony Evers’s (D) re-election. The ads praised Evers’ policies and spending on issues such as education, taxation, and abortion access. ¹¹

Work Areas

ABWT’s GuideStar profile describes its programs as lobbying and education on public policies at the executive, legislative, and judicial branch levels. ¹²

The Wisconsin Megaphone is the online communications hub for A Better Wisconsin Together. It claims to use social media to “build a progressive digital community throughout Wisconsin to strengthen the progressive movement.” It recruits and trains digital ambassadors to share social media content that supports left-of-center issues by providing workshops, weekly teleconference, and toolkits to “create compelling progressive social media messaging.” ¹³

The ABWT online news pages reflect the left-of-center issues it advocates for including access to abortion, voting without poll watchers to make it easier for all to vote, legalizing marijuana, protecting illegal immigrants, transgender support, student loan forgiveness, and voting maps to support ethnic minorities. ¹⁴

In February 2024, Wisconsin approved new voting maps created by Democratic Governor Tony Evers’s administration. ABWT supported the new maps through communications and ads. ABWT executive director Chris Wallock claimed the previous maps were created by “MAGA faction politicians” and were rigged to benefit them. ¹⁵

Funding

Its 2022 revenues were $11,233,398 and expenses were $10,521,176. ¹⁶ In 2022, the Laborers’ International Union of North America contributed $450,000 to ABWT ¹⁷ and the Strategic Victory Fund donated $2,483,500. ¹⁸ Other 2022 donors included Together Wisconsin Acts, North Fund, America Votes, and Tides Foundation. ³

In 2022, ABWT paid left-of-center news organizations the New Media Firm over $6 million and Real Voices Media $325,000 as independent contractors for content creations and placement. ¹⁹

It paid $1,995,000 to its political action arm A Better Wisconsin Together Political Fund in 2022 for “general operations.” ²⁰

Leadership

Garrick Delzell, a “national consultant for progressive organizations and campaigns,” was ABWT’s founding interim director. ¹ Delzell was a campaign manager for several politicians, including Democratic presidential candidate and U.S. Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-CA) in 2019. He was a political advisor for EMILY’s List, a director for a social welfare nonprofit, and a senior vice president of left-of-center marketing agency Deliver Strategies before taking on his role at ABWT. After leaving ABWT he was a director at Breakthrough Institute and started a consulting firm that focuses on leadership coaching for social impact organizations .²¹

Nicole Safar was ABWT’s executive director from June 2020 until May 2021. Previously she held roles at Planned Parenthood of Wisconsin and worked at the Wisconsin Department of Health Services in Governor Tony Evers’s (D) administration. After leaving ABWT Safar became executive director of left-of-center Law Forward. ^{22 23}

Chris Wallock has been executive director of A Better Wisconsin Together since July 2021. He graduated from Illinois Wesleyan University with a degree in political science. In 2016, he was organizing director for Hillary for America, Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaign. He worked for Civis Analytics at two different times in his career, along with being campaign director of the Democratic Party of Wisconsin ²⁴ during its efforts to elect President Joe Biden, U.S. Sen. Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), and other Democrats in the 2018 and 2020 election cycles. ⁶