About The Democratic Party of Wisconsin

WisDems is nationally recognized as one of the country’s highest-performing and most pivotal political organizations. During the upcoming election cycle, WisDems will drive massive programs to hold Republicans accountable, elect progressive candidates up and down the ballot, and work to build volunteer-led coalitions for the long term. WisDems’ work is grounded in inclusion, respect, and empowerment across race, gender, other dimensions of identity, and the rural/suburban/urban divide. Our work continues year-round, collaborating with partners to build a movement that delivers meaningful change for all Wisconsinites. We seek outstanding applicants who share our values and vision to join the team, help win elections, and build a future where everyone can thrive.

Proudly a Bargaining Unit Position with the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers

The Opportunity: As a Research Tracking Associate, you will be the eyes and ears of our research team, gathering real-time information on Republican opponents. In this role, you will monitor schedules of public events, looking for opportunities to get GOP candidates on the record and hold them accountable. You will also transcribe and report on campaign activities and  build experience creating various communications and research materials and projects, and fulfill other duties as needed, including contributing to opposition research and rapid response efforts.

You’re our person if:

• You are invested in Wisconsin politics. You love following the news and have a strong understanding of Wisconsin’s complex political landscape. You know who the key players are and what issues matter locally.
• You are observant and professional. You are comfortable attending GOP and opposition events as an observer. You know how to maintain your composure and stick to your task even when you are surrounded by differing political views.
• You have sharp attention to detail. You have the focus to listen to a 45-minute stump speech and immediately identify the one 10-second soundbite that contradicts a candidate's previous position.
• You are diligent and precise. You have the intentionality to follow a uniform professional style in both daily reports and long-term projects. You see a finished project as a revised and proofread project.
• You are highly flexible. Because campaign events can pop up with very little notice, you are flexible enough to adjust your schedule and hit the road to ensure we have coverage across the state.

You align with our core principles:

• Accountability & Solution-Oriented: You take full ownership of your actions and commitments, holding yourself to a high standard and seeing objectives through to completion. When challenges arise, you approach them with a problem-solving mindset, focusing on solutions rather than pointing fingers.
• Collaboration & Teamwork: You succeed by working as a team, stepping up to support teammates, and sharing knowledge freely. You actively break down silos by connecting across teams, inviting different perspectives, and staying open to new ideas to achieve shared goals.
• Growth & Adaptability: You are dedicated to continuous improvement and challenge yourself to learn and adapt. You proactively seek, offer, and act on feedback with openness and can anticipate potential obstacles to take proactive steps.
• Respect & Inclusion: You build strong relationships by treating everyone with kindness, dignity, and trust. You approach interactions assuming positive intent and have the courage to address difficult topics directly and honestly while showing care for others.
• Transparent Communication: You communicate openly and honestly to build trust and alignment. You are proactive in setting clear expectations, sharing the "why" behind decisions, and providing timely updates to ensure the right people have the information they need.

Job Responsibilities:

• Attend public events, rallies, and meetings across the state to record candidate speeches, activities, and discussions.
• Monitor opponent schedules and local media to proactively identify tracking opportunities.
• Transcribe events quickly and accurately, flagging actionable quotes or contradictions for the Research and Communications teams.
• Maintain an organized internal database of past candidate statements, schedules, and speeches.
• Create opportunities to hold opponents accountable by capturing them on the record.
• Support broader research and communications efforts, including rapid response and long-term opposition research projects.

Required Qualifications:

• (this role involves regular travel to events across the state).
• Ability to accommodate a flexible work schedule, which will include some evenings and weekends to match up with candidate events.
• Demonstrated ability to accurately transcribe audio and maintain organized, detailed records.
• Ability to remain calm, respectful, and focused while attending events hosted by political opponents.

Preferred Qualifications:

• Experience in, and a strong understanding of, Wisconsin’s political landscape.
• Exceptional written and verbal communication skills.
• Prior experience with political campaigns, research, or journalism.
• Familiarity with video recording equipment or basic video clipping/editing.

Note: On-year requirements include working outside of normal work hours; including canvassing and other election-preparation as necessary.

Benefits: Great benefits including; excellent health care ($1/month), dental ($1/month), vision ($1/month), life insurance (free), short term and long-term disability (free), mileage reimbursement, monthly cell phone stipend, paid vacation days, retirement plan with employer match, floating holidays, paid holidays. 

Equity and Inclusion: The Democratic Party of Wisconsin has a vision for a deeply inclusive and diverse party organization, membership, and electorate. In order to be successful at the  Democratic Party of Wisconsin candidates must have the cultural competence to successfully  work with a diverse array of constituency groups. We especially strongly encourage applicants  with close ties to Black, Indigenous, AAPI, Latinx, Muslim, non-English-speaking, disability, and LGBTQIA+ communities. The Democratic Party of Wisconsin is an Equal Opportunity Employer.