To some extent, sure. But imagine an Obama-Trump-Biden swing voter (an important group in Wisconsin!) - does this voter realize he's voting for permanent Republican control of the state? The median seat in that crazily gerrymandered legislature is ~R+20 - and with an R governor and a pro-ISL decision from SCOTUS this term, I think people will be surprised at the hard-right governance next year. This is true both on substantive policy (sweeping abortion bans, maybe school prayer or anti-LGBTQ laws, etc.) and on small-d democracy. I mean, what is stopping that legislature from just permanently entrenching the GOP (e.g. by proclaiming that all statewide races will now be decided by winning a plurality of legislative districts), or just unilaterally setting aside future results they don't like on an ad hoc basis?
"but I guess people get what they vote for ..."
To some extent, sure. But imagine an Obama-Trump-Biden swing voter (an important group in Wisconsin!) - does this voter realize he's voting for permanent Republican control of the state? The median seat in that crazily gerrymandered legislature is ~R+20 - and with an R governor and a pro-ISL decision from SCOTUS this term, I think people will be surprised at the hard-right governance next year. This is true both on substantive policy (sweeping abortion bans, maybe school prayer or anti-LGBTQ laws, etc.) and on small-d democracy. I mean, what is stopping that legislature from just permanently entrenching the GOP (e.g. by proclaiming that all statewide races will now be decided by winning a plurality of legislative districts), or just unilaterally setting aside future results they don't like on an ad hoc basis?