Wisconsin Democrats Cruelly Mock Republican Senator Who Retired Amid Multiple Personal Tragedies

A Democratic Party-linked account mocked a Republican lawmaker’s decision to not seek reelectionfollowing multiple deaths in his family and his daughter’s cancer diagnosis.

Republican Wisconsin State Sen. Van Wanggaard, 73, announced Tuesday that he would not run in November’s election citing personal reasons, his family’s health and his age. On the same day of Wanggaard’s announcement, the Wisconsin Senate Democrats X account posted “Another one bites the dust,” encircling a picture of the Republican lawmaker with the words #OPENTOWORK, appearing to referenceLinkedIn users searching for their next job.

“It’s been 48 hours. I decide to retire to be with my family after 3 siblings died, daughter has Stage 4 cancer, and another brother had a heart attack + more,” Wanggaard wrote on X Thursday afternoon, replying to the post. “It shows that Democrats don’t care about people, only power.”

He went on to call for Wisconsin Senate Minority Leader Dianne Hesselbein, the top Democrat in the chamber, to “tell her team to take it down.”

The Democratic account’s post is still live as of Friday — three days after it was made. It nevertheless includes a community note from X users stating, “Important Context: He’s retiring because of age/personal tragedy – there is no Dem victory here.”

The 🏢Daily Caller News Foundation reached out to Hesselbein’s office to ask whether she plans to direct her team to delete the post, but did not immediately receive a response.