Following Democrats’ resounding victories in Wisconsin Tuesday night, Gov.-elect David Crowley and Democratic legislative leaders spent Wednesday talking about preparing to work for Wisconsinites, though the specifics are still being worked out. 

Crowley said as he begins putting together a transition team and cabinet he wants it to be representative of the entire state, not just Madison and Milwaukee. He emphasized that he is committed to hearing from people with diverse viewpoints across the state as he begins that work. 

“While we witnessed major victories in the state Legislature last night, I am committed to bringing people together from across the political spectrum and all across this state. We’re going to listen to every region … every community. We’re going to make decisions that are based on what’s best for everyone here in the state of Wisconsin, and we are going to measure our success on whether life gets better for all families in this great state.” 

Crowley told reporters on Wednesday afternoon in Milwaukee that affordability and healthcare are his top priorities, but he didn’t provide specifics about the legislation he wants to see on his desk soon after he takes office. 

“You’re asking me about the legislative process. I think it is extremely important that you talk to the legislative leaders,” Crowley said. “I look forward to working with them about what our priorities are going to be. We are less than 24 hours of knowing that we won this race right now. I think all of us are basking in the fact that we won, we have the Democratic trifecta, and we know that the hard work is going to begin today.”

Over the course of the campaign, Democrats and Crowley said that if elected they would address an array of issues including lowering costs, improving education and healthcare accessibility. 

Assembly Democratic Leader Greta Neubauer (D-Racine) told reporters on a call that legislators needed a chance to connect with Crowley and their Senate colleagues while working to build their governing agenda. She said addressing the costs working families face is the first priority. She said some proposals include providing free school meals to all students and addressing housing costs, healthcare and childcare. 

“We do have a big list, and we are going to be ambitious,” Neubauer said. “We recognize this is a huge opportunity. Wisconsin on a new course; we are going to be busy. We’re going to be busy for two years getting all these things done.” 

Neubauer said the Assembly will have several options for addressing healthcare. She said lawmakers will explore a public option as well as regulations on prescription drugs and other costs. She said taking the federal Medicaid expansion is complicated given recent changes made by the Trump administration, including work requirements and changes to the federal funding mechanism. 

“It’s a shame that Wisconsin has not done that up to this point,” she said. “We are going to be working very closely with the administration to figure out the best way to expand access to affordable healthcare for Wisconsinites, even given the Trump administration’s efforts to cut access and raise costs.” 

“We know that Wisconsinites are struggling to afford access to quality healthcare, and that is going to be a key priority for us,” she added.

Senate Democratic Leader Dianne Hesselbein (D-Middleton) said in a statement on Wednesday that the Democratic majority was elected to invest in public schools, lower property taxes, stand up for Wisconsin workers and protect freedoms, including the right of women to make their own healthcare decisions.  

“The people of Wisconsin have placed their trust in Senate Democrats, and we’re not going to take it for granted,” Hesselbein said. “We are ready to breathe new life into the ‘Wisconsin Idea’ and ensure that everybody in Wisconsin, no matter your race, gender, who you love, or where you live, has a fair shot at the American dream.”

The depth and breadth of Republicans’ stunning losses in Tuesday’s blue wave are still coming into focus. Unprecedented Democratic wins in red states including Texas, Kansas, South Carolina and possibly Mississippi ushered in a new era. Democrats won big majorities in the House and Senate. They gained control of governorships and legislative chambers across the country, including in Wisconsin. 

Perhaps most dramatic was what didn’t happen. Menacing threats of armed federal agents at the polls melted away as Republicans crumbled. President Donald Trump accepted the results. So did Wisconsin’s Republican gubernatorial candidate Tom Tiffany, who voted against certifying the 2020 presidential election, but who conceded early and graciously this week.

Fear itself was vanquished on Tuesday. The dread of an authoritarian government poised to crush dissent with coercion and violence yielded to ordinary citizens voting, by the millions, to oust a self-dealing, out-of-touch party led by a malignant narcissist busy enriching himself at the people’s expense.

Just days before the election, voting rights groups in Wisconsin sent a letter to Attorney General Josh Kaul urging him to provide additional guidance to election workers in case federal agents showed up to seize ballots and tamper with election results.

Instead, voting went smoothly and the results, a massive rebuke to President Donald Trump and his party, now stand.

The lesson of the 2026 midterms was that regular people are not powerless in the face of this aggressive, anti-democratic regime. There is still time and hope left for our country. 

That, more than any particular surprise win, was the biggest thrill of the night.

In Wisconsin, Democrats took over both houses of the Legislature and David Crowley celebrated a convincing, historic win as the state’s first Black governor. Jan. 6 rallygoer and MAGA blowhard U.S. Rep. Derrick Van Orden was shown the door. The 2026 change election also swept away incumbent U.S. Rep. Bryan Steil, who lost to Mitchell Berman in the 1st Congressional District. As Erik Gunn and Heather Asiyanbi report, Berman broke Steil’s four-term winning streak and Republican control of the district stretching back more than three decades, through the Paul Ryan era. 

Berman represented the mood of the country’s fed-up electorate. An emergency room nurse dismayed by seeing patients who could not afford health insurance, he took on the smooth-talking, well heeled Steil on his support for Medicaid cuts, tariffs and his record of coddling the very wealthy and corporations, voting in lock-step with President Donald Trump. Corruption and the abandonment of regular working people were the themes of the 1st District race and of the midterms generally. Not, as Republicans hoped, trans people, “woke” politics and a debate about the decorative aesthetics of the Cheesecake Factory.

It turned out people were too fed up to be distracted from their own very real struggles by these culture war topics. Nor were they dissuaded by the massive infusion of cash from billionaires Elon Musk, Dick and Elizabeth Uihlein and Diane Hendricks.

There will be plenty more struggle ahead. But it’s a good time to bask in the glow of the complete rout of fear, hate and division as our inevitable national political atmosphere. 

In Wisconsin, Democrats set an example for what it means to overcome division. Francesca Hong, after narrowly losing the primary on a progressive, democratic socialist platform, worked hard to help elect Crowley — despite the hard feelings among many of her supporters who felt he big-footed her by getting back in the race after dropping out and narrowly winning with Gov. Tony Evers’ endorsement.

Angela Lang, founder and director of Black Leaders Organizing for Communities, told Isiah Holmes at Crowley’s joyful, raucous victory party that Crowley’s personal history — being evicted along with his parents, who struggled with poverty and addiction when he was a child — and his efforts as Milwaukee county executive to do right by people who have also struggled, moved her.  “I’ve always been nervous. Because sometimes Wisconsin doesn’t always do the right thing. But I always knew it was possible and I’m glad to know that the rest of Wisconsin felt it was possible, too,” she said.

So much is possible if the majority of us unite against the corrosive politics of the Trump era and look out for our shared interests.

This week, it became suddenly clear that a bad era is coming to an end, and a new era of possibility is dawning. 

Democrats won control of the Wisconsin Senate and Assembly Tuesday night, along with the governor’s race — cementing Democratic trifecta control of state government for the first time in over 16 years.

Democratic candidates won the majority of their targeted seats — claiming open seats and ousting longtime Republican incumbents. In the 99-seat state Assembly, Democrats will hold 53 seats and Republicans will hold 46. In the 33-seat state Senate, Democrats will hold 18 seats while Republicans will hold 15 seats. 

Democratic Senate Leader Dianne Hesselbein declared victory in a statement a little before 10 p.m.

“For two years we’ve said that the Wisconsin Senate was the most flippable chamber in the country, and tonight voters across the state proved that to be true,” Hesselbein said. “We’re grateful that Wisconsinites have placed their trust in Senate Democrats to deliver progress in our state; now it’s time to get to work cutting costs and building a stronger future for our hardworking men and women.”

Assembly Democrats declared victory a little after 11 p.m. Democratic Leader Greta Neubauer (D-Racine) said in a statement that she was proud of everyone who stepped up to run for the Assembly. 

“They understood that this would be hard, that they would have to knock on doors every single day, face millions of dollars in attack ads, have to take time away from their families, and potentially face threats or violence. But they did it anyway, because they understood that this was our best shot in decades — our shot to win the Democratic trifecta, our shot to set Wisconsin on a new path. Our candidates and our members believe the people of our state deserve better,” Neubauer said. “And Wisconsin does deserve better. With this trifecta, we will end decades of Republican obstruction and build great schools, help families feel financially secure and to save for retirement. We will hold big tech accountable, protect our rights and freedoms, and make Wisconsin a state where everyone can thrive.” 

Democrats have not held control of the state Senate or Assembly since 2010, but new legislative maps helped put the Legislature in play this year. The maps, which were passed by the Republican-led Legislature and signed by Gov. Tony Evers, were adopted in 2024 after Wisconsin’s previous legislative maps were found by the state Supreme Court to be an unconstitutional gerrymander.

In the 2024 election, Democrats flipped 10 Assembly seats, slashing the Republican majority from 64 seats to 54 seats and the state Senate went from a 22-seat Republican supermajority to an 18-seat Republican majority. The close margin increased Democrats’ influence on issues including the state budget over the last two years. 

Headed into the election, Democrats were optimistic about their chances of taking control. 

The Democratic-led Legislature will work alongside Democratic Governor-elect David Crowley, who defeated Republican Tom Tiffany. 

“We know that people will be counting on us to deliver, and we will deliver. Alongside Governor David Crowley and our Democratic colleagues in the Senate, we will show that government can be a force for good and that things can be different with Democrats in charge,” Neubauer said. “Tonight we celebrate, tomorrow we get to work.” 

Chair of the Democratic Party of Wisconsin Devin Remiker said in a statement that voters had sent “a resounding message that they are tired of a broken political system, where politicians put billionaires, special interests, and their own self-interest ahead of working families.”

“They saw Republicans in the Legislature gerrymander themselves into power, block Governor Evers at every turn, and sit on their hands while costs went up. They saw three billionaires try to buy the governor’s office for Tom Tiffany. And they chose a different direction,” Remiker said. “Now it’s time to deliver. Governor-elect David Crowley, Lieutenant Governor-elect Sarah Godlewski, Senate Democratic Leader Dianne Hesselbein, and Assembly Democratic Leader Greta Neubauer will work together to lower costs, make healthcare more affordable and accessible, invest in our public schools, and build an economy that works for all Wisconsinites.” 

Here are the results in districts that were decisive in determining control:

• In Senate District 31, The Associated Press called the race for Sen Jeff Smith (D-Brunswick). He defeated a challenge from Republican Michele Magadance Skinner, an Eau Claire County board member to win another term in office. The district covers Eau Claire County and parts of Dunn, Trempealeau and Chippewa counties. With more than 95% reporting, Smith brought in 58% of the vote while Skinner brought in 42%. 
• In Senate District 5, state Rep. Robyn Vining (D-Wauwatosa) defeated Republican Mike Roberts, a businessman and healthcare professional from Pewaukee. The race for the seat, which covers Wauwatosa and other parts of Milwaukee County, was open after Sen. Rob Hutton opted not to run for reelection. With 94% reporting according to The Associated Press, Vining had brought in 57% of the vote and Roberts had brought in 43%. 
• In Senate District 21, Democrat Trevor Jung, the former Racine transit and mobility director, defeated Republican businessman Jim Croft. This southeast district that includes part of Racine and Milwaukee Counties was open due to Sen. Van Wanggaard (R-Racine) retiring. With 90% reporting, Jung had brought in 58% of the vote while Croft had brought in 42%.
• In Senate District 17, state Rep. Jenna Jacobson (D-Oregon) was leading state Sen. Howard Marklein (R-Spring Green) a little before 11 p.m. With more than 95% reporting according to The Associated Press, Jacobson had brought in 53% of the vote and Marklein had brought in 47%. The district represents Iowa, Lafayette, Green, Crawford and Grant counties as well as parts of Dane County.
• In Assembly District 21, Democrat Daniel Bukiewicz, the mayor of Oak Creek, defeated Dylan Pfaffenbach, a Republican student at Carroll University. The race for the seat was open following the retirement of Rep. Jessie Rodriguez, a longtime Republican incumbent. With 84% reporting according to the Associated Press, Bukiewicz brought in 60% of the vote while Pfaffenbach brought in 40%.

• In Assembly District 30, incumbent Rep. Shannon Zimmerman (R-River Falls), who was first elected in 2016, lost his reelection bid to Democratic challenger Kevin Knoke, a veteran and educator from Hudson. Zimmerman was first elected in 2016 and served on the Joint Finance Committee. With more than 95% reporting according to the Associated Press, Knoke brought in 53% of the vote while Zimmerman brought in 47%. 
• In Assembly District 51, Rep. Todd Novak (R-Dodgeville) lost to Democratic challenger Ben Gruber, a conservation warden in Wisconsin who is member of AFSCME Local 1215. With 92% reporting according to the Associated Press, Gruber brought in 55% of the vote while Novak brought in 43%. 
• In Assembly District 53, Republican David Daniels lost to Democrat Becky Nichols, a former Menasha city council member. The race was open due to the retirement of incumbent Rep. Dean Kaufert (R-Neenah). With more than 95% reporting according to the Associated Press, Nichols brought in 55% of the vote while Daniels brought in 39%.
• In Assembly District 61, Rep. Bob Donovan (R-Greenfield) lost his reelection bid to Democratic challenger Ben Brist, an army veteran. With 88% reporting according to the Associated Press, Brist brought in 56% of the vote while Donovan brought in 44%. 
• In Assembly District 85, Rep. Patrick Snyder (R-Weston) lost his reelection bid to challenger Democrat John Kroll, a Marathon county board supervisor. Snyder, who was first elected in 2016, ran his campaign by emphasizing his work across the aisle. With more than 95% reporting according to the Associated Press, Kroll brought in 54% of the vote while Snyder brought in 46%.
• In Assembly District 88, Rep. Benjamin Franklin (R-De Pere) lost his reelection bid to Democrat Brandy Tollefson, a De Pere school board member. With more than 95% reporting according to the Associated Press, Tollefson brought in 54% of the vote while Franklin brought in 46%.
• In Assembly District 89, Rep. Ryan Spaude (D-Ashwaubenon) fended off a challenge from Republican challenger Bobby Lindsey, a retired law enforcement professional and a Marine Corps veteran.  With more than 95% reporting according to the Associated Press, Spaude brought in 56% of the vote while Lindsey brought in 44%.
• In Assembly District 92, Rep. Clint Moses (R-Menomonie) lost his bid for reelection to Democratic challenger Jeremiah Fredrickson, a fish farmer from Elk Mound. With more than 95% reporting according to the Associated Press, Fredrickson brought in 53% of the vote while Moses brought in 47%.
• In Assembly District 94, Democratic Rep. Steve Doyle defeated Republican challenger Keith Purnell, an Army veteran. Doyle was first elected to the Assembly during a May 2011 special election and has been reelected since. With more than 95% reporting according to the Associated Press, Doyle brought in 57% of the vote while Purnell brought in 43%.

Two Waukesha County Republicans are asking voters to reelect them to the state Legislature in November while simultaneously campaigning to become the county’s next executive in a December special election. 

Paul Farrow, who had served as the Waukesha County executive since 2015, was a former state lawmaker and previous chair of the Republican Party of Wisconsin, died in July after a two year battle with a rare and aggressive abdominal cancer. Tom Farley, who previously worked as the county’s lead attorney, was sworn in to serve as the interim county executive on July 30 after being nominated by the county board. 

The race to serve the last few months of Farrow’s four-year term has so far attracted the attention of two longtime GOP lawmakers who are also currently running for reelection to their respective seats: Rep. Adam Neylon (R-Pewaukee) and Sen. Chris Kapenga (R-Delafield). 

But the lawmakers concurrently running for two offices sets up a tangle of filing deadlines and election dates. The deadline to file nominating signatures to get on the special election ballot is Oct. 20 and if they both gain access, a primary election will be held Nov. 17 — just over two weeks after they’ll both be on the ballot in the midterm elections on Nov. 3.

Kapenga announced his candidacy on July 13 in an interview with conservative radio host Dan O’Donnell.

“Usually, you get excited about announcing, but this is just unfortunate,” Kapenga said, adding that he was praying for Farrow’s family. 

Neylon announced his campaign in early September. Neylon, who said Farrow was a mentor of his, said he spent time grieving and then mulling the decision. 

“I believe our families deserve leaders who put community first and show up, listen, work well with others, and deliver results to protect the values that built this place, and I think that, given my experience, my background, that I’m the right person for the job,” Neylon told the Wisconsin Examiner. 

After the special election, a regular election for a full term as the county executive will happen in April 2027. 

Both will appear on ballots in November in races for their respective legislative seat. Within 60 days following the certification of the election as county executive, a lawmaker would need to resign from their position. State law prevents legislators from serving in the Legislature and as a county executive. 

Kapenga and Neylon’s decision to seek the job outside the Legislature follows a wave of Republicans opting to not run for reelection this year, including Senate Majority Leader Devin LeMahieu (R-Oostburg) and Assembly Speaker Robin Vos (R-Rochester). Though state lawmakers regularly run for open county executive seats. 

Kapenga or Neylon’s departure from the Legislature would be one fewer Republican with legislative experience and would trigger the need for a special election to fill the seat.

Farrow was a state senator when he ran in 2015 and his election created a vacancy that Kapenga filled by winning a special election for the Senate seat that July. Democratic gubernatorial candidate David Crowley, then a state Assembly member, was elected to be Milwaukee County executive in May 2020, and former Senate Minority Leader Melissa Agard ran to be Dane County executive after deciding not to run for reelection. 

With control of the Senate and Assembly at stake in November, the possibility of a legislative vacancy adds another variable for the next legislative session.

Kapenga did not respond to requests for an interview from the Examiner, but during his interview with O’Donnell, he said he expects another Republican to be elected to his seat if he wins the special election and resigns. 

“It’s almost statistically impossible unless somebody really makes a major mistake in this seat to lose it to a Dem so that risk is very low,” Kapenga, who won his last reelection effort unopposed, said.

Kapenga is facing a challenge for the state Senate seat from Mike Van Someren, a Democrat and attorney from the Town of Delafield, in the race for state Senate. 

Van Someren has knocked Kapenga for campaigning for county executive while running for the state Senate, saying in a video posted to TikTok that “it’s clear we’re both out there working for the job we really want.” 

“So in this instance, I just want to wish both luck,” he said.

The Examiner spoke with Neylon about his campaigns. He said he is focused on winning reelection to the Assembly and then will turn his focus to the county executive race.

“It’s going to be a sprint,” Neylon said of the turn around time between elections. “There’s not a lot of people paying attention to the county executive race right now when you have the general election on the horizon. People are talking about the governor’s race. People are talking about the majorities, and I’m part of that.”

In the race for the Assembly, Neylon faces a challenge from Democrat Stephen Tryon, an author. He won his 2024 election in a 59.1% to 40.9% vote against his Democratic opponent. 

Neylon said wants to help Republicans keep their majority as Assembly Democrats are seeking to flip five seats and put Republicans out of power for the first time in 16 years, but that he also has unfinished business in the Assembly that he’d like to work on.

“When I left Madison at the end of last session, I didn’t leave thinking it was over,” Neylon said. “I think it’s actually a positive thing, not something that I’m going to apologize for.”

With Vos and other GOP leadership retirements, Neylon said he wants to be involved in choosing a new leader for Assembly Republicans. He said there is also some legislation that he would want the opportunity to propose, including on AI and regulating Flock license plate readers. 

Neylon said it was a difficult decision, but there wasn’t much strategic thought put into running for both seats. He said he sees an opportunity in the county executive role and thinks he is best suited for the job due to his ability to listen to people and work collaboratively. 

“At the end of the day, the ultimate consideration was, do I want to do this? And I do,” Neylon said. “I think that when you look at the opportunity that Waukesha County Executive presents to be able to be an advocate and a leader in a community that I love, that I care about, that I want to protect for my kids to make sure that they have the same opportunities that we do. It just felt like I had to raise my hand and step up, and I felt a sense of commitment and responsibility to do so.”

Kapenga is known for being a staunch conservative and fiscal hawk, who wants to cut taxes and reduce government services. He has at times been the lone “No” vote on bipartisan legislation, including a law to provide additional coverage for breast cancer screenings. He’s also been part of hardline Republican intraparty feuding that led to legislation failing or Republican leaders turning to Democrats for help getting bills across the finish line.

One issue that has defined the race so far is taxes. Waukesha County is one of two counties in the state that do not impose a local county tax on top of the state sales tax of 5%. During his tenure, Farrow had proposed a plan to implement a sales tax to avoid steep cuts in services. It was withdrawn in January 2025.

Neylon and Kapenga have said they are opposed to implementing a sales tax. 

“Things cost more. Based on the last budget projected deficits into the future at the current levels of spending, so there’s been an interest in looking at different ways to increase government revenues,” Neylon said. “I think we need to be more innovative about the solutions we’re offering to people instead of always just going back to we need to raise tax.”

Neylon said he wouldn’t look to shared revenue from the state to help with the county’s fiscal issues, however, he said he would lobby state lawmakers to allow the county to keep more revenue from fees that currently go to the state. 

Neylon has said he would also bring his focus on regulatory reform to county government, including to rising housing costs by looking to ease zoning and permitting rules that he says slow construction. He has spent much of his legislative career focused on rulemaking, including as the the lead author of the REINS Act, the Walker-era law that requires state agencies to halt the rulemaking process for any proposed administrative rule estimated to cost $10 million or more. He also served as the chair of the Joint Committee for Review of Administrative Rulemaking.

Kapenga, who has worked as a certified public accountant, told O’Donnell that his experience would help provide a different perspective to county government. 

“I think it really works well with the challenges that we’re facing as we go forward,” Kapenga said.