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This article was originally published by Votebeat, a nonprofit news organization covering local election administration and voting access.

Walking down Milwaukee’s Brady Street nightlife district on Oct. 23, near hundreds of rowdy fans cheering on the Brewers in Game 1 of the World Series, Wisconsin Elections Commission appointee Bob Spindell raised a topic that’s often on his mind: his distrust in the city’s election operations.

Spindell — a former Milwaukee election commissioner who signed false certificates of election for President Donald Trump in 2020 — told Votebeat that he had been trying to make a $100 bet that something would go wrong with the city’s 2026 election, but nobody would take him up on his offer.

His faith in the city had not improved by Monday, as he followed Milwaukee officials leading a walk-through of the facility where all its absentee ballots would be counted the following day. “I assume something will go wrong tomorrow,” he told Votebeat.

Spindell would have won his bet.

Not long after polls opened on Tuesday, officials discovered that a tabulator — which hadn’t counted any ballots yet — lacked a proper security seal over a panel door. A couple of hours later, officials realized that two election workers hadn’t written unique identifying numbers on the back of 242 ballots that can be used to tie the ballot back to a voter, as required by state law in some municipalities. As officials discussed what to do in that situation, another problem arose: Two tabulators weren’t accepting large batches of ballots. Later in the night, a tabulator spat out error messages after officials tried downloading results from it.

Some of these issues, like the tabulators not accepting large batches of ballots, aren’t terribly unusual in a city with a massive election operation. But an unsealed tabulator and election workers forgetting to write poll numbers on hundreds of ballots are the exact sorts of mistakes Milwaukee officials have been trying to avoid. Despite efforts to work out the kinks in the city’s heavily scrutinized election process, officials there have committed a steady stream of errors in recent years that have contributed to a culture of mistrust.

Milwaukee’s defenders say Republicans have blown the mistakes out of proportion — and that they only care about them when they want to scapegoat the city for the GOP’s losses. But more neutral observers are concerned about them, too. While some errors are inevitable, experts say a pattern of problems may point to the need for additional oversight.

“If there are repeated errors, investigation is necessary to determine the actual root cause,” said Chris Piper, the former top election official in Virginia and co-founder of the election administration consulting group Advance Elections.

Errors are often part of the election process, officials say

Going into Election Day, Milwaukee election chief Paulina Gutiérrez downplayed the degree to which human errors undermined the city’s overall election process. She argued that redundancies in the system ensure that small missteps don’t become catastrophes.

“Humans can make mistakes,” she said. “That’s why there’s multiple layers and levels and paper trails to ensure that the accuracy and the security of the election isn’t tampered with.”

On Tuesday, she noted that the 242 ballots missing numbers still got counted.

“We processed those ballots because they are legitimate ballots,” Gutiérrez told reporters at a press conference. “Those are eligible voters. It was a clerical error, and we have a way to track those ballots if we need to.”

Ann Jacobs, a Democratic appointee on the Wisconsin Elections Commission who is typically at Milwaukee’s central count operation on Election Day, argued that the error was not the sign of a larger problem.

“Small errors are going to happen,” Jacobs said. “If you’ve got 100 or 150 people who have been trained to process absentee ballots, and two people at one table mess up, your training’s still really good.”

Kathy Boockvar, a former Pennsylvania secretary of state, said issues like the ones in Milwaukee often result from election offices not having enough resources.

“When we don’t fund any program area with sufficient resources to carry them out well, you end up with a situation like I’m sure Milwaukee has — like probably most jurisdictions in this country — where election officials are underfunded and understaffed,” she said. “Their equipment is outdated, their training is outdated, and they’re working as hard as they possibly can to do a job that’s actually a lot harder and a lot more complicated than it used to be.”

“The voters deserve an effective, efficient system of voting operations,” she continued. “That has a much better chance of happening if we fund it sufficiently.”

In Pennsylvania, she said, the secretary of state’s office would review errors as a matter of course, working with local election officials to improve operations.

Boockvar declined to speculate on the cause or severity of the errors in Milwaukee, noting she is not familiar enough with Wisconsin’s laws or the details of Tuesday’s incidents, but she said if a Pennsylvania jurisdiction had repeat issues, she would have reviewed them with local officials to make sure they don’t happen again.

In Wisconsin, WEC has the authority to investigate municipalities’ election operations if it has concerns. But Jacobs said WEC has had no reason to investigate Milwaukee so far because the city has addressed its errors.

“You can’t fix what you don’t know is a problem, and when something is shown to be a problem, you create a fix,” she said. “And in Milwaukee, they’ve done a good job of isolating and identifying the problem and fixing it.”

Unlike other municipalities WEC has investigated, she added, the errors in Milwaukee haven’t been shrouded in mystery. The commission investigated Madison to uncover how 193 ballots went missing in 2024, never to be counted, and how Green Bay sent duplicate absentee ballots to voters two elections in a row.

“We only do investigations when we don’t know the answer to what happened,” Jacobs said.

Problems beget criticism, and critics beget problems

Milwaukee’s history of errors — combined with its status as a racially diverse source of Democratic votes in an otherwise white, rural state — has made the city a target for Republicans who suspect its elections are not totally above board. But the expectation for election officials to be perfect actually makes their lives harder, experts said.

“This increased scrutiny certainly adds pressure to the individuals administering the elections and therefore increases the chances for errors when you have overworked election administrators,” Piper said.

Some of Milwaukee’s critics were at its central counting facility on Tuesday. One was Janel Brandtjen, a former state legislator who was chair of the Assembly election committee following the 2020 election, when she endorsed Trump’s false contention that the election was stolen and tried to decertify Wisconsin’s results.

Brandtjen has an unusual reason to be skeptical about Milwaukee. In 2022, a Milwaukee deputy clerk who no longer works at the city ordered three military absentee ballots using fake names and sent the ballots to Brandtjen’s house, an effort that the former deputy described as an attempt to expose flaws in the election system. The deputy clerk, Kimberly Zapata, was sentenced to probation.

“The deputy clerk made up ballot names and sent them to my house,” Brandtjen said Tuesday of her trust in Milwaukee elections. “I mean, that should say everything you need to know, right? That alone. And what does that say about the system?”

Milwaukee spokesperson Caroline Reinwald said Zapata’s actions constituted “a serious violation of public trust.”

“That employee was investigated, terminated and ultimately convicted,” she said. “However, one individual’s misconduct four years ago should not be used to suggest broader or ongoing problems with Milwaukee’s elections without evidence to support that claim.”

Amid blowout loss, skeptics left before officials conducted most scrutinized process

Around 11 p.m. on election night, poll workers at Milwaukee’s central count operation finished tabulating the city’s 60,000 absentee ballots. The next step was to download the results from the tabulators onto thumb drives to deliver them to the county.

This is the most scrutinized election process in Milwaukee — and one that has often broken down. In 2020, the chief official briefly forgot one thumb drive at central count after leaving for the county clerk’s office. In this year’s August primary, officials extracted the wrong files from several tabulators but didn’t realize it until they got to the county clerk’s office, a mistake that ended up delaying results by well over an hour.

Both incidents led to an explosion of conspiracy theories. Now, during that extraction process, GOP observers frequently follow Milwaukee election officials from tabulator to tabulator, watching for anything suspicious.

By the time officials began that process on Tuesday, though, those Republicans had left the facility. At that point, it was clear that Republicans were falling far short in critical statewide races. It was also abundantly clear that Milwaukee’s absentee results wouldn’t determine the outcome of the election, barring something extraordinary.

Spindell, who wanted to bet on a Milwaukee mishap, was long gone, as were Brandtjen and a man who heckled Gutiérrez, telling her around 7 p.m. that she wasn’t properly deleting files off the hard drives that would be used to download election results. Other GOP observers, like attorney Dan Eastman, who represented plaintiffs trying to overturn the 2020 election in Wisconsin, and Jefferson Davis, a former Menomonee Falls village president and conservative election activist who has promoted conspiracy theories, had left the building.

Had they been there, they would have witnessed yet another innocuous error that could have been twisted into a conspiracy theory.

One of the city’s 10 absentee-ballot tabulators showed an error message right after officials downloaded results onto the thumb drive. Unsure whether that drive contained the results, Gutiérrez decided to download the results onto an extra thumb drive and segregate it from the others, in case the original didn’t work. County officials said that Election Systems & Software, the company that manufactured the tabulator, would be looking into the issue.

Asked about conspiracy theorists leaving early, Jacobs, the Wisconsin Elections Commission member, wasn’t surprised.

“For some of those folks, it’s representative of a bad faith effort on their part,” she said. “For others, they may just be following the lead of the people who are in charge, who’ve told them it doesn’t matter anymore.”

As Milwaukee County officials uploaded election results just before 1 a.m., with just under 60,000 absentee votes from the city that swung heavily Democratic, County Clerk George Christensen acknowledged that the pressure was off since Republican gubernatorial candidate U.S. Rep. Tom Tiffany had admitted defeat hours before.

“It’s somewhat nice that it doesn’t have to all come down to the city of Milwaukee — waiting for those results,” he said. “Of course, those ballots and votes are important, but it was kind of a little bit less pressure for us here. It takes a little pressure off my staff, which makes me happy.”

Alexander Shur is a reporter for Votebeat based in Wisconsin. Contact Shur at ashur@votebeat.org.

Votebeat is a nonprofit news organization reporting on voting access and election administration across the U.S. Sign up for Votebeat Wisconsin’s free newsletter here.

Election Day errors add to Milwaukee’s history of messy elections is a post from Wisconsin Watch, a non-profit investigative news site covering Wisconsin since 2009. Please consider making a contribution to support our journalism.

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Wisconsin voters on Tuesday handed Democrats a trifecta: an 18-15 Senate majority, a 53-46 Assembly majority and victories across all statewide executive offices, including governor. 

Wisconsin mirrored the national trend of Democratic candidates receiving more support than in previous elections, even in districts where Republican candidates eventually won. 

Democratic candidates flipped the 1st and 3rd congressional districts, creating a 4-4 split in the state’s House delegation. Even in districts where Republicans won, Democrats narrowed the margins.

Democratic gubernatorial candidate David Crowley won by 8 percentage points over Republican candidate Tom Tiffany, a far more dominant win than Democratic Gov. Tony Evers’ 3.4- and 1.1-point margins in 2022 and 2018, respectively. 

Crowley improved on Evers’ performance in Wisconsin’s eastern counties. In Milwaukee County he increased the Democratic lead by 9.2 percentage points, receiving nearly three times as many votes as Tiffany.

Tiffany received more support than 2022 Republican gubernatorial nominee Tim Michels in western and central counties. For example, Tiffany won 56.4% of the vote in Lafayette County, a 5.4-point improvement over 2022.

Since 2018, Democrats have improved their performances in more populous  counties such as Waukesha, Milwaukee and Dane. Ozaukee County shifted from a 25-point Republican lead in 2018 to a 5-point lead this year.

In Ashland County in far northern Wisconsin, the Democratic candidate’s lead narrowed by 8.5 points. Democrats have also lost support in other rural counties, including Lafayette, Marquette and Pepin, over the past three elections.

DataWatch: How Wisconsin’s political landscape changed this election is a post from Wisconsin Watch, a non-profit investigative news site covering Wisconsin since 2009. Please consider making a contribution to support our journalism.

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David Crowley made his first media appearance as Wisconsin’s governor-elect Wednesday afternoon, answering reporters’ questions at a community hub on N. Martin Luther King Drive in Milwaukee’s inner city.

The Milwaukee County executive defeated Republican U.S. Rep. Tom Tiffany by 8 percentage points in Tuesday’s election.

Crowley will take office as the state’s first Black governor in January, with fellow Democrats having taken control of both the Assembly and the Senate.

Here are four of the exchanges from the question-and-answer session, along with a list of promises Crowley is making.

On some questions, Crowley deferred to legislative leaders. 

Question: Did Wisconsin give you and Democrats a mandate?

Crowley: “At the end of the day, what I recognize from the wins … is that we have been delivering and talking about exactly what we’ve heard from Wisconsinites all across the state of Wisconsin, that they want us to tackle the affordability crisis. And nothing has changed related to what our priority is going to be. We have to lower costs. We have to make sure that people can keep more money in your pockets. Whether we’re tackling health care, public education, child care, we need to make sure that we’re doing it together, working with the Legislature in order to put something forward.”

Question: Are you looking for specific bills to tackle affordability?

Crowley: “Well, you’re asking me about the legislative process. I think it’s extremely important to talk to the legislative leaders. 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.”

Question: Do you want to see right away legislation to expand Medicaid or create Badger Care for all?

Crowley: “Well, when you think about what bills are going to be on my desk, I would say you want to talk to the legislative leaders. What I’m focusing on right now is making sure that we are going to be ready on day one. That means that we have to focus on the transition team….”

Question: Were the election results mainly a vote against President Donald Trump?

Crowley: “The Republican Party is Trump’s party. The Republican Party has enabled what they’ve been doing in Washington, D.C. You can’t give excuses on why you have been carrying the water of one man versus carrying the water and the concerns of the people that you represent. What this was a mandate on is the fact that Republicans have been selling us down a particular path to where it’s not working for Wisconsin. It’s not working for the American public.”

Crowley makes several promises

In remarks before taking questions, Crowley emphasized affordability, presenting a lengthy list of promises.

“We’re going to lower costs for housing, utilities, health care and child care,” he said.

“We’re going to deliver real, meaningful property tax relief that doesn’t place the burden on our local communities.

“We’re going to expand access to quality, affordable health care.

“We’re going to strengthen our public schools, expand pathways to good-paying jobs and apprenticeship opportunities, and support small businesses and communities all across the state of Wisconsin.

“We’re going to invest in the infrastructure of tomorrow, carry on Governor (Tony) Evers’ work on fixing the damn roads and ensure our neighborhoods are safe, nurturing spaces for our kids and our grandkids to thrive.”

What David Crowley promised in his early remarks as governor-elect is a post from Wisconsin Watch, a non-profit investigative news site covering Wisconsin since 2009. Please consider making a contribution to support our journalism.

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Tuesday was a surprising, historic Election Day across the nation, though in Wisconsin it culminated a Democratic effort that progressed through fits and starts ever since Gov. Scott Walker smashed the power of public sector unions in 2011.

Here’s what we learned in Wisconsin:

The Walker Republican era of Wisconsin government is over.

As Brittany Carloni reports today, Democrats have waited 16 years for this moment.

A national Democratic tsunami helped Democrats flip eight Assembly seats and three Senate seats, giving them 53-46 Assembly and 18-15 Senate majorities.

A rising tide of opposition to President Donald Trump’s tumultuous second term clearly lifted all ships. Democrats flipped a legislative district between Eau Claire and Chippewa Falls that Trump won by 7 percentage points just two years ago. The Republican phalanx that retiring Assembly Speaker Robin Vos held together through the end of the Walker era and eight years of split government under Democratic Gov. Tony Evers has crumbled.

When the tea party movement swept Walker and Republicans into power in 2010, they controlled 60 Assembly seats and 19 Senate seats. They used that mandate to try to create a permanent Republican majority in the state, passing Act 10 to cripple public sector unions, enacting strict voter ID to make it harder for students and low-income people to vote and drawing some of the most gerrymandered legislative districts in the nation.

They passed conservative priorities, including a 20-week abortion ban, right-to-work, concealed carry of firearms, expansion of private school vouchers statewide, major tax cuts particularly for farmers and manufacturers and pro-business deregulatory measures. They even put the brakes on a Milwaukee-to-Madison rail line.

But Wisconsin is a purple state, and the great pendulum of purple state politics has now swung back to Democratic control. What Democrats do with that power will keep our reporters busy for years to come.

Voters want equality, but maybe not through shortcuts.

Voters more than doubled the number of elected Black governors in U.S. history, electing David Crowley in Wisconsin, Byron Donalds in Florida, Aaron Ford in Nevada and, in Georgia, Keisha Lance Bottoms, the first Black female governor in U.S. history.

Wisconsin now has elected its first Latino- and Hmong-American candidates statewide in Secretary of State-elect JoCasta Zamarripa and Treasurer-elect Yee Leng Xiong, who also becomes the first Hmong American elected to statewide office in U.S. history.

But voters also passed by a nearly 13-point margin a constitutional amendment that will prevent the state from giving scholarships to and designing government programs for specific minority groups and women, commonly referred to as diversity, equity and inclusion programs, or DEI. This was one of the few bright spots Tuesday for Republicans, who put three constitutional amendments on the ballot in the hopes of driving GOP turnout and circumventing Evers’ veto pen.

Opponents of the anti-DEI amendment, like the League of Women Voters of Wisconsin, say the amendment was confusing. It asked voters to “prohibit governmental entities in the state from discriminating against, or granting preferential treatment to, any individual or group on the basis of race, sex, color, ethnicity, or national origin in public employment, public education, public contracting, or public administration?”

Who would be against prohibiting discrimination?

But Democrats have long argued that minority groups have continued to disproportionately face barriers because of the country’s dark history of institutionalized racial discrimination. Wisconsin is home to some of the biggest racial disparities in the country in terms of health, wealth and incarceration.

Like in 2008 when they voted for Barack Obama for president by large margins, Wisconsin voters affirmed they want to turn the page on racism. But, assuming voters knew what they were voting on, they may not be willing to prioritize equity in order to achieve racial equality.

The Republican redistricting argument was proven (again) to be false.

Democrats in all likelihood should have taken control of the Legislature in 2018 — if the state’s political maps had been drawn fairly in 2011.

Instead Republicans used their majority to draw maps in secret and tweaked them so that they could withstand a Democratic wave election like the one in 2018 when Evers defeated Walker and Democrats won all statewide offices. But Republicans maintained near super majorities in the Legislature at the time. Republicans then argued that they retained the Legislature because Democrats packed themselves into cities while Republican voters were spread out in rural and suburban areas.

But Democrats rallied to elect a liberal majority on the Wisconsin Supreme Court, which tossed out the gerrymandered maps, leading to the current maps that aren’t so wave-proof. In 2024, as Trump won statewide, Democrats flipped 14 legislative seats, setting up this year’s fait accompli.

History could repeat itself. If Democrats win the presidency in 2028 and pass unpopular legislation or give Republicans enough firepower to forge a Tea Party Movement Part II, Republicans could sweep back into power in 2030 just in time for the next round of actual decennial redistricting.

Bonus note: The midterm Republican gerrymandering exercise in states like Texas, Florida and North Carolina proved to be a giant dummymander. Bipartisan redistricting reform’s day may have finally come — unless Democrats haven’t learned a thing.

Billionaires don’t control the government. The people do.

Republican U.S. Rep. Tom Tiffany’s entire gubernatorial campaign was almost entirely fueled by three billionaires — the same ones who engineered the conservative takeover of the Wisconsin Supreme Court 20 years ago and the Republican wave of 2010 (remember the video of Diane Hendricks and Walker discussing his plan to “divide and conquer” Wisconsin with right-to-work legislation and Act 10?).

Elon Musk spent roughly a half-billion-with-a-B dollars on these midterm elections nationwide. Although, for the world’s first trillionaire, that’s like a U.S. household with the median net worth of about $200,000 spending $100 on this election. (Do the math. It’s crazy.)

But as Wisconsin showed in 2025, when the state shattered the national record for spending on a state Supreme Court election, including Musk’s legally dubious voter giveaway, money can’t buy you happiness or a guaranteed win on Election Day.

Four things we learned from Tuesday’s Democratic tsunami in Wisconsin is a post from Wisconsin Watch, a non-profit investigative news site covering Wisconsin since 2009. Please consider making a contribution to support our journalism.

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Tuesday’s Democratic sweep of statewide offices included three notable firsts: Wisconsin’s first Black governor and first Latino and Hmong statewide elected officials.

Gov.-elect David Crowley, Secretary of State-elect JoCasta Zamarripa and Treasurer-elect Yee Leng Xiong, all Democrats, formed the most racially diverse party slate — alongside Lt. Gov.-elect Sarah Godlewski — in Wisconsin history. The trio occasionally acknowledged that detail on the campaign trail, but it didn’t feature front and center in their messaging this year.

Wisconsin has had some of the largest racial disparities in the nation in infant mortality, income, education outcomes and incarceration rates. More than a quarter of Black Wisconsinites lived below the poverty line in 2024 — a higher rate than in all but three states and Washington, D.C.; Latino and Asian Wisconsinites also experienced higher poverty rates than their white counterparts and the national average for Latino and Asian Americans, respectively.  

The gap between the share of Black and white Wisconsin students who graduate high school on schedule was the highest in the country between 2019 and 2024. Black children born in Wisconsin die in their infancy at roughly three times the rate of white children — a pattern public health experts say doesn’t map neatly to family income. Black Wisconsinites are roughly a third as likely as white Wisconsinites to own their homes, though gaps vary by city; and Black Wisconsinites’ incarceration rate was roughly 12 times higher than that of white Wisconsinites in 2022, a gap surpassed only in Vermont. 

In his victory speech in Milwaukee, Crowley alluded to the challenges the state’s Black residents have long faced.

“Because of you, a boy who grew up facing eviction will soon take residence in the governor’s residence,” Crowley said. “Tonight Wisconsin made history, and being your next governor is humbling in its own right. I don’t take any of this lightly. And I know exactly the shoulders that I stand on.”

Crowley became Milwaukee County’s first elected Black executive in 2020, though former Milwaukee Common Council President Marvin Pratt served in the role on an interim basis in 2011.. At  least one in five Milwaukee County residents have identified as Black since the 2000 census. That share rose to roughly one in four residents as of the 2024 American Community Survey, compared to roughly 6% of Wisconsin’s overall population.

Crowley attended Bay View High School with Cavalier Johnson, whom Milwaukee voters chose as their city’s first Black mayor in 2022.

Wisconsin’s first Black state lawmaker, Progressive Republican Lucian Palmer, likewise represented Milwaukee; he served in the Assembly for a single term from 1907 to 1909. Former Secretary of State Vel Phillips became Wisconsin’s first Black statewide elected official in 1978.

Witnessing history at the Crowley event wasn’t lost on Kenya Perry, 38, an east side Milwaukee resident.

“I think it’ll be great, not just for us minorities, but for everyone, because he not only represents us, but he’s representing everybody,” Perry said. “It doesn’t matter what color you are, what’s your background, what ethnicity or your religion or anything like that. He wants to come in and represent all people, not just one party.”

Zamarripa is also a lifelong Milwaukeean. She, too, is no stranger to firsts; Zamarripa became Wisconsin’s first Latina state lawmaker in 2010 and the first Latina member of Milwaukee’s Common Council in 2020. Roughly 20% of Milwaukee residents identified as Hispanic as of 2024, compared to about 8% of all Wisconsinites.

She told Wisconsin Watch on Monday that her race for secretary of state was also an opportunity to build out Latino voter outreach infrastructure.

“We’re the fastest-growing constituency in the great state of Wisconsin,” she said, not only in Milwaukee, but in manufacturing and agricultural hubs across the state. “Wherever there are midterm Latino voters, we mailed them a bilingual piece of mail,” she said, alongside partnerships with Spanish-language radio stations and ad buys in southeast Wisconsin and the Green Bay area. Roughly the same share of Kenosha and Racine County residents identified as Latino in 2024 — about 16% — as did 1 in 10 Brown County residents.

Zamarripa hopes Wisconsin Democrats will be able to “replicate” her campaign’s Latino voter outreach efforts, or perhaps even devote resources to recruiting Latino candidates for local and statewide offices. Among the communities on her mind: Arcadia in western Wisconsin’s Trempealeau County, the state’s only majority-Latino city as of 2024.

Voters in majority Latino precincts on Milwaukee’s South Side veered right in 2024, including 44-year-old Nextaly Rodriguez. He voted in his first-ever gubernatorial election at the Kosciusko Community Center polling site on Tuesday, choosing Crowley over Republican Tom Tiffany. “Just trying something new,” he said in Spanish. 

Jesus Mancilla made it to the community center less than a half-hour before polls closed. The 18-year-old spotted U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents on his block during a wave of immigration arrests in and around Milwaukee in June; his older brother convinced him to vote for his immigrant parents’ sake. He wasn’t the only first-time Latino voter at the polling site. “I saw a couple of my friends leave (just now),” he said. Mancilla hasn’t sorted out his political identity yet, but he chose Crowley in the governor’s race. 

Xiong is both Wisconsin’s and the nation’s first Hmong statewide elected officer. He hails from Marathon County, home to Wisconsin’s second-largest Hmong community. Roughly 1 in 10 Wausau residents identified as Hmong in 2024, more than in any other Wisconsin city.

Tens of thousands of Hmong refugees, including Xiong’s parents, settled in Wisconsin in the wake of the Vietnam War; last year marked the 50th anniversary of the first Hmong families’ arrival in the state. Hmong Wisconsinites now comprise sizable constituencies not only in Wausau, but also in Milwaukee, Sheboygan, Madison, Eau Claire and the Fox Valley. 

The Hmong written language is still relatively young, so Xiong leaned into person-to-person outreach, producing a series of Hmong-language get-out-the-vote videos, hosting bilingual campaign events and making phone calls to Hmong-speaking voters. 

Xiong isn’t sure his voter outreach efforts are easily replicable. “It comes with relationships,” he said, and cementing those relationships for future election cycles will require Democrats to maintain a presence in Wisconsin’s Hmong communities. 

When the dust of Tuesday’s blowout settles, he expects Hmong voters, and Asian voters more broadly, to have played pivotal roles in flipping the Wausau-based 85th Assembly District — a seat for which he ran two years ago, losing by four points — and seats in greater Green Bay and Menasha. 

As owner Sa Sor Lee opened the doors of Mortchee’s Carryout & Catering in Wausau on a windy Wednesday morning, she carried the joy and pride she had felt the night before at Yee Leng Xiong’s election party. Attendees watched Xiong’s vote total climb throughout the evening before the Associated Press called the race for him shortly after midnight.

Lee has known Xiong since he was 17 and mentored him through the H.M.O.N.G. Youth Program in Wausau, which stands for Helping Make Our Next Generation. She has watched him run for the local school board, the Marathon County Board and, ultimately, state treasurer. She also frequently contributed food to his campaigns.

Lee said Xiong’s victory means a lot to the Hmong community. “It means we can do a lot more than we think we can.”

“I’m so excited,” Lee added. “It’s not just him, but I think I felt like I am winning this election.”

Wisconsin Watch reporters Tom Kertscher and Brittany Carloni contributed to this report.

History made: Wisconsin elects first Black governor and first Latino and Hmong statewide officers is a post from Wisconsin Watch, a non-profit investigative news site covering Wisconsin since 2009. Please consider making a contribution to support our journalism.

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Reporters fanned out across the state Tuesday — not only to document the results of a high-stakes election that will usher in a new balance of political power in Wisconsin, but also to capture how residents participated in the democratic process.

Sometimes, a photograph tells a story better than words.

Here is a selection of the best photography from Wisconsin Watch’s and Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service’s Election Day coverage.

Wisconsin votes: Election Day in photos is a post from Wisconsin Watch, a non-profit investigative news site covering Wisconsin since 2009. Please consider making a contribution to support our journalism.

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Marking the latest legislative runaround against gubernatorial veto power — quite literally — Wisconsin voters adopted two of three Republican-authored constitutional amendments in Tuesday’s election.

The amendments that passed ban government and public educational institutions from discriminating against or expressing preferential treatment for people based on race, ethnicity, nationality or sex — a measure expected to end diversity, equity and inclusion programs — and limit the governor’s use of the partial veto to raise taxes. A third amendment that would have prevented public officials from banning gatherings in places of worship during emergencies failed.

To amend the Wisconsin constitution, lawmakers must pass resolutions during two consecutive two-year legislative sessions before putting the questions to voters. GOP legislators have employed the strategy in recent years with measurable success. 

Even within a divided government split along party lines, voters nonetheless approved Republican-authored proposals that Democratic Gov. Tony Evers presumably would have vetoed or, in the case of religious gatherings, did veto.

Including Tuesday’s referendums, voters have now approved nine of 12 constitutional amendments during Evers’ eight years in office.

Conservative backers say the latest amendments “hold government accountable” while opponents say the amendments restrict efforts to improve conditions for underserved communities and limit the executive branch’s check on legislative power.

Prohibiting race- or sex-based discrimination

Chloe Braverman, a University of Wisconsin-Madison junior, expressed frustration with the amendment questions on the ballot, particularly one that bans preferential treatment in public education and in government hiring and contracting based upon race, sex, color, ethnicity or national origin.

Braverman said the authors framed the question “weirdly” and suggested Republicans worded it to persuade voters to greenlight the change. The amendment passed with 56.4% voting in favor and 43.6% against.

The measure targets initiatives aimed at increasing diversity and assisting marginalized groups, which the amendment’s authors have said obstruct values like fairness, equality and merit. Using categories like race and sex as a basis for righting historical wrongs, they say, is actually an attempt to rectify “past discrimination” with “more discrimination.”

“Old wounds cannot be healed by inflicting new ones,” said Sen. Steve Nass, R-Whitewater, one of the referendum’s architects.

The U.S. Supreme Court’s 2023 ruling in Students for Fair Admissions v. Harvard, which deemed unconstitutional the use of race in college admissions, helped motivate the Wisconsin amendment’s authors. 

After the proposed ballot measure passed along party lines earlier this year, interest groups sought voter support.

The Wisconsin Institute for Law & Liberty launched a six-figure campaign to encourage voters to back the amendments. 

Opponents like the League of Women Voters of Wisconsin said they did the best they could with limited resources to explain the measures’ ramifications. League Executive Director Debra Cronmiller said the amendment could undo 60 years of civil rights progress for women and minorities.

“On its surface, it looks good,” Cronmiller said. “It’s trying to create equality, which means giving everybody the same thing. But in the United States, where we have had systemic discrimination since our inception, we need equity so we can provide people the resources that they need to have an equal opportunity for success.”

She likened the difference between equality and equity to giving all people a set of shoes. Giving everyone the same pair simply wouldn’t work. To fit all needs, people require different sizes.

“If the first time you’re reading the question is today, when you get to your polling place, you will be misled by the question,” Cronmiller said. “You will likely vote yes.”

Voters in at least six other states — Arizona, California, Michigan, Nebraska, Oklahoma and Washington — enacted similar bans between 1996 and 2012. 

Wisconsin’s is essentially a “carbon copy” of the others, noted Sterling Knoche, an attorney with the University of Wisconsin-Madison’s State Democracy Research Initiative.

The U.S. Supreme Court determined Michigan’s amendment was constitutional after it was challenged. That reinforces the sense that Wisconsin’s prohibition would likewise withstand judicial scrutiny.

The scope of the change depends on how lawmakers and courts interpret the words “preferential treatment” and “discrimination,” said Emily Lau, also an attorney with the State Democracy Research Initiative. For instance, groups might be treated differently in a way that isn’t preferential or discriminatory, or if there is a justifiable government interest in doing so.

The playing field to resolve these issues will likely be the courtroom.

Even before voters approved Tuesday’s amendment, WILL began suing higher education institutions in Wisconsin over the existence of diversity scholarships and programs that serve underrepresented students.

“All laws must be colorblind to ensure the American Dream for all individuals; otherwise, America will devolve into a racialized society with some racial groups punishing others based on perceived historical grievances,” Dan Lennington, WILL’s vice president and deputy attorney, testified at a public hearing in support of the new amendment in 2025.

This year, WILL scored a victory before the Wisconsin Supreme Court, which found an undergraduate financial aid program for minority students was unconstitutional. 

More recently, its attorneys filed a suit against the Wisconsin Higher Educational Aids Board in hopes of striking down a Wisconsin law that requires the Medical College of Wisconsin to “make every effort to ensure” minority students comprise at least 5% of the institution’s total enrollment to qualify for state funding. WILL claims this is a race-based admissions quota.

Beyond race- or sex-based hiring, promotion or admission preferences, the amendment could have a chilling effect on other forms of targeted outreach to underserved communities in ways not yet anticipated. 

But WILL has already highlighted other “racially discriminatory” programs that it believes the amendment would prohibit, including Wisconsin Department of Health Services grants to improve health outcomes among non-whites and non-Asians, equity training programs for teachers supervised by the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction and the city of Milwaukee’s Office of African American Affairs.

Wisconsin voters may come to find the bill’s intended outcomes fail to emerge.

Like Wisconsin voters, Californians amended their constitution in 1996 to prohibit “discrimination or preferential treatment by the state and other public entities.” 

But years of research following the change indicated that disparities in hiring, contracting and college admissions persisted, and even increased, especially among Latino Americans and women. Now the state is making its fifth legislative attempt to reduce the scope of the amendment in light of lingering educational achievement gaps. 

The California Legislature recently authorized a ballot proposition to be presented to Californians in 2028 that would exclude public education from the prohibition, with the sole exception of college admissions.

Narrowing the partial veto 

This isn’t the first time voters have chipped away at the Wisconsin governor’s partial veto, which affords the executive some of the most expansive powers to alter budgetary line items of any of the 44 states that allow the practice.

Wisconsin’s constitution enables the governor to approve a budget bill “in whole or in part,” and governors of both political parties have used it to great effect.

Following particularly contentious partial vetoes by Republican Tommy Thompson and Democrat Jim Doyle, the electorate twice amended the Wisconsin constitution to prevent similar actions. Governors can no longer create new words by striking individual letters or create a new sentence using two or more sentences.

More recently, former Republican Gov. Scott Walker used his partial veto in 2017 to bar school districts from raising taxes for energy efficiency projects from one year to 1,001 years.

Evers uncapped his partial veto pen in the 2023-25 budget to raise school revenue limits from a span of two years to 402 years. The veto authorized school districts to raise taxes, but didn’t directly do so. School boards get to decide whether to use their new authority. 

In response, Republicans advanced the question as a constitutional amendment, and voters narrowly approved it 50.7% to 49.3%. It doesn’t retroactively apply to Evers’ veto, but would prevent a similar veto from occurring again.

What distinguished Tuesday’s ballot referendum from the prior two concerning partial vetoes was not setting limits on the technical format a partial veto can take, Knoche said, but rather its underlying purpose — in this case anything that raises taxes or fees.

“This is another chapter in a long book on the governors creatively and expansively using their powers,” he said. Then their power gets “incrementally constrained by the Legislature that’s not happy with the increase.”

Democratic lawmakers who opposed the amendment observed that maintaining the governor’s authority to increase funding by partial veto enables the executive branch to intercede when the Legislature insufficiently invests in state priorities.

Banning bans on religious gatherings

On Election Day, Hannah Warren, a 36-year-old lifelong Kenoshan and school counselor, was most determined to weigh in on a constitutional amendment barring the government from banning religious gatherings or closing places of worship during states of emergency.

When the COVID-19 pandemic hit Wisconsin, the Evers administration’s “Safer at Home” order limited what businesses and activities could remain open in an effort to curb the spread of the virus. The order limited religious gatherings to fewer than 10 people.

Warren’s church in Bristol followed public health officials’ directives to temporarily halt in-person services. She is “a stickler for following the rules” and respected her pastor’s decision, but she watched friends drift away to other congregations “who weren’t following the government’s advice to a T.”

The Wisconsin Supreme Court later struck down the restrictions, while legislators also passed a bill that would have prevented public health agencies from preventing religious gatherings to control COVID-19. Evers vetoed the measure.

In retrospect, Warren believes the lockdown hurt her congregation. 

“I think it would be nice for the government not to have their hands in the innards of everyone’s day-to-day,” she said.

The majority of voters on Tuesday disagreed. It failed with 52% of voters opposed to 48% in favor.

The constitutional amendment would have expanded the restrictions on government authority even more than the original bill did by broadening it to cover any type of emergency.

At least 20 states have passed similar legislation, either protecting religious gatherings or places of worship during states of emergency, often defining religious services as an “essential service.”  

But State Democracy Research Initiative attorneys note that the proposed amendment didn’t include definitions for key terms like “places of worship” or what it means to “forbid gatherings” or “order the closure of.” That generates ambiguities, which set Wisconsin’s proposal apart from most other state reforms.

Tyler Hake, 29, came to the McFarland Municipal Center Tuesday evening to cast a ballot in favor of the amendment.

Hake declined to identify his partisan affiliation, but expressed concern over widespread political polarization in an era where a shared agreement over facts and truth feels elusive.

“It’s important that everyone has their opinions and is able to practice those things freely” without “forcing things upon other people,” he said. “As the country moves forward, it’d be nice if people were more on the same page.”

Two Republican constitutional amendments pass, one fails. Here’s what that means. is a post from Wisconsin Watch, a non-profit investigative news site covering Wisconsin since 2009. Please consider making a contribution to support our journalism.

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Wisconsin Democrats have waited 16 years for this moment. 

With David Crowley’s victory over Tom Tiffany in the governor’s race and the flip of the Senate and the Assembly from Republican to Democratic majorities, the state Capitol in Madison come January will be completely controlled by Democrats. 

“For the first time since 2010, Wisconsin voters will trust us to lead,” Crowley told the crowd gathered at his victory party Tuesday night in Milwaukee. “Close margins will mean we earn that trust every day. But we do it by governing the whole state.” 

Crowley was leading Tiffany 54-46 with nearly all the votes counted. 

Senate Democrats declared victories in all four of the key Senate races the party needed to win a majority Tuesday night: the 5th and the 21st in southeastern Wisconsin, the 17th in southwestern Wisconsin and the 31st in Eau Claire. Those numbers mean the party will have an 18-15 majority when the new session begins in January. 

Assembly Democrats secured a 53-46 majority. Democrats also won three other statewide races: attorney general, secretary of state and state treasurer, which they flipped from Republican control. 

Assembly Democratic Leader Greta Neubauer, who is likely in line to become speaker next year, in a statement called the victories “historic” and said a trifecta will “end decades of Republican obstruction.”

“We know that people will be counting on us to deliver, and we will deliver,” Neubauer said. “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.”

The Democratic victories were boosted by President Donald Trump’s plummeting approval ratings, which also helped Democrats win majorities in the U.S. House and Senate. Complete control of state government means Democrats for the next two years have an opportunity to easily pass the party’s priorities — expanding Medicaid eligibility under BadgerCare, reinstating protections for public sector unions, enshrining clear abortion rights in the state constitution, legalizing marijuana, raising the minimum wage, and using the budget surplus to boost child care, local government aid, public schools, and the higher education system.

“Democrats’ policy plans have been stymied since 2010 when they lost control of state government,” said Barry Burden, director of the Elections Research Center and political science professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. “As a result, Democrats are in general agreement about a wide variety of backlogged initiatives they would like to tackle right out of the gate in 2027.”

Tuesday’s results also symbolize the end of an era of Republican politics that started in 2010, another midterm year when economic frustrations led to Republicans taking over the Legislature and the governor’s office with the election of former Gov. Scott Walker. Republicans had hoped to forge a permanent majority in 2011 with gerrymandered legislative maps that survived a Democratic wave election in 2018 that saw Democratic Gov. Tony Evers defeat Walker.

But after years of slowly turning a conservative Supreme Court majority into a liberal one, which in turn overturned the gerrymandered political maps, Democrats made significant gains in 2024, setting up Tuesday’s return to full power in the Capitol. 

Democratic victories on Election Day happened in spite of the millions of dollars from three Republican megadonors that flowed into the governor’s race through the Republican Party of Wisconsin. Those numbers allowed Tiffany to outspend Crowley by double so far this year, more than $46 million for Tiffany to $23.2 million for Crowley, according to most recent campaign finance reports.  

In the coming months, Democrats will have to prepare to govern after years of limited power. Among current Democratic lawmakers, just four senators and one representative served in the Capitol the last time Democrats held power in the Legislature.

Longtime Republican Assembly Speaker Robin Vos, who did not seek reelection, in a social media post Tuesday night congratulated new Democratic leadership but pointed to a lack of “any real private-sector experience” among Crowley, Neubauer and Senate Democratic Leader Dianne Hesselbein, D-Middleton.

“Crowley built his career in campaign organizing and political staff work. Neubauer and Hesselbein have the same resume,” Vos said. “They know politics. Being good at politics will mean paying back their powerful political allies.”

In the Senate, Hesselbein said the party met regularly prior to Election Day to plan what bills members want to prioritize under a Democratic majority in her chamber. 

“We’re trying to make sure we know on day one what we’re going to be doing,” Hesselbein said in an interview ahead of Election Day. “And like I said, every day we wake up in the morning, we try to think how we can make people’s lives better, whether that’s funding for K-12 education or higher education or lowering health costs.”

Pat Raes, president of the SEIU Wisconsin union, in an interview at the Crowley watch party called on Democrats in state government to serve lower-income people.

“We have to find a way to make things livable,” she said. “We are seeing more homeless people across the state and across the country. That is not acceptable. Pure and simple.”

What happened in 2010

The Republican victories in Wisconsin in 2010 highlight the transformative potential for state government in the years ahead. Sixteen years ago, a bold print headline above a photo of Walker on the front page of the Wisconsin State Journal declared the state was “Turning Right.” 

Over the course of Walker’s two terms in office, Republican majorities in the Senate and the Assembly had a fast track to pass conservative priorities into law, such as a strict voter ID law, concealed carry of firearms, a 20-week abortion ban and Act 10, which stripped collective bargaining rights for most public sector unions. They also cut taxes for farmers and manufacturers, expanded private school vouchers and rewrote state regulations in a way that benefited private businesses and weakened state agencies. They could move those proposals from bill to law without any input from Democrats. 

Senate Democrats have said they don’t want the Legislature to operate like it has under Republican control where the minority party has little say in the legislative process. The Senate should hold more public hearings to let people share their views with lawmakers, Sen. Brad Pfaff, D-Onalaska, said in an interview in September. 

“They will have a more open process,” Pfaff said of a Democratic majority. “They will at least be able to try and hear out our colleagues from both sides of the aisle and have hearings on issues that are important to the people of this state. Now, will everything be all in harmony? Of course not. It’s politics. But the thing is I firmly do believe that it is important that we allow both sides to be heard and for a variety of issues to be considered, and that just hasn’t happened over the last few years.” 

Republican Sen. Mary Felzkowski, R-Tomahawk, in Wausau said her party will have to “wait and see” if such promises from Democrats hold true. 

“The Democrats haven’t been in control for 16 years,” Felzkowski said. “And we have a lot of the Democrats that are elected are socialists. So how far are they going to push David Crowley to the left? And I think that’s very scary. And David’s going to have to try to stand against them to keep the independents.”

Sen. Rob Stafsholt, R-New Richmond, said the results are an “eye opener” for Senate Republicans and the Republican Party.  

“It’s a good time for us to regroup and re-strategize and figure out what’s important to Wisconsinites and see if we can meet those needs,” he said.

Why the outcome swayed blue 

Many Wisconsin voters on Election Day said they were motivated to cast their ballot to bring change to the state amid turbulent national politics and rising costs. 

Richard Singapori, 70, who owns a 24-unit hotel in Kenosha, said his monthly electrical bills this winter averaged more than $3,500.

“That didn’t used to happen,” he said.

The lifelong Republican voted for Democrats at the state and local level for the first time in at least 20 years on Tuesday.

Amanda Wills, a 45-year-old Madison retail worker, had never voted before casting her ballot for Crowley. She turned out this time because of “all the chaos in the world.”

“It’s got to change,” Wills said.

Wisconsin Watch reporters Tom Kertscher, Paul Kiefer and Natalie Yahr contributed to this report.

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Democrats flipped both of Wisconsin’s battleground congressional districts Tuesday, winning the long-Republican-held 1st District as well as the 3rd — part of a blue wave that flipped control of the U.S. House and Senate. 

As of midnight Tuesday, Democrats were on their way to winning a solid majority in the House and control of the Senate by flipping seats in Iowa, Kansas, Ohio, Maine, North Carolina, South Carolina and Texas. Races in Alaska and Michigan were too close to call. House districts that Republicans had gerrymandered over the past year in Florida, North Carolina and Texas were proving to be “dummymanders.”

Democrats poured tens of millions of dollars into races across the country in an effort to flip Republican-held seats and regain control of both chambers of Congress. The party sought to capitalize on growing dissatisfaction with the economy and President Donald Trump, whose approval rating has fallen to a historic low.

Eleanor Powell, a University of Wisconsin-Madison political science professor, said Democratic control of Congress will create a new dynamic for the rest of Trump’s term. 

“We’re going to see a pretty different dynamic in the rest of President Trump’s term,” Powell said. “We’re also likely to see a fair bit more congressional oversight of what the executive branch has been doing.”

Wisconsin’s 1st and 3rd congressional districts were both among the targets of national Democrats seeking to flip Republican-held seats, with the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee including both races in its “Red to Blue” program. The program provides selected candidates with additional financial and campaign resources. 

Powell said the outcomes of the two races would help determine the size of the next congressional majority. She described the 1st Congressional District race as a “bellwether” for the size of a potential Democratic wave.

Democrat Mitchell Berman defeated four-term U.S. Rep. Bryan Steil in Wisconsin’s 1st Congressional District, flipping a seat that has been held by Republicans for more than three decades in southeast Wisconsin. He declared victory shortly before 11:30 p.m. Tuesday, with AP reporting 93% of the votes and Berman leading by 4.6 percentage points. 

The district emerged as an unexpected battleground and received national attention from Democrats trying to gain control of the U.S. House. Berman campaigned on his more than two decades of experience in health care and positioned himself as an outsider who could relate to working-class voters. 

Steil spent nearly $6.4 million in the race compared to Berman’s more than $1.6 million, according to October Federal Election Commission filings. Outside groups spent more than $17.9 million on the race, including about $6.1 million opposing Berman and about $6 million opposing Steil. Another $4 million supported Steil and nearly $1.7 million supported Berman.

In the 3rd Congressional District, Democrat Rebecca Cooke defeated U.S. Rep. Derrick Van Orden by about 6.5 percentage points in a rematch. Van Orden has faced multiple controversies and remained closely aligned with Trump throughout his campaign. 

The district was represented by moderate Democrat Ron Kind for more than two decades before Van Orden was elected in 2022. Cooke previously challenged Van Orden in 2024 and lost by 3 percentage points. Van Orden conceded around 10 p.m. when AP reported Cooke with an 8-point lead and about 70% of the vote in. 

Cooke spent more than $12.2 million in this election cycle, while Van Orden spent over $8.4 million, according to October FEC filings. Outside organizations poured more than $30.1 million into this race. Of that, about $13.6 million went toward opposing Van Orden and more than $11.2 million toward opposing Cooke. Another $2.7 million supported Cooke and $2.4 million supported Van Orden.

Other Wisconsin congressional results:

Congressional District 2

U.S. Rep. Mark Pocan ran unopposed in the general election. He has represented the Madison-area district since 2013 and will begin his eighth term in Congress in January. 

Congressional District 4

U.S. Rep. Gwen Moore won a 12th term in the Milwaukee-focused district, defeating independent Arthur Burks and Republican Tim Rogers. 

Congressional District 5

U.S. Rep. Scott Fitzgerald won reelection, defeating Democrat Andrew Beck. Fitzgerald will serve his third term in Congress.

Congressional District 6

U.S. Rep. Glenn Grothman won reelection to a seventh term, defeating Democrat Brad Smith, Green Party candidate Matthew Arndt and independent candidates Mike Thurow and Elizabeth Anne Fitgibbon. 

Congressional District 7

Republican Michael Alfonso won Wisconsin’s 7th Congressional District, defeating Democrat Fred Clark. Alfonso, son-in-law of former 7th Congressional District representative and U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy, will replace U.S. Rep. Tom Tiffany, who lost his race for governor. 

Congressional District 8

Freshman U.S. Rep. Tony Wied won reelection in the northeastern district against Democrat Rick Crosson.

Democrats flip two Wisconsin battleground congressional districts as blue tsunami wipes out Republican majorities is a post from Wisconsin Watch, a non-profit investigative news site covering Wisconsin since 2009. Please consider making a contribution to support our journalism.

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Democratic Attorney General Josh Kaul, who has built a record suing the Trump administration, won a third term as Wisconsin’s top lawyer Tuesday.

Kaul defeated Republican Fond du Lac County District Attorney Eric Toney for the second time after the two squared off in 2022. Kaul became attorney general after defeating another Republican, then-incumbent Brad Schimel, in 2018.

Kaul has joined in more than 70 lawsuits to fight initiatives of President Donald Trump’s second administration, including some to restore funding for infrastructure and schools.

A ChatGPT-assisted analysis Sept. 15 found that of the 72 lawsuits Kaul has joined against the second Trump administration, 40 won a permanent or temporary favorable ruling or settlement, nine failed and 23 are pending. Successful cases include a U.S. Supreme Court ruling upholding birthright citizenship; court rulings blocking a $65 million cut to federal research funding of the University of Wisconsin-Madison; and orders blocking the Trump administration from demanding states provide personal information of FoodShare recipients.

On other issues, Kaul said he would join multistate litigation to protect access to abortion medication, and he advocated for jail alternatives and guarding against voter intimidation in elections.

Kaul, 45, a former federal prosecutor and private attorney, is the son of the late Peg Lautenschlager, who served as attorney general from 2003 to 2007.

Toney, 42, a former private attorney, was first elected as Fond du Lac County’s top prosecutor in 2012. He accused Kaul of being too political and criticized Kaul’s administration for shortcomings in the operation of state crime labs.

As of Oct. 28, Kaul’s campaign had raised $2.61 million to Toney’s $1.86 million.

The Republican Attorneys General Association originally reserved more than $500,000 in paid media in the race, according to AdImpact, WisPolitics reported. But it reduced that to $285,000 over the final week of the campaign.

The attorney general heads the Wisconsin Department of Justice, which provides legal advice and representation, investigates criminal activity and provides various law enforcement services for the state.

Democrat Josh Kaul wins third term as Wisconsin attorney general is a post from Wisconsin Watch, a non-profit investigative news site covering Wisconsin since 2009. Please consider making a contribution to support our journalism.

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Amani residents in Milwaukee on Tuesday took the opportunity to vote either to elect the candidate who could become Wisconsin’s first Black governor or return a Republican to the position for the first time in eight years. 

David Crowley, the Democratic candidate for governor and current Milwaukee County executive, is facing off against Republican Tom Tiffany, who represents the state’s 7th District in northern Wisconsin in the U.S. House of Representatives. 

Crowley grew up near North 23rd and West Burleigh streets in the 53206 ZIP code area, the same block the COA Goldin Center is now located. 

Amani residents headed to the COA Youth & Family Centers, 2320 W. Burleigh St., early on Election Day to cast a vote in what could become a historic election. 

One of them was Amina Abdi, 19, a first-time voter who is desperate for change in the community. She said that’s why she chose to vote for Crowley.

“A lot of young people think our vote doesn’t matter, but I think ours matter the most because we’re the majority,” Abdi said. 

She studies education at Milwaukee Area Technical College and hopes the next governor will prioritize safety within Milwaukee Public Schools. 

“You see Rufus King High School on the news nearly everyday,” she said. “Somebody needs to step inside these schools and fix it.”

Abdi said she would be happy to see Crowley become the first Black governor in Wisconsin. 

“That’s what really needs to be celebrated,” Abdi said. “I’m tired of the Republicans messing everything up.” 

Priorities for voters

Patrick Jordan, director of operations at Adullam Outreach, voted for Crowley and also wants to see changes to education in his neighborhood.

He said his neighbor’s child, who has an Individualized Education Program plan, was enrolled at a private school and then turned away after that school received the state’s funding for his education. 

“I didn’t even know they could get away with that,” Jordan said. “I found something for the kid to do for like two months.”

Child care provider Carmella Brown, 40, said she’s also ready for a change, especially within the health care system.

“I have loved ones that are going through situations with health care and I recently just lost my sister,” Brown said. 

Brown said her sister passed away from respiratory system failure and had challenges with her insurance. 

“Her health insurance didn’t cover everything she needed,” Brown said. 

Ricky Welch, 62, a carpenter, said he has health insurance through Obamacare and hopes that it doesn’t go away. 

Living the past five years in Amani, Welch said he credits Crowley with recent changes that have helped reduce reckless driving in the neighborhood. 

Particularly helpful, he said, are curb bump-outs, which are part of a collaborative effort that includes Milwaukee County to improve safety through traffic-calming. 

“If he (Crowley) could keep all of those things going, then that would be good,” Welch said. 

A neighborhood connection

Kenyette Blue, clerk at House of Prayer Restoration Missionary Baptist Church, wants to see someone from her neighborhood become governor.

“It’s going to be a connection,” Blue said. “I do want to participate and see what’s the next step.”

Brother Rice Bey, a former president of the neighborhood group Amani United, said he came out to vote because it’s his civic duty.

Bey said if the state elects Crowley as its first Black governor, it would show a degree of progress. He said he hopes Crowley gets a chance to prove himself in the state’s highest position. 

“Just do your job as best as you can,” Bey said. 

Jordan said it would be fantastic if the next Wisconsin governor came from his neighborhood. He said people from the neighborhood don’t always get opportunities. 

“Even if we have businesses in this neighborhood, the city keeps us down,” Jordan said. “To get a position right in this neighborhood is hard to do, even if you do everything right.”

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Alex Klaus is the education solutions reporter for the Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service and a corps member of Report for America, a national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on under-covered issues and communities. Report for America plays no role in editorial decisions in the NNS newsroom.

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Jonathan Aguilar is a visual journalist at Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service who is supported through a partnership between CatchLight Local and Report for America.

Milwaukee residents cast ballots on David Crowley’s childhood block is a post from Wisconsin Watch, a non-profit investigative news site covering Wisconsin since 2009. Please consider making a contribution to support our journalism.

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A Democratic tsunami swept the nation Tuesday, flipping the U.S. House and Senate and helping elect David Crowley as the first Black governor of Wisconsin. Democrats were poised to take full control of the Wisconsin Legislature for the first time since 2010.

Fueled by deep dissatisfaction with President Donald Trump, Democrats were on pace to flip Senate seats in states that Trump won two years ago by double digits, including Iowa, Kansas, Texas and South Carolina.

In Wisconsin Democrats won the governor’s office, secured a third term for Attorney General Josh Kaul and unseated long-entrenched incumbents like Sen. Howard Marklein and Rep. Todd Novak.

Republicans successfully passed an anti-DEI constitutional amendment, but otherwise were on track to lose both competitive congressional seats.

Election Day recap: Democrats take full control of Wisconsin state government, Congress is a post from Wisconsin Watch, a non-profit investigative news site covering Wisconsin since 2009. Please consider making a contribution to support our journalism.

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Today is Election Day, and the votes Wisconsinites cast are expected to shape the Badger State for years to come.

Voters will choose between Democrat David Crowley and Republican Tom Tiffany for the state’s next governor after Democratic Gov. Tony Evers opted not to seek reelection after two terms.

Voters will select who to send to Congress and represent their corners of the state during the final two years of the Trump administration.

Elections for the state Assembly and Senate will determine which party holds power in the Legislature and whether there will be split government or one-party control in the Capitol in the coming years.

Four-year terms for attorney general, secretary of state and treasurer are also on everyone’s ballot in Wisconsin, as well as three constitutional amendment questions. County sheriffs, clerks of court and in some areas school funding referendums are also on the ballot.

The key question is to what extent the national midterm wave favoring Democrats hits races across Wisconsin’s ballot. The final Marquette University Law School poll before Election Day showed President Donald Trump’s approval rating at a record low of 37% among registered voters in Wisconsin. In the governor’s race, Crowley leads Tiffany 51% to 44% among likely voters with 4% undecided ahead of Tuesday. Crowley has a 30-point lead with likely independent voters at 56% to Tiffany’s 26%. 

Wisconsinites have exceeded the number of people who voted early in 2022, when the governor’s race and the U.S. Senate race were the top contests on ballots that year. As of Friday, more than 693,000 people voted early in person or by mail, according to the Wisconsin Elections Commission. At the same time in 2022, more than 642,000 people cast a ballot prior to Election Day. 

Polls are open from 7 a.m. until 8 p.m. Learn what’s on your ballot, your polling place location and more at myvote.wi.gov. Voters must show a valid photo ID and can register at the polls on Election Day with proof of residency. 

Before then, read more about the candidates for statewide, congressional and legislative races by visiting Wisconsin Watch’s 2026 voter guide. 

Governor and lieutenant governor

It’s been 16 years since the last open race for governor in Wisconsin. 

Candidates entered the race left and right after Evers announced his retirement in 2025. It’s now down to Crowley, the Democrat, and Tiffany, the Republican. 

Both men are two very different candidates. Crowley, 40, is in his second term as Milwaukee County executive and previously was elected to two terms in the state Assembly. He narrowly won the Democratic nomination in August with Evers’ endorsement. If he is elected on Tuesday, he would become the state’s first Black governor.

Crowley’s campaign has focused on lowering costs for Wisconsinites with ideas like providing a public option for BadgerCare and capping child care costs at 7% of a household’s income for families with children under age 5. He also has promoted his ability to work across the aisle to pass bipartisan legislation, frequently highlighting the 2023 shared revenue law that allowed Milwaukee County, and the city of Milwaukee, to enact new sales taxes to offset the deficits caused by rising pension costs. Tiffany has used the sales tax increase to suggest Crowley would raise taxes as governor. 

Tiffany, 68, has represented Wisconsin’s 7th Congressional District in the U.S. House of Representatives since he was first elected in 2020. He also served one term in the Assembly and was elected twice to the state Senate. He cleared the Republican primary field earlier this year after receiving Trump’s endorsement. Crowley has attacked Tiffany’s connection to Trump as the president’s approval ratings plummet. 

Tiffany’s campaign has also focused on rising costs across the state, although his solutions have largely focused on lowering taxes, specifically freezing property taxes and providing a 10% income tax cut to families earning less than $150,000 a year. 

Voters will see a second name on their ballot alongside Crowley and Tiffany. In Wisconsin, candidates for lieutenant governor form a joint ticket with the gubernatorial nominee after the state’s partisan primary. 

The Democratic nominee for lieutenant governor is Secretary of State Sarah Godlewski, and the Republican nominee is David Varnam, a stay-at-home dad who previously served as mayor of Lancaster. Godlewski was unopposed in the Democratic primary, and Varnam defeated the Republican Party of Wisconsin-endorsed candidate in the party’s primary to join Tiffany’s ticket.

Voters will see the governor and lieutenant governor candidates as a joint ticket in the same section on the ballot. A vote for the Republican or Democratic candidate for governor is a vote for the same party’s candidate for lieutenant governor.

Attorney general

The 2026 race for attorney general is a rematch of the 2022 contest between two-term Democratic incumbent Josh Kaul and Republican Fond du Lac County District Attorney Eric Toney. Kaul defeated Toney four years ago by less than 2%. 

In the rematch, Kaul has said he wants to continue progress he believes the state has made in protecting Wisconsinites, including securing settlements tied to the state’s environmental laws and responding to the opioid epidemic. Toney has criticized Kaul for “broken promises” tied to backlogs at the state’s crime labs and making politics part of leading the state’s Department of Justice through lawsuits against the Trump administration. 

Congress

All eight congressional districts are up for reelection, but the 1st and 3rd districts are the key races to watch as Democrats set their sights on both. 

Republican U.S. Rep. Bryan Steil faces a challenge from Democrat Mitchell Berman, an ER nurse and political newcomer, in Wisconsin’s 1st Congressional District. Berman is positioning himself as an outsider, looking to appeal to working-class voters who are unhappy with Steil’s record in Congress. He was added to the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee’s “Red to Blue” program in September, which provides chosen candidates with campaign support. Steil, who has represented the district since 2019, has greater name recognition and financial resources. 

Polling is close in this race. A Fox News Power Ranking listed the district as a “toss-up” and the nonpartisan Cook Political Report shifted its rating from “likely Republican” to “lean Republican.”

The 3rd Congressional District is one of the most targeted seats in the nation as Republican U.S. Rep. Derrick Van Orden faces a challenge from Democrat Rebecca Cooke, a rematch from 2024. National Democrats have also added this district to its “Red to Blue” program, and Sabato’s Crystal Ball, a nonpartisan organization forecasting election outcomes, recently labeled this district as “leans Democratic.” 

Cooke is a waitress and former political consultant. Her top priorities include a $15-an-hour federal minimum wage, addressing teacher shortages with bonuses and raises, protecting abortion rights and expanding Medicare. Van Orden, who has held the seat since 2022, has focused much of his time in Congress on veteran-related legislation. He emphasizes working with Trump on issues such as the war in Iran.

This is the first year since 2020 — when Van Orden first ran and lost to the Democratic incumbent Ron Kind — when Republicans are not favored to win. Republicans may lose seats if this year follows a historical pattern of midterm voters punishing the president’s party. 

Assembly and Senate 

Republicans have controlled both chambers of the Legislature since they swept into power in 2010. This year, it’s a competitive landscape for the Assembly and the Senate, stemming from significant gains Democrats made in 2024 after new legislative maps were signed into law. 

The moves Assembly and Senate Democrats made two years ago occurred the same year Trump won Wisconsin on the way back to the White House. In 2026, the national political environment supports Democrats. Wisconsin’s Assembly and Senate Democrats are eyeing potential majorities in both chambers if that national mood flows down-ballot to legislative races. 

In the Senate, Democrats need to flip two of three Republican-held seats and hold onto a Democratic district in Eau Claire to win a majority in the chamber. Former Vice President Kamala Harris won in the districts for all four of those key races in 2024, according to an analysis by John Johnson, a research fellow at Marquette University Law School. 

In the Assembly, Democrats need to maintain all 45 of their existing seats and flip another five Republican districts to win a majority. Republicans hold five seats in districts that Harris won in 2024, but Democrats also have to compete against strong incumbents in several of those districts.

Secretary of state 

Three candidates are running for Wisconsin secretary of state, a role with limited responsibilities compared to officials with the title in other states across the country. 

The candidates this year include Republican Jay Schroeder, Democrat JoCasta Zamarripa and Green Party candidate Pete Karas. 

The debate in this race has focused on duties that the office does not currently have the power to control. Schroeder has campaigned on ending the Wisconsin Elections Commission and bringing the duties under the secretary of state, an action that would require approval from the governor and the Legislature. Zamarripa said she instead sees the office as a platform to protect voting rights. Karas said his campaign aims to break the state’s two-party system. 

Treasurer

Republican State Treasurer John Leiber, the lone statewide GOP elected official, faces a challenge in 2026 from Democrat Yee Leng Xiong, the executive director of Wausau’s New Beginnings for Refugees who is also a Marathon County Board member and D.C. Everest School Board member. 

Like the secretary of state, Wisconsin’s state treasurer has limited responsibilities. Republicans sought to entirely eliminate the office eight years ago, but the effort was rejected by voters. Leiber said he wants to provide continuity to the office, which hasn’t had a multiterm treasurer since Republican Jack C. Voight served from 1995 through 2007. Xiong said he sees an opportunity to grow the treasurer’s responsibilities, especially if Democrats control the Legislature and the governor’s office. 

Three constitutional amendments

Three questions on ballots across the state are asking voters to determine whether to make changes to the state constitution. 

Under the eight years of the Evers administration, Republican lawmakers have used the constitutional amendment process as a way to avoid the governor’s veto pen. 

The questions on the ballot in 2026 attempt to address what Republicans have described as various aspects of government overreach and Democrats and other civic groups have said are unnecessary changes. 

The constitutional amendments before voters include: 

• Whether the governor should have the ability to raise taxes or fees through the use of the partial veto. The question stems from Evers’ 2023 veto that raised school district revenue limits for the next 400 years, which Republicans incorrectly describe as a property tax increase. Increased revenue limits allow districts to raise property taxes, but local school boards ultimately make those decisions. Under limits, the state can also lower property taxes with increased state funding for public schools.
• Whether the state government can close a place of worship during a public health emergency, such as during the COVID-19 pandemic. 
• Whether various levels of government from education to state agencies should be prohibited from “discriminating against, or granting preferential treatment to, any individual or group on the basis of race, sex, color, ethnicity, or national origin.” Groups both opposed and in support of the amendment have described it as an anti-diversity, equity and inclusion measure that could limit programs and resources for minority communities across the state. 

School district referendums 

Another 71 school districts are asking voters in their communities to approve tax increases to either help districts pay expenses to operate their schools or borrow money for construction projects. 

Fifty-four districts are seeking operational help from taxpayers while 10 districts are asking voters to sign off on capital expenses. Seven school districts are asking voters to sign off on both operating and construction referendums. They include: Brown Deer, Greenfield, Little Chute, Lodi, Princeton, Unity and Waunakee school districts. 

Earlier this year, 72 school districts turned to voters to sign off on referendums. Just over 60% were approved during the April election.

Other local races

Voters will also make decisions in local elections, such as county sheriff and clerk of circuit court. For more information about specific local races on your ballot, visit myvote.wi.gov.

Learn more about the candidates and questions on your ballot. is a post from Wisconsin Watch, a non-profit investigative news site covering Wisconsin since 2009. Please consider making a contribution to support our journalism.

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This article was originally published by Votebeat, a nonprofit news organization covering local election administration and voting access.

The election is underway for Wisconsin’s first open gubernatorial race in over 15 years as voters decide between two candidates who offer strikingly different views and rhetoric on election administration.

U.S. Rep. Tom Tiffany, a Republican, has supported many of President Donald Trump’s election goals, including efforts to overturn the 2020 election, while his opponent, Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley, has backed many Democratic election priorities and denounced Trump’s efforts to undermine elections.

Here’s how the gubernatorial candidates’ views differ and — in one instance — align.

2020 election

Six years later, the 2020 election continues to be front and center in Wisconsin’s election discourse and a recurring topic on the campaign trail. The FBI this year probed Milwaukee officials about the election as an ongoing lawsuit seeks to obtain Milwaukee County’s 2020 ballots. A criminal case against 2020 false electors is ongoing.

Tiffany in 2020 voted not to certify the 2020 election and has expressed support for the FBI probe into how the election was conducted in Milwaukee. During his campaign, Tiffany dodged questions about the legitimate winner of the 2020 election, before conceding in August that “Joe Biden won.”

David Crowley, who currently serves as Milwaukee County executive, has vehemently denounced the 2020 probe. He said the 2020 election was properly conducted, adding that “no amount of fear and intimidation from the Trump administration will change that truth.”

Voter registration and identification

Tiffany has been a consistent supporter of federal legislation that would require voter registrants to provide proof of citizenship. He also told Votebeat he would sign legislation comparing state transportation records with the voter registration database to identify ineligible voters.

In 2011, while serving in the state Assembly, Tiffany co-authored the legislation that established Wisconsin’s photo ID requirement for voting, one of the strictest in the nation.

Crowley has criticized Wisconsin’s voter ID law, which requires voters to present an acceptable form of photo identification when casting a ballot, rather than when registering. In 2020, Crowley called voter ID an “extreme barrier” in low-income communities and communities of color, likening it to “what was going on in Jim Crow days with the literacy test.”

During his time in the Wisconsin Legislature, Crowley was the lead author of a bill to establish automatic voter registration, which would allow eligible residents to be registered during interactions with state agencies. The bill never received a public hearing or floor vote.

Ballot processing

Unlike in many states, Wisconsin election officials cannot begin processing absentee ballots until Election Day. It’s a restriction that can delay the reporting of results in communities with large numbers of mail ballots, particularly Milwaukee. A bipartisan proposal would allow clerks to begin processing absentee ballots on the Monday before an election, without counting or releasing results until Election Day.

Crowley’s team told Votebeat that he supports the proposal.

Tiffany didn’t respond to a request for comment. He acknowledged the Monday processing bill at an August press conference but didn’t say whether he supports it.

Wisconsin Elections Commission

In 2015, while serving in the state Senate, Tiffany voted to create the Wisconsin Elections Commission, which replaced the Government Accountability Board as the agency overseeing the state’s elections.

But, at a recent debate, Tiffany said he was open to dismantling or making significant changes to the agency, arguing that it needs greater accountability. He said he would only eliminate the agency if lawmakers could agree on a better replacement.

Crowley’s team told Votebeat that he wants to keep the Wisconsin Elections Commission in charge of elections. At the debate, Crowley acknowledged that the agency isn’t perfect but defended its resistance to the Trump administration’s efforts to obtain unredacted Wisconsin voter information.

Both would certify 2028 presidential winner

The next governor’s ability to reshape Wisconsin election laws will depend in part on who controls the Legislature. Both legislative chambers have been controlled by Republicans for over a decade, but Democrats hope to flip at least one chamber in November.

The governor can sign or veto election legislation, giving the office significant influence over which policies become law. The governor also plays a part in certifying presidential results. At an October debate, Crowley questioned whether Tiffany could be trusted to certify the 2028 election, citing his efforts to overturn the 2020 results.

But Tiffany said, “I will certify the election in 2028, regardless of who the winner is.”

Crowley, asked whether he would certify the results, answered: “Absolutely.”

Alexander Shur is a reporter for Votebeat based in Wisconsin. Contact Shur at ashur@votebeat.org.

Votebeat is a nonprofit news organization reporting on voting access and election administration across the U.S. Sign up for Votebeat Wisconsin’s free newsletter here.

Here’s how Wisconsin’s governor candidates differ on how the state should run elections is a post from Wisconsin Watch, a non-profit investigative news site covering Wisconsin since 2009. Please consider making a contribution to support our journalism.

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The Fond du Lac County District Attorney’s office received state funding for more staff positions between 2022 and 2026 than the state crime labs did.

Attorney General Josh Kaul made the claim during an Oct. 11 debate with Republican attorney general candidate Eric Toney, the Fond du Lac County district attorney. Kaul and Toney have debated backlogs in the state labs.

In the 2023-2025 budget, Fond du Lac County did not receive any new assistant district attorney positions, according to the budget documents. Kaul requested 16 new positions for the crime labs, including 10 DNA analysts. The Republican-controlled Legislature funded three positions, none of which were DNA analysts. 

In the 2025-2027 budget, Toney’s office received four prosecutor positions, one of several DA’s offices to receive new staff. 

In the 2025-2027 budget, Kaul requested 19 positions for the crime labs, but received none.

This Fact Brief is responsive to conversations such as this one.

Sources

• WISN.com: Attorney general candidates spar over Trump, crime during 'UPFRONT' debate
• Legislative Fiscal Bureau: Summary of Provisions, 2023 Wisconsin Act 19
• Legislative Fiscal Bureau: Summary of Provisions, 2025 Wisconsin Act 15
• Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: AG race could focus on crime lab backlogs. Here’s what to know

Did Eric Toney’s office receive more new prosecutor staff than the state crime lab in Josh Kaul’s second term? is a post from Wisconsin Watch, a non-profit investigative news site covering Wisconsin since 2009. Please consider making a contribution to support our journalism.

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Click here to read highlights from the story

• The gap in Wisconsin voter turnout between voters with and without disabilities is among the largest in the nation. 
• The state has “many excellent accessibility requirements,” but it’s a challenge ensuring people are aware of them and that they’re implemented correctly, said Lisa Hassenstab of Disability Rights Wisconsin.
• Wisconsin Watch intern Baylee Alger, who lost his sight at 2 years old, reports on his perceived barriers to voting and what he learned while reporting this story.

Of Wisconsin’s 3.8 million voters, 25% – or an estimated 950,000 – have a disability, according to Disability Rights Wisconsin. 

Yet Wisconsin’s voter turnout gap between voters with and without disabilities is among the largest in the nation at 11.7%, according to a Rutgers University analysis of 2022 voter turnout data.

I have been blind since I was 2 years old. A brain tumor destroyed my optic nerves, and luckily, the tumor hasn’t spread. I’ve lived a very productive life since then: I’ve worked, I’ve gotten an education, I published a book, and I am a contributing member of society. 

Yet as ashamed as I am to say it, I’ve never voted, and I’m almost 27 years old.

Here are my major barriers to voting: If I mail in my vote, I need to ask someone for help checking the boxes on the ballot. If I vote at the polls, I need to ask for help choosing my candidate from the screen – or so I thought. 

Sign up for Northeast News, our free email newsletter focused on northeast Wisconsin.

I’m not alone. 

Lisa Hassenstab, public policy manager at Disability Rights Wisconsin, said the topics people call about most frequently include transportation to polling places, obtaining a photo ID, polling place accessibility and questions about guardianship and voting. 

Her organization mainly focuses on curbside voting, electronic ballot marking equipment and accessible absentee ballot return assistance, she said. 

Disability Rights Wisconsin is involved in litigation to make absentee ballots “properly accessible,” Hassenstab said. In August, a judge ruled that Wisconsin’s current absentee ballot violates the Americans with Disabilities Act. 

However, there wasn’t time to implement a change ahead of the November election, and the judge has not yet ruled on a replacement. Due to this, Hassenstab said she doesn’t know what the new ballot will look like or when it will be implemented. 

“There are many excellent accessibility requirements in the electoral process, particularly in Wisconsin, Hassenstab added. “One of the challenges is ensuring they are implemented appropriately and that people know they are available.”

Disability Rights Wisconsin offers education and outreach geared toward voters with disabilities and those who support them, including care staff, families, guardians and other disability rights organizations. 

Help is also available to municipal clerks through the Wisconsin Elections Commission’s Accessibility Supply Program, which “provides accessibility tools for election purposes at no cost to counties and municipalities,” Hassenstab said. 

Michelle Seidl, Bellevue clerk-treasurer, said all municipalities are required to have curbside voting, accessible buildings and parking, as well as a machine called the ExpressVote. ExpressVote machines allow voters to mark ballots electronically, enlarge the print on the screen and use screen readers if they bring headphones. 

I wasn’t aware of this until I started this story, and it is promising. I still wonder if it’s the right answer for me. Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to visit an ExpressVote machine before publication to test it, but I’m glad to know the machines exist. Now, we just need to keep moving upward. 

Learn more

Visit the Wisconsin Disability Vote Coalition website at disabilityvote.org to find resources, including a toolkit to make voting plans. 

Have a question about accessibility at the polls? Call the Disability Rights Wisconsin Voter Hotline at 1-844-347-8683 or email your question to info@disabilityvote.org.

Outreach, education key to voting accessibility, Wisconsin advocates say is a post from Wisconsin Watch, a non-profit investigative news site covering Wisconsin since 2009. Please consider making a contribution to support our journalism.

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U.S. Rep. Tom Tiffany, the Republican candidate for Wisconsin governor, supported highly restrictive federal abortion legislation after voting for a Wisconsin law that generally allows abortion through 20 weeks of pregnancy.

The 2015 law that Tiffany voted for as a member of the Legislature prohibits abortion at 20 weeks postfertilization and after, except to protect the life or health of the mother.

But in 2023, as a member of Congress, Tiffany co-sponsored a bill to prohibit abortion in cases where a fetal heartbeat is detectable, generally six weeks. That legislation didn’t become law.

Campaigning for governor, Tiffany has said he would uphold the 2015 law.

The Democratic nominee in the Nov. 3 election, Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley, questioned Tiffany about his two positions in their only debate.

Tiffany replied: “My position’s been consistent ever since I announced for governor,” adding he would not sign fetal heartbeat legislation.

This Fact Brief is responsive to conversations such as this one.

Sources

• Wisconsin Legislative Council: Wisconsin Abortion Law
• VoteSmart: Tom Tiffany key votes
• GovInfo.gov: H. R. 175
• Wisconsin Public Radio: Tom Tiffany’s conservative record dates back years in state and federal politics
• Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Abortion issue could reemerge. Here's where Crowley and Tiffany stand
• WISN 12 News: 2026 Wisconsin Gubernatorial Debate
• Google Docs: David Crowley remark

Did Wisconsin governor candidate Tom Tiffany support a six-week abortion bill? is a post from Wisconsin Watch, a non-profit investigative news site covering Wisconsin since 2009. Please consider making a contribution to support our journalism.

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U.S. Rep. Tom Tiffany, the Republican candidate for Wisconsin governor in the Nov. 3 election, voted last November for the Epstein Files Transparency Act.

The law requires the U.S. Justice Department to publish its unclassified documents in the Jeffrey Epstein investigation. 

Epstein killed himself while awaiting trial on charges of serial sex trafficking of women and girls.

Some 3.5 million pages were released in January. Efforts are underway to force the release of more.

Tiffany’s Democratic opponent, Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley, claimed in an Oct. 20 ad that Tiffany “voted to block the release of the Epstein files.” 

That July 2025 vote was not up or down on releasing the files.

Tiffany voted no on a procedural measure related to a Democratic attempt to attach an amendment to an unrelated cryptocurrency bill. Voting yes could have led to a vote on requiring the files’ release.

This Fact Brief is responsive to conversations such as this one.

Sources

• U.S. House Clerk: Final Vote Results For Roll Call 289
• Congress.gov: H.R.4405 – Epstein Files Transparency Act
• U.S. Justice Department: Epstein Library
• Britannica: Jeffrey Epstein
• U.S. Justice Department: Department of Justice Publishes 3.5 Million Responsive Pages in Compliance with the Epstein Files Transparency Act
• New York Attorney General: Attorney General James Calls on Congress to Pass Second Epstein Files Transparency Act
• Congress.gov: House Roll Call Vote 194
• New Republic: 211 House Republicans Vote to Block Release of Epstein Files
• David Crowley campaign: Tiffany: Epstein Files
• U.S. House Clerk: Discharge Petition No. 9
• Politifact: Ashley Hinson voted for Epstein files’ release. What’s behind Democrats’ messaging to the contrary?

Did Wisconsin governor candidate Tom Tiffany oppose releasing the Epstein files? is a post from Wisconsin Watch, a non-profit investigative news site covering Wisconsin since 2009. Please consider making a contribution to support our journalism.

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At a recent Oktoberfest parade through downtown Prairie du Chien, Republican state Sen. Howard Marklein tossed candy and shook hands with constituents. A few weeks earlier on the same strip, his Democratic challenger state Rep. Jenna Jacobson spoke with voters on the final stop of what her campaign dubbed “The Marklein Markup Tour.”

Neither candidate has been on the ballot before in this Mississippi River community on the western edge of the 17th Senate District, not even Marklein in his previous three runs.

That’s because the Wisconsin political landscape has changed significantly since Gov. Tony Evers signed new legislative maps into law in 2024.

The city of 5,000, which voted for Hillary Clinton in 2016, Joe Biden in 2020 and then Donald Trump in 2024, was represented for more than a decade by Democrats in a state Senate district that stretched north to La Crosse. 

Prairie du Chien today is now part of one of four key Senate races in 2026 that will determine which party holds the majority in the chamber next year. The 17th previously stretched north to deep red Juneau County, but now incorporates more of deep blue Dane and more mixed Green and Crawford counties. 

It’s those kinds of changes to lines on the Wisconsin political map that helped Democrats in 2024 flip four Senate and 10 Assembly seats, even as President Trump won Wisconsin on his way back to the White House. The four-year Senate seats up for election this year, including the 17th, weren’t on the ballot in 2024.

It’s also a different political environment in 2026 with Democrats surging amid high gas prices, the war in Iran and Trump’s plunging popularity. The national Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee lists 17 target races that could lead to the party achieving majorities in the Senate and Assembly. Political analysts are watching the legislative districts where former Vice President Kamala Harris won two years ago as a sign of what seats in the Assembly and the Senate could flip this year. 

It’s still a question if the national midterm blue wave that polls are predicting will flow down the ballot to legislative races. Republican legislative campaign committees are outspending Democrats by more than $5 million in the Assembly and more than $2.5 million in the Senate in the final month before the election. Many Republican incumbents opted not to run this year, but others, like Marklein, are putting up a fight. 

Marklein said the increased pressure on the race from Democrats has not changed how he campaigns.

“It’s just the same as we’ve always done,” he said. “In sports, some games are bigger than others. The fundamentals don’t change. It’s blocking and tackling and, you know, it’s the same strategy.”

The momentum is certainly there for Democrats to flip the Senate, said John Johnson, a research fellow at the Marquette University Law School who has analyzed the political trends of the state’s legislative races. Of the three Republican-held seats, Marklein is the lone incumbent running for reelection. 

“In the Assembly, Democrats have to beat some strong Republican incumbents if they want 50 seats there, and in the Senate they don’t have to,” Johnson said. “They can just win the open seats and hold the seats they’ve already got, and that’ll be enough. So I think it really comes down to incumbency advantage and which seats are open.” 

The stakes of who wins these legislative races in 2026 are especially high, as the parties that control each of the chambers next year must work with a new governor in the executive branch.

If Democrats or Republicans win the governor’s office and both the Assembly and the Senate, they will gain full-party control of the Capitol, which creates a fast track to advance their party’s policies from bill to law. When Republicans swept into power after winning the governor’s office and the Legislature in 2010, they were able to pass policies such as Act 10, the controversial anti-union law that stripped collective bargaining rights for public sector unions.

On the other hand, Wisconsin could see continued split government if one party wins the governor’s office and the other wins one or both of the chambers of the Legislature. That’s been the case since retiring Evers won in 2018.

Wisconsin Democrats see potential to win complete control of state government. Democratic candidates have focused their campaigns on how the Trump administration and legislative Republicans have blocked access to health care or expanded public funding for private school vouchers. While Jacobson knocks doors in the 17th Senate District, she told Wisconsin Watch people plead for changes to help the cost of living. 

“The number one thing that I hear from folks is, please just do something. Literally anything,” Jacobson said. “They feel whatever has been happening at the state level is not filtering down.”

Marklein has had two years to introduce himself to the new parts of his district. In 2022, under the old district lines, he outperformed the Republican gubernatorial candidate. 

“I always outperform the top of the ticket,” Marklein told Wisconsin Watch. “I’m a farm boy. I don’t know any better than to work hard.”

Here, in a nutshell, are the 14 Senate and Assembly races to watch on election night to see which party will control the Legislature in the new year.

Senate District 5

Rep. Robyn Vining, D-Wauwatosa, and Republican business owner Mike Roberts are competing in the general election after incumbent Sen. Rob Hutton, R-Brookfield, decided not to seek reelection. 

Both Harris and U.S. Sen. Tammy Baldwin won this district in 2024.

Vining, who has served four terms in the Assembly, is campaigning to increase funding for public schools, expand access to BadgerCare and defend reproductive rights. She serves on the committees on Children and Families; Health, Aging and Long-Term Care; Mental Health and Substance Abuse Prevention and Small Business Development. 

Roberts is campaigning to lower property taxes, increase staffing and resources for law enforcement agencies and lower health care costs by expanding access to preventative care and increasing food assistance spending on whole grains, fruits and vegetables by 20%.

Senate District 17

Of the three vulnerable Republican Senate seats on the ballot this November, Sen. Howard Marklein, R-Spring Green, is the lone incumbent seeking reelection. He faces a challenge from two-term state Rep. Jenna Jacobson, D-Oregon, in the first election under the district’s new boundaries. Harris won the district by 1% and Baldwin won by nearly 5% in 2024. 

Marklein has served in the Legislature since his election to the Assembly in 2010 and is in his third term in the Senate where he is a co-chair of the powerful Joint Finance Committee tasked with crafting the biennial state budget. Jacobson was elected to the Assembly in 2022 and previously served on the Oregon Village Board.

Republicans have criticized Jacobson for co-sponsoring a series of bills during the recent legislative session after they were signed into law. Jacobson told Wisconsin Watch that was a “clerical error.” 

Jacobson’s campaign has argued the 17th District needs new leadership after Marklein’s decade-plus in the Legislature, and that Republican control has led to funding challenges for public school districts that have then turned to taxpayers through referendums.

Senate District 21

Republican Jim Croft and Democrat Trevor Jung are competing for an open seat after Republican Sen. Van Wanggaard chose not to seek reelection. Both Harris and Baldwin won in the district in 2024 by a narrow margin. 

Croft is a data analyst and Jung is the transit and mobility director for the city of Racine. Both candidates have centered their campaigns on easing the cost of living, although they differ on how to accomplish those goals. Croft is focused on lowering property taxes and limiting “red tape” to support businesses in the state. Jung has campaigned on addressing health care costs through exempting over-the-counter drugs from the state’s sales tax and insulating utility rate payers from rising energy costs due to the rise of data centers. 

Political attacks have been a key part of the race. Jung has faced allegations, which he denies, from Republicans that he has campaigned while also being paid for his job in Racine. A city spokesperson told the Racine County Eye that it reviewed Jung’s time logs and payroll and found no violations of overlap of his city job and campaign.

Senate District 31

Democratic incumbent Sen. Jeff Smith faces a challenge from Republican Michele Magadance Skinner, an Eau Claire County Board member. 

Smith has served in the Senate since 2018. Smith won in 2022 by 1 point, though under different legislative maps. Harris won the Eau Claire County-centered district in 2024 by just over 2 points.

The State Senate Democratic Committee filed a lawsuit against Skinner in August to remove her from the November ballot for alleged residency in Georgia, but a Dane County judge denied the request for removal. 

Smith currently serves on the Joint Legislative Council and Committee on Health, and he is running on abortion rights, funding public schools and protecting clean water in the state. Skinner serves on the Committee on Judiciary & Law Enforcement Highway Committee in Eau Claire County, and she is running on lowering income and property taxes and advocating for rural businesses and residents. Both candidates call for access to quality health care.

Assembly District 21

Democrat Dan Bukiewicz, mayor of Oak Creek, will face Republican Dylan Pfaffenbach, a Carroll University student, in November to replace Joint Finance Committee member Rep. Jessie Rodriguez, R-Oak Creek, who is not seeking reelection. 

Rodriguez won the district by 2.8 percentage points in a district where Harris won by a little over 4 percentage points in 2024.

Bukiewicz is campaigning on lowering costs, ensuring community safety and increasing oversight on data centers. Pfaffenbach’s priorities include lowering property taxes, ensuring access to affordable health care and addressing concerns surrounding data centers development. In August, Pfaffenbach was placed on the Republican State Leadership Committee’s 2026 Wisconsin Candidate Spotlight series, asking voters to support his race to maintain control of the Legislature.

Assembly District 26

Freshman state Rep. Joe Sheehan, D-Sheboygan, flipped the district in 2024 by unseating former state Rep. Amy Binsfeld. He now faces a challenge from former Sheboygan Ald. John Belanger.

Sheehan won by 3 percentage points in 2024, while Harris carried the district by 2.7 percentage points.

Sheehan serves on the committees on Education and Workforce Development, Labor and Integrated Employment. He has supported legislation to eliminate sales taxes on over-the-counter medications, make child care more affordable and expand BadgerCare via federal Medicaid expansion. Belanger, who lost his city council seat in April, is prioritizing affordability, addressing concerns about data centers’ potential effects on costs and water resources and advocating for quality, affordable health care.

Assembly District 30

Democratic retired public school educator Kevin Knoke is challenging Rep. Shannon Zimmerman, R-River Falls, who won by 8.5 percentage points in 2024, while Trump carried the district by 4.5 percentage points. 

Zimmerman, who has held the district for nearly a decade, is campaigning to reduce income taxes, connect education centers with businesses and protect Wisconsin’s natural resources. In 2023, Zimmerman introduced legislation granting data centers an exemption from the 5% state sales tax and local sales tax for purchases involved in their construction and equipment, which received extensive lobbying support from Microsoft, We Energies and Alliant Energy.

Zimmerman has also faced criticism for missing more than 225 votes and a quarter of the Assembly’s floor sessions in the 2025-26 legislative session. In an Oct. 14 candidate forum, Zimmerman noted personal family matters that have impacted his attendance, including the passing of his nephew in early 2025, his 3-year-old grandchild being diagnosed with a rare genetic condition and an older parent battling cancer. 

Knoke offered condolences to Zimmerman and his family, but noted there are people in the 30th District facing similar familial concerns who can’t take time off work.

Knoke’s priorities include expanding affordable housing, ensuring access to affordable health care and increasing funding for public schools.

Assembly District 51

State Rep. Todd Novak, R-Dodgeville, has long held one of the five Assembly districts that Harris won in 2024. In 2026, Novak faces challenges from Democrat Ben Gruber, a conservation warden from Arena, and American Solidarity Party candidate Nathan Tataje, a personal trainer also from Arena. 

Novak, the former mayor of Dodgeville, was first elected to the Assembly in 2014 and has often won close elections. Except for a 12-point win in 2022, the rest of Novak’s victory margins have come within five percentage points over Democratic opponents. In 2024, he outperformed both Harris and Baldwin, who both won the district. 

Novak was among a group of Assembly Republicans earlier this year who lobbied Speaker Robin Vos to allow votes on a bill to expand postpartum Medicaid for new Wisconsin mothers and Gail’s Law, the bill that required insurance companies to cover additional screenings for women at increased risk of breast cancer. 

While Gruber has no elected experience, he is no stranger to state government. Gruber is among the plaintiffs in the case pending before the Wisconsin Supreme Court that seeks to restore collective bargaining rights for public employees that were eliminated under Act 10. He also was among plaintiffs in a case before the Wisconsin Employment Relations Commission, which found the state Department of Natural Resources retaliated against members of the conservation warden’s labor union.

Assembly District 53

Three candidates are competing for an open seat after Republican state Rep. Dean Kaufert, R-Neenah, chose not to run for reelection. Both Harris and Baldwin won the district in 2024. 

The candidates in the race include Republican business owner David Daniels, Democratic teacher Becky Nichols and independent candidate Rachael Dowling, a Winnebago County Board member.

Daniels and Nichols have said the top issue is affordability, although Daniels has focused more on reducing property taxes and returning the state surplus to taxpayers while Nichols has pointed to increasing funding for public schools to lower property taxes and providing more options to access health care. One of Dowling’s top issues is the “threat” of data centers and how they might increase electricity demand and costs across the state.

Assembly District 61

State Rep. Bob Donovan, R-Greenfield, faces a challenge this year from Greendale veteran Ben Brist. 

Donovan was first elected to the Assembly in 2022 after serving two decades on the Milwaukee Common Council. He won his 2024 reelection campaign by just over 3 percentage points. At the same time, both Harris and Baldwin won in the suburban Milwaukee County district. 

In the Assembly, Donovan was among a group of vulnerable Republicans who at the end of the legislative session rallied GOP lawmakers to support a bill to expand postpartum Medicaid for new Wisconsin mothers and Gail’s Law, the bill that required insurance companies to cover additional cancer screenings for women at increased risk of breast cancer. 

Brist has campaigned on addressing cost of living increases and changing the public school funding formula so that fewer districts need to turn to taxpayers through referendums. He also is in favor of a statewide moratorium on data centers so the state can establish a “proper regulatory framework.”

Assembly District 85

State Rep. Patrick Snyder, R-Weston, faces a challenge from Democrat John Kroll, a former member of the Marathon County Board who works in the energy efficiency industry. In 2024, both Trump and Baldwin won in the district, which Snyder carried by 6.5 points. 

Snyder was first elected to the Assembly in 2016. He chairs the Assembly Committee on Children and Families and led the Speaker’s Task Force on Elder Services, which produced a bill Snyder authored and was signed into law to increase protections against scams for individuals using cryptocurrency kiosks. Snyder also was the Assembly author of the bipartisan legislation that expanded postpartum Medicaid for new mothers in Wisconsin. 

Kroll has run on issues such as expanding career and technical education in schools and increasing energy production in Wisconsin in an effort to lower costs.

Assembly District 88

Republican incumbent Rep. Ben Franklin, R-De Pere, faces a challenge from Democrat Brandy Tollefson, an accounting manager and De Pere School Board treasurer.

Franklin was elected to the Assembly in 2024 and won the De Pere district by less than 1 percentage point. However, Harris won the district the same year, also by less than 1 point. 

Franklin serves on the Corrections, Criminal Justice and Public Safety, Jobs and Economy committees and is the vice chair of the Veterans and Military Affairs Committee. He’s also on the Speaker’s Task Force on Protecting Kids and wants to position the state as a national and global leader for energy technology, touting the nuclear fusion tax break bill that was signed into law. He also highlighted his passed legislation that gave more money to veteran homelessness services, as well as legislation that raised the age limit of recorded statements in court. 

Tollefson is running on expanding BadgerCare, raising the state special education reimbursement rate — currently at 35% — to 60%, ending the statewide private school voucher program and building affordable housing.

Assembly District 89

State Rep. Ryan Spaude, D-Ashwaubenon, faces a challenge from Republican Bobby Lindsey, a criminal justice instructor and retired Milwaukee police officer. 

Spaude flipped the district under new maps in 2024 after more than two decades of Republican control, defeating his opponent by about 3 percentage points. Harris won the district by 2 points. 

Spaude serves on the Criminal Justice and Public Safety, Judiciary and Tourism committees, and he is running on raising the minimum wage to $15 an hour, ending the statewide private school voucher program and regulating data centers. Lindsey, a Marine veteran, supports repealing Evers’ 400-year school funding increase, holding insurance and pharmaceutical companies accountable and using the state’s budget surplus to fund infrastructure, public schools, public safety and some kind of tax rebate or reduction.

Assembly District 94

Rep. Steve Doyle, D-Onalaska, faces a challenge from Republican Army veteran Keith Purnell.

Doyle has served in the Assembly since 2011 and won the district in 2024 by 1 percentage point, even as Trump won the district that year by 2 points.

Doyle is currently on the Commerce, Criminal Justice and Public Safety, Financial Institutions and Insurance committees. He is also the vice chair of the Speaker’s Task Force on Elder Services, and he supports keeping family farmers competitive, a data center moratorium, expanded BadgerCare and lowering income and property taxes. Doyle was one of the few Democrats in the Legislature to vote in favor of the failed deal to use the state’s $3 billion surplus to lower taxes and increase special education funding earlier this year.

Purnell emphasizes cracking down on drug and human trafficking, parental transparency in the classroom, eliminating fraud and supporting emergency services like law enforcement, fire and EMS.

Here are the 14 Wisconsin districts that will decide which party controls the Legislature is a post from Wisconsin Watch, a non-profit investigative news site covering Wisconsin since 2009. Please consider making a contribution to support our journalism.

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Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley, the Democratic nominee for Wisconsin governor, has not stated support for unauthorized immigrants convicted of violent crimes.

U.S. Rep. Tom Tiffany, the Republican candidate in the Nov. 3 election, stated that Crowley “said he will be … an accomplice for illegal aliens that commit violent crimes.”

Crowley had been asked how he would make Wisconsin “more immigrant friendly.” He said he opposes police assisting federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) because it discourages unauthorized immigrants from reporting crimes, then said: “And when it comes down to the immigrants, I’m not an ally, I’m an accomplice.” 

Crowley has said he would not change Milwaukee County sheriff policy of not assisting immigration officials in the jail. He has criticized ICE arrests at the county courthouse. The county has lobbied to provide state funding of immigrant legal services. He said he supports deportation for criminal convictions.

This Fact Brief is responsive to conversations such as this one.

Sources

• David Crowley: "How will you stand up to ICE?" video
• WISN-TV: Crowley says he doesn't see 'any scenario' where he would work with ICE
• X: Tom Tiffany post
• Milwaukee County Executive: Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley Statement on ICE Arrests at Courthouse
• Washington Post: Wisconsin judge arrested by FBI, charged with obstructing immigrant arrest
• Wisconsin Ethics Commission: Assembly Bill 475
• WISN-TV: WISN 12's Commitment 2026 Gubernatorial Debate
• PBS Wisconsin: Here & Now for October 9, 2026

Has Wisconsin governor candidate David Crowley said he supports undocumented immigrants who commit violent crimes? is a post from Wisconsin Watch, a non-profit investigative news site covering Wisconsin since 2009. Please consider making a contribution to support our journalism.