From left, Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley will look to run for governor in the 2026 Democratic primary, Lt. Gov. Sara Rodriguez announced her campaign Friday and Attorney General Josh Kaul declined to comment on his plans. (Photos by Baylor Spears/Wisconsin Examiner)

Less than 24 hours after Gov. Tony Evers announced he wouldn’t run for another term in office, the field for the Democratic primary for governor is beginning to take shape as Lt. Gov. Sara Rodriguez launched  her campaign Friday morning while other potential candidates are still considering. 

Evers’ video announcing that he would retire because of his family ended months of speculation about a potential third term and triggered the start of the first open race for governor in Wisconsin since 2010. 

The Republican field is still shaping up, with Washington County Executive Josh Schoemann and Whitefish Bay manufacturer Bill Berrien have officially announced. Other potential candidates include U.S. Rep. Tom Tiffany and businessmen Eric Hovde and Tim Michels, both of whom have recently lost statewide campaigns. 

The first Democrat in the race, Rodriguez in her campaign launch video took aim both at Republicans in Washington and at the GOP majority in the Legislature. 

“We’ve got a maniac in the White House. His tariffs are killing our farmers and his policies are hurting our kids,” Rodriguez said of President Donald Trump. “Our [state] Legislature refuses to expand Medicaid, even though 41 other states have done it. I mean Arkansas expanded Medicaid. Arkansas, but not Wisconsin. I’ll get it done.” 

Rodriguez was elected lieutenant governor in 2022, when Evers won his second term. She succeeded former Lt. Gov. Mandela Barnes, who ran an unsuccessful campaign for the U.S. Senate against Republican Sen. Ron Johnson that year. 

“I’ve been an ER nurse, a public health expert and a small business owner. I’m used to being on my feet and getting right to the point,” Rodriguez said in her video. “I have an announcement: I’m running for governor.” 

“I know what you’re thinking, you don’t have the time for the rest of this video,” Rodriguez said. “Look, I get it I’m a busy parent too, so here’s what you should know: I’ve got two kids that are way too embarrassed to be in this video, a dog named Chico and I met my husband salsa dancing – all true. My parents were Wisconsin dairy farmers. My dad served during Vietnam and fixed telephones at Wisconsin Bell. Mom was a union member who helped kids with special needs.”

Rodriguez got degrees in neuroscience and nursing before working as a nurse in an emergency room in Baltimore. She has also worked for the Centers for Disease Control and has served as vice president for several health care-related businesses, including at Advocate Aurora Health from 2017-2020.

Rodriguez said in the video that entering politics wasn’t part of her plan, but seeing “a broken system” she decided to run for the Assembly. She flipped a Republican seat that covered parts of Milwaukee and Waukesha in 2020 by 735 votes, and served for one term before making her run for lieutenant governor in 2021. After winning the Democratic primary, she joined Evers on the ticket. 

The Democratic Lieutenant Governors Association quickly endorsed Rodriguez Friday.

Rodriguez noted that control of the state Legislature is also at stake in 2026, with Democrats having the chance under new, fairer maps adopted in 2024 to win control. The last time there was a Democratic trifecta in Wisconsin was in the 2009-2010 session. 

“Look, we’ve got a real shot at flipping the state Legislature, and with a Democratic governor we can finally expand Medicaid and boost our health care workforce. We can strengthen our farms and unions and small businesses, fund our public schools and give teachers the raise they’ve earned. That’s the right path, and it’s what you and your family deserve,” Rodriguez said. “I can’t wait to earn your vote.”

Other Democrats on whether they’ll run

Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley said in a statement Friday morning that he cares about the future direction of Wisconsin and that “I will be taking steps toward entering the race for Governor,” in the coming weeks. 

“The stakes are simply too high to sit on the sidelines,” Crowley said. “Governor Evers has laid a strong foundation. I believe it’s our responsibility to build on that progress — and I look forward to engaging in that conversation with the people of Wisconsin.” 

Crowley, 33, was elected to the county’s top office in 2020, the first African American and the youngest person to serve in the position. During his time in the job, Crowley has been a staunch  advocate for the state’s largest county, including helping secure a sales tax increase for Milwaukee. He also previously served for two terms in the state Assembly.

Asked whether she plans to run, state Sen. Kelda Roys (D-Madison) told the Wisconsin Examiner Friday she is “giving it really serious consideration.” Roys came in third in the 2018 primary that nominated Evers.

“This is going to be a wide open primary,” Roys said. “I don’t think anybody has a strong advantage in it, and I think the stakes are incredibly high.” 

Roys said she thought Evers has “given more than anyone could ask to this state” and has earned the right to do whatever he wants. She said, however, that Democrats shouldn’t rely on old tactics in 2026 and that people want a candidate who will inspire them.

“Tony Evers has been a beloved governor of this state, and so I think he would have certainly been able to win a third term if that’s what he wanted to do,” Roys said. “At the same time, I think that there is a real hunger in the party and in the country generally, to see the next generation of leaders getting a chance, and we have a very strong bench in Wisconsin.”

Roys also ran for the U.S. House in 2012, losing in the primary for the 2nd District to U.S. Rep. Mark Pocan. 

Roys said that there is a lot at stake in the 2026 race. The country is at an “incredibly dangerous moment” with the Republican control in Washington, D.C., she said, and Wisconsin Democrats could have a “incredible opportunity” to deliver on an array of issues at the state level, including funding public education, supporting Wisconsin’s public universities and technical colleges, expanding access to health care, addressing the high cost of housing and child care, and protecting peoples’ rights and freedoms. 

For the last five years, Roys has served in the state Senate, including as a member of the Joint Finance Committee, and has been a strong advocate for funding child care and reproductive rights. 

Recalling her time in the Assembly from 2009-2013, including the last session when Democrats held a trifecta, Roys said Democrats didn’t accomplish enough.

“I’m determined to make sure that we do not blow this opportunity,” Roys said. “I think we need strong leadership from our next Democratic governor to make sure that we deliver for people in this state.” 

Roys said she is considering many factors in deciding whether to join the race, including whether she would be the right person for the position, her recent experience and her family, including their security.

Whether she runs or not, Roys said she will work across the state to help Democrats flip both houses. She isn’t up for reelection this year and Democrats have set a goal of winning control of the Senate and Assembly for the first time in over 15 years. 

“My hope is that all the candidates who are considering a run for governor are prioritizing flipping the Legislature,” Roys said. During Evers’ two terms with a Republican majority in both houses, “He wrote great budgets. They threw them in the garbage,” she said. “He wanted to pass a lot of great legislation that Democrats offered in the Legislature, and he could hardly sign many into law, because he was busy with that veto pen.” 

Attorney General Josh Kaul, who would likely be a top candidate if he runs, declined to tell reporters about his plans Friday, saying that it is important to reflect on Evers’ service and “the significance of where we’ve come in the last six and a half years.” 

“I don’t have any announcement today,” Kaul said. “I think in the next several weeks, you’ll hear from a number of people as to where they stand.” 

Kaul was first elected to the statewide position in 2018 and won a second term in 2022 in a close race against Eric Toney, a Republican prosecutor from Fond du Lac County. Since Trump took office for his second term, Kaul has joined several multistate lawsuits to push back on some of the federal government’s actions, including the withholding of funding

Other potential candidates include Milwaukee Mayor Cavalier Johnson and former Lt. Gov. Mandela Barnes.

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The roof of the Hotel Verdant in Downtown Racine received federal tax credits for installing solar panels. Labor and environmental advocates are attacking the Congressional Republicans' tax cut megabill for rolling back clean energy programs enacted in the Biden administration. (Photo by Erik Gunn/Wisconsin Examiner)

The tax cut megabill in Congress with a historic rollback on Medicaid also includes provisions reversing U.S. clean energy policies, advocates warned Wednesday, harming not only the environment but the economy.

“This legislation will kill economic growth and jobs, raise energy prices, and cede clean energy technology manufacturing to other countries,” said Carly Ebben Eaton, Wisconsin Policy Manager for the Blue Green Alliance, a coalition of labor unions and environmental groups.

Eaton took part in two online news conferences Wednesday to draw attention to the federal budget reconciliation bill and its repeal of key portions of the 2022 Inflation Reduction Act.

The budget bill has been the top priority of the Republican majority in Congress as well as the administration of President Donald Trump. It was drawn up to extend tax cuts enacted in 2017 during Trump’s first term that will expire at the end of 2025.

The package returned to the U.S. House for final action after a tied vote in the U.S. Senate that required Vice President JD Vance to pass the measure on Tuesday.

Steep cuts to Medicaid and federal nutrition programs have drawn the most attention during debate on the bill, along with the Congressional Budget Office finding that the wealthiest taxpayers will benefit most from its tax cuts.

The bill also includes measures that would undo several provisions in the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), one of the signature pieces of legislation enacted during President Joe Biden’s four years in office. After its passage the act was lauded by environmental advocates for provisions to address climate change by encouraging clean energy through tax credits as well as federal investments.

The House version of the GOP bill “already dealt a serious blow to clean energy tax credits and investments,” Eaton said Wednesday, “but the Senate took it even further, doubling down on cuts that will cost jobs, stall progress and raise energy costs.”

Consumer, business renewable energy incentives

The IRA’s tax breaks were designed to encourage consumers to move to energy-efficient and clean energy appliances and vehicles and encourage utilities and other businesses to increase their use of renewable resources such as solar energy and wind power.

Eaton said Wednesday that clean energy tax credits are supporting more than $8.6 billion in private investments in Wisconsin.

Garrik Harwick, assistant business manager of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers union Local 890 in Janesville, said that over the past three years more than 300 members have worked on solar projects in Southern Wisconsin. He spoke at a news conference with Eaton and several other union leaders.

The IRA tax breaks have encouraged those developments, Harwick said, and the investments have included increased apprenticeship slots, bringing in new trainees.

“These investments don’t just deliver clean energy,” Harwick added. “They create good paying union jobs that strengthen our local communities.”

He warned that repealing the tax credit will likely reduce the use of clean energy technologies and increase energy costs by 6% for homeowners and more than 9% for business customers.

The IRA’s provisions that encouraged apprenticeships helped “open doors that many didn’t even know existed,” said Andy Buck, government affairs director for the Wisconsin and Upper Michigan district of the International Union of Painters and Allied Trades.

He said the union has added a number of jobs, including apprentices, installing energy-efficient glass in buildings on projects that were facilitated by the Inflation Reduction Act.

“When someone enters a registered apprenticeship program, they aren’t just learning a trade,” Buck said. “They’re building a career, gaining self-respect, and finding a path to a better life.”

Another provision of the 2022 law opened up tax credits for renewable energy to nonprofit organizations and government agencies, allowing them to receive direct payments to the federal government comparable to the value they’d receive from the tax credit if they paid taxes.

A new middle school being built in Menasha will include solar panels and energy storage, said Matt VanderPuy, a business agent for the Sheet Metal workers union in Sheboygan. The direct pay program will reimburse the district $3 million, he said, while the energy savings is projected at $190,000 per year.

“This is money that they can reinvest into the students, the teachers and the school district,” while saving on property taxes, VanderPuy said.

‘Very ugly impacts,’ says advocate

At another news conference, former Lt. Gov. Mandela Barnes observed that more than 90% of the jobs that IRA incentives helped create are in Republican congressional districts — although no Republicans in the state delegation voted for the bill. Barnes leads Forward Wisconsin, a nonprofit established during Biden’s term in the White House to inform people about the Biden administration’s infrastructure and climate investments and to defend them.

But business uncertainty this year, which Barnes blamed on GOP positions including Trump’s tariff executive orders, has led nationally to the cancellation of projects worth $15.5 billion, he said.

“The so-called big beautiful bill is going to have some very ugly impacts in Wisconsin, ripping away tax incentives for wind and solar farms, for rooftop solar, for farm sustainability programs, for clean cars and school buses,” said Amy Barrilleaux, communications director for Clean Wisconsin, at the event with Barnes. “And giving more tax breaks to big oil and gas companies does absolutely nothing to create jobs here or any opportunities here — it’s a gift to big oil at the expense of Wisconsin families and at the expense of our environment.”

Heather Allen, policy director for Elevate, an energy efficiency nonprofit, said as many as 11,000 clean energy and manufacturing jobs in Wisconsin could be at risk.

Plans for a $2.5 billion network of electric vehicle charging stations in the state have stalled, Allen said, and Wisconsin manufacturers that would have supplied components “are going to lose that opportunity now.”

“This legislation is going to strangle our solar businesses with red tape,” Allen said. “What you have here is an attack on small businesses that are delivering clean energy solutions to help families save money on their energy bills. And that includes solar installers, but it also includes other home energy contractors, other construction jobs.”

In four recent polls, a majority of those surveyed disapproved of the Republicans’  megabill — making it “more unpopular than any piece of major legislation that’s been passed since at least 1990,” Barnes said.

At the labor news conference, Emily Pritzkow, the Wisconsin Building Trades Council executive director, said advocates are urging people to contact their members of Congress.

“The polling on this is abysmal, and as long as people continue to call and deliver that message , that is what we need to do right now,” Pritzkow said. “Now is the time to weigh in, not once it’s coming to your front door, impacting you, your community, and people you care about.”

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