Rep. Tom Tiffany made his intention to run for governor official Tuesday after teasing his plans for weeks. (Congressional photo)

Wisconsin U.S. Rep. Tom Tiffany launched his campaign for governor Tuesday afternoon — becoming the third, and highest profile, candidate in the 2026 Republican primary. 

The 2026 race for governor in Wisconsin will be the first open election in over 15 years as Gov. Tony Evers decided to retire at the end of his second term. Two other Republicans are already in the race: Washington County Executive Josh Schoemann and Whitefish Bay manufacturer Bill Berrien. 

“In 2026, Wisconsin will have a choice between opportunity, security, and freedom or following the path of failure seen in Minnesota and Illinois,” Tiffany said in a statement after officially launching his campaign on a conservative talk radio show hosted by Dan O’Donnell. “I will not allow our state to be dragged down that woke and broke road.”

Tiffany, who lives in Minocqua, had been teasing a run for governor for months and is expected to have an official launch event in Wausau on Wednesday evening.

The 67-year-old said in a statement that he would seek to “freeze property taxes, protect our farmland from Communist China, and fight every day for families, for farmers, and for the hardworking people who make this state great.”

In contrast to the short list of Republicans running so far, the Democratic primary field has become increasingly crowded in recent weeks. Official candidates include Lt. Gov. Sara Rodriguez, Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley, state Sen. Kelda Roys, state Rep. Francesca Hong and beer vendor Ryan Strnad. Others considering a run include Attorney General Josh Kaul, former Lt. Gov. Mandela Barnes and Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation CEO Missy Hughes, who recently announced she would be stepping down from her position in the Evers administration. 

Tiffany was elected to represent Wisconsin’s 7th Congressional District, a massive area that encompasses the northern part of the state, in the House of Representatives in a special election in 2020. He took over from current U.S. Transportation Secretary and former Republican Rep. Sean Duffy, who had resigned to care for his family.

Before going to Washington, D.C., Tiffany was in the state Legislature, first in the Wisconsin State Assembly for about three years, followed by nearly eight years in the state Senate. During his tenure, he served on the state’s Joint Finance Committee, which is responsible for writing the state budget. Before that, Tiffany was the Town Supervisor of Little Rice and managed petroleum distribution for Zenker Oil Company.

Tiffany said that he could stay in Congress for much longer if he wanted to, but that he thinks he can do more as governor and is in the race to “uphold conservative principles.”

“It really is time for new leadership and I believe I have the vision to be able to lead the state of Wisconsin and make us one of the great states of America once again,” Tiffany said. 

In Congress, Tiffany is a member of the right-wing House Freedom Caucus and has been a consistent ally to President Donald Trump. Tiffany also supported attempts to overturn former President Joe Biden’s win in the 2020 presidential election. So far this year, Tiffany has supported Trump’s tariffs and crack down on immigration, including targeting the H-1B visa program. 

“I support them,” Tiffany said of Trump’s tariffs in his interview with O’Donnell. “At the end of the day if the tariff regime is handled properly, we are going to bring manufacturing back to the United States of America.” 

The Democratic Party of Wisconsin Chair Devin Remiker criticized Tiffany in a statement, calling him “Tariff Lover Tom” and saying he “has been jacking up prices on Wisconsin families with his blind support for a trade war that is making everything from beer to beef to school supplies way more expensive — working Wisconsin families can’t afford Tariff Lover Tom being in charge.”

Tiffany said that he would also seek to uphold Wisconsin’s 20-week abortion ban. He has supported federal legislation in the past that would ban abortion at six weeks. 

“I do support that law, and I will uphold it as governor of the state of Wisconsin,” Tiffany said. “I think back to the debate that we had 10 years ago, and you had people on both sides. You had some that were, like, we want unlimited abortions. We had others that said there should be no abortions allowed in the state of Wisconsin, and ultimately, the people of the state said we really want to see something in the middle.”

Tiffany also said he would work to reduce taxes in Wisconsin, including freezing income taxes. He didn’t commit to a flat income tax or eliminating the income tax as some Republicans have proposed.

“I also believe we can reduce income taxes. Can we take it down to zero? I don’t know the answer to that,” Tiffany said.

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Jessica Seawright was joined at her launch event Monday by state Rep. Christine Sinicki (D-Milwaukee) and Sen. Chris Larson (D-Milwaukee). (Photo courtesy of campaign)

Jessica Seawright, a social worker, disability rights advocate and mother, launched her campaign for Assembly District 21 Monday.

All 99 Assembly seats will be up for election in 2026 and it will be the second time that legislative maps adopted in 2024 will be used. Under those maps, Democrats were able to gain 10 seats in 2024, bringing their numbers up to 45.

Their goal for 2026 is to hold all of their seats and gain at least five more in order to flip the chamber. Republicans have held the Assembly for the last 15 years.

Rep. Jessie Rodriguez (R-Oak Creek) currently holds the 21st seat located in Milwaukee County, including Oak Creek and a portion of the city of Milwaukee near the Mitchell International Airport. She was first elected in a special election in November 2013, and has won reelection six times. Since 2021 she has also been a member of the powerful Joint Finance Committee, which is responsible for writing the state budget every two years. 

Under the new maps, Rodriguez won another term in 2024 with 51% of the vote against her Democratic challenger. According to an analysis by John Johnson, a research fellow at Marquette University, the district leaned Democratic by 4 percentage points in the presidential election and 7 percentage points in the U.S. Senate race. Rodriguez has not yet  announced her reelection campaign.

Seawright said the new legislative maps provide the opportunity to ask for more from representatives. 

“I wanted more — more understanding, more presence and I decided that it was time to step up,” Seawright said. 

Seawright was joined at her launch event Monday by state Rep. Christine Sinicki (D-Milwaukee) and Sen. Chris Larson (D-Milwaukee). The Oak Creek venue where she made her announcement was previously part of Sinicki’s districts, before the maps changed.

Seawright said she sees the 21st as a 50-50 district.

“It’s really close, and not everyone is going to agree with me,” Seawright said. “The strength that I believe that I bring is decades of training, listening to people, understanding their perspective, understanding the impact of coming off extremely partisan, and what that does to stifle coordination, collaboration and participation of the voters of their residents in a community.” 

Seawright said her family has lived in Wisconsin since 2018, first in Racine and now in the Garden District community in Milwaukee. They moved from Utah because they had family in the state who would help with caregiving and respite for her 10-year-old son. 

“We have a fantastic neighborhood. I love it,” Seawright said. “We have community support. We have some great work happening in our parks,” including projects to make the spaces more accessible. 

Seawright said she has been working to build a coalition over the last six months leading up to her launch and she is launching over a year out from next year’s general election in November so she has time to get to know the district. 

“I want to be out there. I want to have open-ended conversations that aren’t pressured by me asking for folks’ vote before I earn it,” Seawright said. “I want to show up. I’ll be out in the community… I have the opportunity starting early to do the work that it will require to run for this office.” 

Her 10-year-old son, who has complex medical needs due to a genetic condition, is the major reason she became an advocate. She joined U.S. Sen. Tammy Baldwin to speak out against cuts to Medicaid and told the story of her son qualifying for and receiving services through the Katie Beckett program, which helps children with disabilities access Medicaid coverage while living at home instead of being in an institution. Her son also received a waiver for children’s long term support through Medicaid. Seawright worked with the Wisconsin Board for People with Developmental Disabilities and serves on the state’s Council for Children with Long-Term Support Needs. 

“I began to have the opportunity to spend time with adult self-advocates, and that was so powerful and inspiring, and it’s motivating,” Seawright said. “You want to step up. You want to be there to make sure that your friends feel heard.”

Seawright said that she wants to work for an expansion of Badgercare — Wisconsin’s Medicaid program — even as federal changes to Medicaid by the Trump administration caused Gov. Tony Evers’ administration to declare that it is “fiscally and operationally unfeasible” to expand it due to changes in Trump’s “One Big Beautiful Bill” Act.

“I look forward to exploring the options that make it feasible, because right now, we’re looking at folks on the marketplace having premiums increase so high that they’re going to lose access,” Seawright said. 

Seawright said that fully funding public education is another of her top priorities, especially increasing the special education reimbursement that public schools receive from the state. 

The special education reimbursement rate was raised to 45% under the most recent state budget passed by the Republican-led Legislature and signed into law by Evers. It is the highest rate in years, but fell below what Democrats and public education advocates had called for — a 60% or even a 90% rate.

“Kids like my son, who do need various services in order to access public school, have costs that are mandated by federal protections… I’ve heard from school boards and other school leadership, teachers that it is often pulled from the general fund, and it is making it very difficult to create the inclusive educational environment that I dream of for my son,” Seawright said. “I’d really like to continue and come back to special education reimbursement.”

She said she is flexible about the size of the increase to the reimbursement.

“I look forward to building connections with local leaders, with school boards, within the state Assembly, and talking about a pathway forward that moves us up every year, that moves us on a trajectory where Wisconsin regains its prowess around supporting our kids,” Seawright said. 

Her background as a social worker and her research on criminal justice inform her focus on improving community safety through treatment, prevention and alternatives to incarceration. 

“I am grateful for the work of first responders, for police officers, and I’ve worked alongside correctional professionals at the juvenile and adult level, and that’s kind of where I’m coming from,” Seawright said. “I am seeing what first responders are being asked to do… My mom is an emergency room nurse, and I see what folks are going through in terms of what comes into the emergency room, and I’m dismayed by any changes moving us away from prevention services being funded.”

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Jung launched his campaign on Tuesday from the waterfront in Racine, and was joined by some current lawmakers, including Sen. Kelda Roys (D-Madison) and Sen. Dora Drake (D-Milwaukee). (Photo courtesy of State Senate Democratic Committee)

City of Racine transit and mobility director Trevor Jung is running as a Democrat for southeast Wisconsin state Senate District 21 — the final of three districts that Democrats aim to flip in 2026 to help them capture the Senate majority. 

“I owe everything to my hometown,” Jung, who was born in Russia and raised in Racine, told the Wisconsin Examiner in an interview. “This is a special place with a lot of warmth and compassion… The state really has turned its back on places like the neighborhood that I grew up in, and whether you’re in Racine or Franklin or Greendale, the state has really neglected us.”  

Jung launched his campaign on Tuesday from the waterfront in Racine, and was joined by some current lawmakers, including Sen. Kelda Roys (D-Madison) and Sen. Dora Drake (D-Milwaukee). 

“For me, this is about giving back to the place that gave me everything, and focusing on affordability, good paying jobs and making sure that we avoid what everybody is really sick of, which is the nastiness, the politics that too often turn people,” Jung said. 

Democrats, who haven’t held a majority in either legislative chamber in over 15 years, need to flip two seats and hold their current seats in order to win the Senate majority in 2026.  

Along with SD 21, Wisconsin Democrats are aiming to flip are Senate District 17, currently represented by Sen. Howard Marklein (R-Spring Green), and Senate District 5, currently represented by Sen. Rob Hutton (R-Brookfield).

The 21st district’s incumbent, Sen. Van Wanggaard (R-Racine), has served in the Senate for the last decade. He was first elected to the Senate in 2010, but lost a recall election in 2012.  Wanggaard was unchallenged during his most recent general election in 2022. In his 2018 reelection bid, he beat the Democratic candidate with nearly 60% of the vote.

But this year the district has changed considerably under new maps adopted in 2024.The current district encompasses part of Racine County, including the northern part of the city, and part of Milwaukee County, including Franklin, Hales Corner, Greendale and Greenfield. 

According to an analysis by John Johnson, a research fellow at Marquette University, the area encompassed by the new district lines leaned Democratic by 1 percentage point in the 2024 presidential election and by 2.2 percentage points in the 2024 U.S. Senate race. 

“You’re going to have to earn every vote,” Jung said of the district. “We’re going to be out there. We’re going to be listening to people. We’re going to be having conversations about what priorities residents of the district have, and we’re going to make sure that folks know that this is not about left or right. This is about building relationships and solving problems and having honest conversations about how the state can work together with the private sector and local government to make the quality of life better for people who live in southeast Wisconsin.”

Shortly after Jung’s campaign announcement, Wanggaard criticized the Democratic candidate in a statement.

“While Trevor is a nice, friendly, soft spoken young man, he uses that to hide his crazy liberal ideas that are more at home in San Francisco than in Milwaukee and Racine counties,” Wanggaard said. “Do not be mistaken — he is every bit an extreme Madison/California liberal as there is. He will vote in lockstep with everything the Democrats stand for — from raising taxes to allowing boys in girls’ locker rooms.” 

Wanggaard said in a statement that he plans to make a decision about whether to run near the end of this year. In his most recent campaign finance report, he reported raising only $0.80 this year.

“My timeline for making a decision whether or not to run for another term remains the same,” Wanggaard said. “As I stated last November, last January, and in July, I will continue to discuss another term with my family and friends.”

Wanggaard said that he has been receiving support and encouragement to run. 

“The priorities for the next term will remain the same, and what I’ve heard throughout the district — grow the economy, improve public safety, eliminate fraud and abuse, and protect the vulnerable,” Wanggaard said. 

Jung said he will run a positive campaign focused on the issues that matter to people in the district.  

“While my opponent is going to try to make whatever the national narrative is that’s focused on politics and name calling, we’re going to be focused on having a vision for making people’s lives better in Wisconsin,” Jung said, adding that it is still unclear who his opponent ultimately will be.

Jung said his campaign is about responding to people’s needs. 

“We’ve got dramatic cuts in shared revenue to make sure that we’ve got proper public services and public safety,” Jung said. “You have the state of Wisconsin ranking 27th in spending per pupil in our public schools, when just a generation ago, we were one of the best states in the nation in terms of making sure our students have what they need to succeed.”

Jung said the 2023 changes to shared revenue were a “Band-Aid” for local communities such as his and that he wants to ensure public schools have adequate funding. 

“We’re funding two education systems, and that’s not efficient,” Jung said, referring to the expansion of taxpayer-funded private schools — though he fell short of saying he’d want to see an end to the state’s school voucher system. 

Jung said in his current position in Racine city government, he and others have worked to expand transit service to the Social Security office as a way to ensure that elderly and disabled residents are able to access their benefits. He said they have also worked to prioritize savings, by helping bring down the cost of public transit, service, by ensuring people get the most out of public transit and sustainability, through environmentally conscious decisions. 

In his current role, which he plans to continue as he runs for state Senate, Jung said that he has seen the state of Wisconsin fail to be an adequate partner. 

“Instead of being an ally in that work to save local government money and to deliver better service, in large part, they’ve been an adversary,” Jung said. “They too often focused on national politics rather than getting stuff done for people at the local level.” 

This isn’t Jung’s first time running for public office. He previously served as the youngest member of the Racine Common Council, elected at age 23. He ran for the office after graduating from University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee with a degree in urban studies and a focus on urban planning. 

His position on the common council, Jung said, “gave me a really good insight into, because of levy limits and revenue constraints and shared revenue, cuts that we had to make — really difficult decisions that we shouldn’t have had to make because of the state turning its back.”

Jung said that he has several priorities that he would want to work on in the state Senate that boil down to what he calls the “five Ts”: talent, training, transportation, technology and tourism. 

“If we get those right, Wisconsin can be one of the fastest growing states in the union,” he said. 

“What do we do to keep young people here and attract the next generation of talent in order to be a competitive place?” Jung asked rhetorically. “We need to work with organized labor and create a pipeline for the skilled trades so that people have access to family-supporting jobs.” 

Jung said that the state also needs to support public transportation, “whether that’s a robust public transportation system that gets people to work, doctor’s appointments, school or investing in alternatives to the personal vehicle, like transit and rail.” 

“We’ve got this new revolution in robotics and green energy and advanced manufacturing,” he added. “What can we do to make sure that Wisconsin is a place that is a leader in these new sectors?”

“This is the most beautiful state in the country,” Jung said, laying out his argument that tourism can do more for the economy. “Southeastern Wisconsin has an incredible architecture on the shores of Lake Michigan. We have a beautiful opportunity to make sure that visitors coming here can sustain the quality of life for residents who live here.” 

Jung said the state needs new energy and leadership that rejects “austerity” in favor of “investment.” 

“We need a positive vision for the future,” Jung said. “I’m excited about the youthful energy that we can bring to this campaign, but also looking forward to collaborating with people of all different walks of life to make sure that this is a well rounded and informed effort.”

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State Sen. Kelda Roys calls attention to the issue of child care funding during a June press conference alongside her Democratic colleagues. (Photo by Baylor Spears/Wisconsin Examiner)

Democratic state Sen. Kelda Roys of Madison said she will fight back against “extremists” as she launched her campaign for governor Monday morning. 

Roys, 46, is now the fourth candidate to enter the open Democratic primary. She joins Lt. Gov. Sara Rodriguez and Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley as well as Mukwonago beer vendor Ryan Strnad.

“I’ve been protecting our freedoms when others didn’t even see the threat coming. That’s leadership. See the problem. Build the coalition, deliver results,” Roys said in her campaign announcement ad. “I’ve done it while raising five kids and running a small business, because when something matters, we find a way.” 

Roys gave two reasons for why she is running for governor in an interview with the Wisconsin Examiner. 

“I’m running because Wisconsin needs a governor who’s going to stand up to what the Republican regime is doing and protect Wisconsinites from the harms that they are causing us,” Roys said. “And also because this is a time of incredible opportunity for Wisconsin, and we need a governor who knows how to get things done, how to deliver meaningful change for families across the state.” 

Promising to push back on the Trump administration, Roys said that means that “as people are losing their health care coverage because of the federal budget, as farmers don’t have the workforce to help harvest their crops, as small businesses are struggling with the high cost and uncertainty caused by Trump’s policies, I’m going to do everything in my power to help Wisconsinites thrive.”

Roys said the Democratic Party is struggling with low approval ratings because people aren’t seeing Democrats do enough to combat Trump.

“When I talk to folks all around the state, it’s because people are angry that Democrats don’t seem to be meeting this moment and ringing the alarm bells the way that we need to be right now,” Roys said. 

Roys was elected to the Senate in 2020 and has served as one of four Democrats on the Joint Finance Committee, which is responsible for writing the state’s biennial budget, since 2023. Prior to this, she served two terms in the state Assembly, including one under former Gov. Jim Doyle and one under former Gov. Scott Walker. 

Roys said her experience in the Legislature would help inform the way she would lead as governor. 

“Much to my chagrin, when you look at the governors who have been effective at cementing their legacies into the law, it’s the governors that have come from the Legislature,” Roys said. “Tommy Thompson and Scott Walker are really the top examples that we have, because they understood how to work with the Legislature.” 

Roys said the makeup of the state Legislature will not change her determination to get things done, though she is “bullish” in her belief that the state Senate will flip Democratic in 2026 and possibly the state Assembly, too. 

“My feeling is that you’re never going to get anything done alone. You always are going to need a team, and the job of the governor is to build that so that you can make durable change, and I will continue to maintain a strong relationship with Republican and Democratic legislators,” Roys said. “As governor, I’m going to be always looking for opportunities to partner with the Legislature, to reach across the aisle, because this is a purple state.” 

Roys said her history shows her ability to advance her priorities, even in a Republican Legislature, and that is what sets her apart from other Democratic candidates in the race.

One accomplishment, she noted, was her experience as a law student working with the Wisconsin Innocence Project to help pass Act 60, a criminal justice reform law aimed at helping prevent wrongful convictions, in a Legislature dominated by Republicans. Roys also noted the when she was executive director of NARAL Wisconsin, she advocated for the passage of the Compassionate Care for Rape Victims Act, which requires Wisconsin hospital emergency rooms to provide medically accurate oral and written information regarding emergency contraception to victims of sexual assault and to dispense emergency contraception upon request. 

Roys has been an outspoken advocate for reproductive rights during her service in the Legislature as well, calling for the repeal of the 1849 criminal law that ended abortion services in the state for a year and a half after Roe v. Wade was overturned, and the loosening of other abortion restrictions in the state.

Roys, who voted against the recent state budget, said she did so in part because of the lack of education funding. As governor, she said she would want to improve public education and ensure that “we’re not perpetually forcing our schools to go to their neighbors and ask them to raise their own property taxes just to keep the lights on and keep teachers in the classroom.”

Beyond funding, Roys laid out a couple of priorities for schools on her campaign website, including “using evidence-based learning, keeping smartphones out of the classroom, retaining high standards, engaging parents and community members as stakeholders and ensuring high quality professional development for educators.” 

This is Roys’ second time running. She came in third in the Democratic primary in 2018, when Evers was first elected, behind Mahlon Mitchell, president of the Professional Fire Fighters of Wisconsin. 

Wisconsin’s gubernatorial primaries are about 11 months away, scheduled for August 2026.  

The Republican primary is still taking shape as well. Whitefish Bay manufacturer Bill Berrien and Washington County Executive Josh Schoemann have officially entered the race. U.S. Rep. Tom Tiffany has said he will make a decision about entering the race by the end of the month. 

Berrien said in a statement about Roys’ campaign launch that Wisconsinites were not going to “elect a career politician who views the governor’s mansion as another stepping stone in her career” and that voters had already rejected her “extreme, far-left policies and Medicare for All Agenda.”

“As governor, I’ll create prosperity for all through work because it doesn’t matter who the Democrats nominate, I will beat them,” Berrien said. 

Roys said she hadn’t seen Berrien’s full statement, but it sounded “laughable.”

“I’ve actually spent more of my career in the private sector than in the public, but I still have way more experience than any of the Republicans thinking of running for governor,” Roys said.

In the six-year gap between her service in the Assembly and Senate, Roys founded Open Homes, an online real estate service, in 2013, as a way to “lower fees and make it easier for people to buy and sell their homes,” according to her campaign announcement. She first got her real estate license at 19 when she lived in New York City to help pay for college, according to the business website.

As for Berrien’s charge that she is “extreme,” Roys says, “there is no place for violence or violent rhetoric in our politics, but you have to look no further than the President that these Republicans support, who has unleashed an incredible amount of violent rhetoric that is meant to scare and intimidate Americans who disagree with him, and it’s not just his words, but it’s his actions.”

Roys noted Trump’s pardons of January 6th insurrectionists. 

“I don’t know what you can call those pardons, if not a permission slip for violence,” Roys said. “I don’t want to hear one word from Republican candidates about extremism, until they denounce their own president and his contributions to the terrible situation that this country is in.”

Roys said the biggest challenge that Democrats face in competing statewide in 2026 is a group of “very, very well funded billionaires and right wing extremists that gerrymandered our state and have been trying to buy elections here for a generation.” She said she would work to combat that by “building a strong statewide grassroots campaign of people from across the political spectrum who want to see Wisconsin actually solve our problems and move forward again.”

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State Senate candidates Lisa White (left, photo courtesy of candidate), Corrine Hendrickson (center, Wisconsin Examiner photo) and Sarah Harrison (right, photo courtesy of candidate)

Wisconsin Democrats have their eyes set on winning the Senate majority in 2026 and are two seats away from that outcome. With the general elections over a year away, current lawmakers started working towards their goal over the summer — endorsing their preferred candidates and working with them to boost their messages and critiques of Republican incumbents. 

But the strategy has ruffled feathers with some announced and potential candidates, who say lawmakers discouraged them from running and are acting as though party “insiders” should be able to determine who represents local communities.

November 2026 will be the first time legislative maps adopted in 2024 will be in effect for the 17 odd-numbered Senate seats up for election. Democrats were able to cut the Republican majority from 22 seats to 18 seats in 2024. They will need to win two additional seats to take the majority in 2026. 

There are three seats on Democrats’ target list: Senate District 17, currently held by Sen. Howard Marklein (R-Spring Green), Senate District 5, currently held by Sen. Rob Hutton (R-Brookfield), and Senate District 21, currently held by Sen. Van Wanggaard (R-Racine). Democrats are also looking to hold Senate District 31, currently represented by Sen. Jeff Smith (D-Brunswick). 

After the new state budget was signed in early July, Democrats immediately turned their attention to the elections. Senate Minority Leader Dianne Hesselbein (D-Middleton) and other members of the Senate Democratic caucus showed up for a pair of campaign announcements in July. 

Rep. Jenna Jacobson (D-Oregon) announced her challenge to Marklein, and Rep. Robyn Vining (D-Wauwatosa) launched her campaign challenging Hutton. The announcements were boosted by the Wisconsin State Senate Democratic Campaign Committee (SSDC), which is the lawmakers’ political arm that works to help Democrats win elections.

“One of the reasons why senators are getting involved with these candidates that are running is because we’ve known them for years,” Hesselbein said, recalling that she first met Jacobson in 2017 while she was serving on the village of Oregon Board of Trustees. “I was really excited about her candidacy.”

Hesselbein told the Examiner in July that the endorsements are not coming from the party.

“It’s senators that know the content of the character of Jenna Jacobson and Robyn Vining,” Hesselbein said. “That’s why we’re supporting them. We know that if there’s going to be a primary, there’ll be a primary.”

Hesselbein said she spoke with all of the people who were considering running to let them know what she was thinking. She said it was important to her that people know where she stood, mentioning that when she ran unsuccessfully for the Assembly in 2010, a late endorsement took her by surprise.

“I wish I would have known at the beginning what they were going to do. I’ve always been very extremely honest and forthright with everybody,” Hesselbein said. “They might be upset that I chose a candidate, but they certainly know the reasons why, and we had a conversation about it.”

Senate District 17 

For the last decade, Marklein has represented Senate District 17 — winning three elections easily and serving as the chair of the powerful Joint Finance Committee since 2021.  

Lafayette County Democratic Party Chair Nancy Fisker said her community is looking for someone who will represent the values and needs of rural Wisconsin and the task of beating Marklein, who tends to vote along party lines, will be hard. 

“He’s a great politician. He has a really great ground game. He’s been in office long enough that he has people in place who will put him in the right place at the right time,” Fisker said. “He’s very sociable, and people love that.”

Marklein won SD 17 with 60% of the vote in 2022. Under the new maps, however, the district is more competitive. An analysis by John Johnson, a research fellow at Marquette University, found the district leaned Democratic by 1 percentage point in the 2024 presidential election and by over 4 percentage points in the 2024 U.S. Senate race. 

Marklein hasn’t announced whether he will run for reelection yet. In July, he reported raising over $69,000. 

Fisker said the new maps have led to renewed excitement around these races. That excitement can be seen, she said, in the number of people who have shown interest in running, which was as many as seven people at one point. 

The first candidate to enter the race was Lisa White, a Potosi businesswoman and grandmother. She said she’s been concerned about cuts to Medicaid by the Trump administration as well as women’s and rural health care in general.

“My determination is to represent the southwestern portion of our state, which has not happened for decades,” White told the Wisconsin Examiner in an interview. “I feel I’m the singular voice in that pool of people who can truly, truly represent the entire district, and not just the Madison area.” 

White also said she wants to see an end to the private school voucher program in Wisconsin.

Corrine Hendrickson, a well-known child care advocate, is also planning to enter the race for the seat and launch her campaign later this month. 

Hendrickson told the Examiner in an interview that the recent budget process pushed her to consider running. The budget’s investment in child care did not meet what many child care advocates, including Hendrickson, said was necessary to help keep them afloat. Hendrickson also recently made the decision to close her own family child care program.

“We’re talking to the representatives. We’re inviting them in. We’re showing them our books… and it’s not enough, and so to me, that means that our representatives truly aren’t listening, and they’re just really moving the goal posts so that they have an excuse not to invest in child care,” Hendrickson said. 

Hendrickson said she was excited when she learned so many people were considering running in the race.

“We’ve had to beg people to run against this man in the past,” Hendrickson said, adding that knowing there were others weighing running made her consider, “Am I the best person? What makes me the best person?” 

“Really, the only way to find that out is to go through the process,” Hendrickson said.

With so many potential candidates, Fisker said county parties across the district decided they would host forums for those considering a run. 

County Democratic parties in Wisconsin usually do not endorse candidates in primaries, Fisker said.

“It’s always been very difficult to get people to run. People just aren’t interested in running for a variety of reasons. So this year we started looking around like we always do, and you know, we had seven people who raised their hand and said, ‘I think I’m interested, but I want to look into it a little further,’” Fisker said. “We were amazed.”

It’s not entirely unheard of for the state party to make endorsements ahead of primaries, especially when an incumbent is running for reelection. During the 2025 primary for the state superintendent, for example, the Democratic Party of Wisconsin endorsed state Superintendent Jill Underly for a second term.

Fisker noted the SSDC has nothing to do with the state party, and she said it was clear early that the sitting senators were planning to endorse a candidate.

“We thought we really had convinced them to wait,” Fisker said. “All it would have taken was them to wait for three or four months. We’re way out here from the election, and you know, the candidates would have self-selected at some point.”

Jacobson, surrounded by five Democratic senators, launched her candidacy the Monday after Gov. Tony Ever signed the new state budget — just a few days ahead of any county party forums taking place.

Hendrickson said she received a heads up from Hesselbein that she would be endorsing Jacobson and the top Senate Democrat encouraged her to run for the Assembly instead. Hendrickson said she felt the decision for Jacobson to announce alongside the senators just ahead of the forums being held “was a move to pressure us to back up.”

“They’re not voters. They don’t live in this district,” Hendrickson said of the lawmakers. “This district is hungry for a candidate that’s from the area, that understands the deep rural part of this district and how hard we’re all struggling as communities because of the state budget and because of the decisions that Marklein’s making as the co-chair of the JFC.”

Matt Raobin, owner of Brix Cider in Mount Horeb has decided against running for personal reasons, he said, but he described a similar experience in a Facebook post, saying that he reached out to members of the SSDC as he was considering a run.

“In that meeting, it quickly became clear that these are the people who choose the candidate, for better or worse. “We want to avoid a primary,” I heard repeated multiple times,” Raobin wrote, adding that he understood the desire to avoid a primary but also found it problematic. 

“We are in a moment when the Democratic Party needs to reinvent itself. Approval ratings are low. Nationally, we’re taking beating after beating from a Republican trifecta and a hard right Supreme Court. The last thing the Democratic Party should be doing is taking steps to block out new voices from having a chance to be heard,” Raobin wrote. “Avoiding a primary means avoiding the hard work of renewal. It stifles creativity. It squashes out new ideas before they’ve had a chance to grow. It prevents us from testing a candidate’s true viability, and it heavily favors insiders over outsiders.”

The county parties pushed ahead with the forums, giving candidates and potential candidates a chance to introduce themselves to answer questions from the community. 

“I’ve really not seen anything quite like this… we had people from six different counties who came to our forum in Hazel Green,” Fisker said. “It’s been really interesting and fun to see how much people want this… This is what democracy looks like. It should be up to them whether they want to run or not, and then, and then it’s up to us as voters to get out and vote for them in the primary and make our choice.”

White, who is continuing her campaign, said she understands that she is the “underdog” in the race, but thinks it will be worth it no matter the outcome. She said she hopes she is informing people along the way about the issues faced by  the district. 

“There’s no way I can lose if you look at the big picture,” White said. “How can you lose when you are bringing people in… that would have ordinarily tuned out.”

Senate District 5

In the southeast corner of the state, a similar situation has taken shape in Senate District 5. 

The district has been represented by Hutton since 2022 but has changed since the last time he ran. It’s a purple district that represents portions of Milwaukee County, including West Allis and Wauwatosa, and Waukesha County, including Pewaukee, Brookfield and Elm Grove.

Weeks before Vining’s announcement, Brookfield businesswoman Sarah Harrison became the first to enter the race.

Harrison told the Wisconsin Examiner she was encouraged by people in her community to run for the seat — some even reached out to make sure she was still running after Vining’s announcement. She said there is excitement about the race for the 5th Senate District because it appears winnable for Democrats. 

The self-described “data geek” said that as she considered whether to run, she looked at where Democrats had the strongest performances in the past and areas where Democrats could pick up votes and Democrats could grow more in parts of the district that cover Waukesha County. She said her strong “grassroots ties” there would help her connect with voters in areas that have long been represented by Republicans. She said she also brings her experience as a single mom, a business owner and someone who has worked with Fortune 50 and Fortune 500 companies.

“I still believe that I’m the best candidate for this seat,” Harrison said. Waukesha County residents, she said, “have been underrepresented for so long.”

Vining currently represents a third of the district in the Assembly. The other two Assembly districts are represented by Rep. Adam Neylon (R-Pewaukee) and Rep. Angelito Tenorio (D-West Allis).

Hutton hasn’t announced whether he’ll run again. He has raised over $5,600 this year, according to his July 2025 report, and has about $89,770 on hand. Campaign filings from July 2025 showed that Vining had raised about $3,000 from January through June and had about $22,000 on hand. Harrison had raised a little over $2,100. 

Harrison said she felt heard in her initial conversations with the SSDC about running, but that it soon became clear that there wasn’t anything she could do to earn the support of the lawmakers. She said primaries should be about vetting the “best candidates and the best ideas.” 

“We fought to end the gerrymandered maps so that voters could choose their representatives, and I respect that the SSDC wants to have a say,” Harrison said. “I won’t let that stop me from running. I’m a fighter.”

Harrison has run for office, running in 2022 for the Assembly in the seat once held by Lt. Gov. Sara Rodriguez, who is now the first Democrat to announce a campaign for governor. She pulled in 43% of the vote in the Republican-leaning seat. 

“It was drawn to be essentially unwinnable,” Harrison said. 

Michalski lost his reelection bid in 2024 to Vining. When Vining made her own pitch for her Senate candidacy in July, she underscored her record of winning competitive races.

In 2024 with new legislative maps in place, Harrison ran for the Assembly again, this time against Rep. Adam Neylon of Pewaukee. She brought in 41% against the incumbent.

“I took on the work and the labor, and I ran two really good campaigns that were beneficial to folks up the ticket, beneficial to the communities. I did all of that at my own cost, in terms of money and time. I had some support from the party, but not a lot.” Harrison said. “To turn around and make this endorsement, it was disappointing.” 

Harrison, who runs a data consulting company, said some of her top issues include ensuring local governments have sufficient funding and that people have access to affordable and accessible child care.

“We’re seeing that folks are hit hard by the need for local referendums because the state has not fully funded a lot of the things they’re requiring,” Harrison said, adding the 2023 law, which updated the way local governments received their shared revenue payment, was just “a toe in the right direction.”

When it comes to health and child care, she said “both of those impact working families and their ability to participate in the economy and to build a better life for their families.” 

She said she would also want the state to accept the Medicaid expansion and work towards “making sure that folks are able to be seen [by a doctor] in a timely manner.” However, she acknowledged the new obstacles that will exist to making those changes under the Trump administration.

“I’m very concerned, especially with some of the changes at the national level that we at the state level are going to have to provide more of a safety net,” Harrison said. 

As she continues her campaign, she has been doing “walk and talks,” getting out in the community to find out what’s on the minds of residents. 

“A lot of people do not want an anointed candidate that was chosen, kind of, by folks who are seen as being insiders. They want to make that choice. They want to have that primary to vet the best candidate. They don’t want a candidate handed to them.”

“It absolutely does make it more challenging for me,” Harrison said of the senators’ involvement. “But it also shows that I’m not someone who’s going to be a yes man. I am going to stand up for what I believe is correct.”

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Secretary of State Sarah Godlewski with her 5-year-old son in her arms officially launched her bid for lieutenant governor on Wednesday. (Photo by Baylor Spears/Wisconsin Examiner)

Secretary of State Sarah Godlewski launched her bid for lieutenant governor on Wednesday — passing on running for governor and becoming the first to enter the field for the position.   

At the Madison Labor Temple, Godlewski was joined by her 5-year-old son, Hartley, who from the podium shyly told people to vote for his mom, and her parents, who she said gave her advice that has led to her decision to run. 

“When you see something wrong, you’ve got to stand up and you’ve got to do something is what has guided me my entire life,” Godlewski said. “Whether it is my career where I started in national security to working in local government to supporting small businesses to eventually running the constitutional amendment to save our state treasurer’s office and now serving statewide, to me, this has always come down to one thing, which is how I can make the biggest difference in Wisconsin.”

Godlewski has served in her current office since March 2023. She was appointed by Gov. Tony Evers to fill a vacancy left when former-Secretary of State Doug La Follette, who had served in the position since 1983, abruptly stepped down less than three months into his term. The position in Wisconsin has been diminished over the years, in part because Republican lawmakers took away its responsibilities and in part because the office lacked resources, though Godlewski has worked to modernize its operations.

Godlewski previously served as state Treasurer from 2019 to 2022, running for the office just a couple of months after leading a successful campaign to urge voters to reject a Republican ballot measure that would have eliminated the position from the state constitution. 

When she won the election for Treasurer in 2018, she flipped nine counties in Wisconsin that voted for Trump in 2016 — something that she noted Wednesday in making the case for her candidacy. She didn’t run for reelection in 2022 because she ran in the Democratic primary for the U.S. Senate that year, withdrawing before the August primary election. 

If elected, the lieutenant governor’s office would be her third statewide position in Wisconsin. Godlewski said her sisters jokingly asked whether she was going for a record when she told them about her campaign. 

“All kidding aside, I’m not running for this office because I need another title,” Godlewski said. “I’m running for this office because I want to be a part of the team that’s not only going to win but is actually going to deliver for the state of Wisconsin.”

Former Democratic Lt. Gov. Barbara Lawton, the first female to hold the office in Wisconsin, and several Democratic state legislators were also at the announcement. Godlewski said she has endorsements from Lawton and 27 of state lawmakers — about 54% of the Democrats in the state Legislature. 

Rep. Jodi Emerson (D-Eau Claire) called Godlewski “Eau Claire’s favorite daughter,” saying she “knows how to build coalitions and bring people together across communities and even across partisan divides.” 

“When she sees a problem, she rolls up her sleeves and she digs in and she talks to people who need to get it fixed, from saving the treasurer’s office to revitalizing the treasurer’s office and the Secretary Secretary of State’s office to managing a $1.4 billion dollar trust fund to invest in our communities,” Emerson said — a reference to the Board of Commissioners of Public Lands, which Godlewski has served on both as state treasurer and secretary of state. 

Godlewski has said she has heard from people across the state who are struggling financially to afford their homes, health care and other expenses. 

“They’re fed up that workers who are critical to our community, like EMT workers and nurses and teachers, can’t even afford a home in the communities that they serve, while they’re watching these billionaires get tax write-offs for their second and third vacation home,” Godlewski said. “They’re fed up that corporations are cashing in on some of the largest tax breaks in our history, and families are getting the scraps.”  

She said she wants to help find solutions for those issues, but can’t work on them as secretary of state. 

Godlewski criticized Republicans and said Wisconsinites deserve better leadership. 

“In Madison this year alone, we’ve seen how Republicans have had an opportunity to expand Medicaid to 90,000 more Wisconsinites. They said no. Republicans had an opportunity to expand postpartum care for new moms. They said no. The Republicans had an opportunity to invest in our kids’ future by supporting and funding public schools. They said, no. But when it comes to giving tax write-offs for corporations and perks to the well-connected, they said yes, yes, yes,” Godlewski said. “This isn’t leadership. It’s betrayal.”

Godlewski told reporters that she decided to run for the number two position over running for governor because she thinks it will be the right fit for her. 

“We’ve got some major challenges we’ve got to solve in Wisconsin, whether it’s affordable health care to families being priced out of their communities, and I want to be a part of the team that’s going to help solve these problems for Wisconsin,” Godlewski said.

In Wisconsin, voters cast votes separately for governor and lieutenant governor during the partisan primary. After the primary, the winners run on the same ticket in November and voters choose them as a pair. 

Wisconsin’s partisan primary is about a year away and the Democratic field for governor is still taking shape. Godlewski didn’t make any endorsements in the race Tuesday.  

“We have a really impressive bench in the Democratic party, and so I look forward to seeing who’s going to get in” and to working with whoever is the nominee, Godlewski said. 

Gov. Tony Evers’ decision not to seek a third term has made the race for governor the first open one in Wisconsin in 16 years and is leading to some other open seats as well, including lieutenant governor and now secretary of state. With Evers not on the ballot, the Wisconsin governor’s race has been rated a toss-up by Sabato’s Crystal Ball. 

Lt. Gov. Sara Rodriguez jumped into the race for governor less than 24 hours after Evers announced his retirement. Other Democrats considering a run for governor include Attorney General Josh Kaul, Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley, state Sen. Kelda Roys (D-Madison) and state Rep. Francesca Hong (D-Madison).

Washington County Executive Josh Schoemann and Whitefish Bay manufacturer Bill Berrien are the two announced Republican candidates so far. U.S. Rep. Tom Tiffany is also considering a run for the office. 

Godlewski told reporters Democrats need to listen to people if they’re going to win statewide in 2026.

“We’re seeing how folks don’t trust politicians, and it’s because they feel like they’re not hearing us. They’re watching a system that’s working for corporations and not for them, and so, how do we build trust? We’ve got to travel the state, meet them where they are, listen and that’s how we rebuild it,” Godlewski said. 

She added she recently met a mom in Kenosha, who “literally has two jobs just to support her family” and met another family in the northern parts of the state who “are still drinking bottled water because they have PFAS that are coming out of their faucet.” 

“These are real big issues, and that’s what I look forward to talking about — things that are keeping Wisconsinites up at night — and actually doing something about it,” Godlewski said.  

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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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Gov. Tony Evers delivers his 2025 state budget address. (Photo by Baylor Spears/Wisconsin Examiner)

Gov. Tony Evers announced in a two-minute video Thursday that he would not be running for reelection — launching the first open race for governor in Wisconsin since 2010. 

The decision came after months of waiting as Evers said he wouldn’t make a decision until the 2025-27 state budget was completed. After he signed the budget in early July, anticipation of his decision increased along with debate over whether he would be the best candidate among Democrats. 

Evers said there was “no question” he could win another term, but said that “whether I’d win or not has never been part of my calculus about running again.” He said he won’t run in order to spend time with  his family.

“Wisconsin, the only thing I love more than being your governor is being a husband, a dad, and a grandpa,” Evers said. “For five decades, my family has sacrificed to give me the gift of service. They’re my world. And I owe it to them to focus on doing all the things we enjoy and love doing together.” 

Evers was elected to the office in 2018 — ousting Gov. Scott Walker in a close election. Previously he  served as state superintendent of public instruction from 2009-2019 and was known for his advocacy for public education. 

During his time in office, Evers has worked with Republican and Democratic lawmakers to write four state budgets, using  his partial veto power extensively at times, and signed new, fairer legislative maps into law.

A love letter from me to Kathy and my family—and to you, Wisconsin. pic.twitter.com/VDcztZ6JPy

— Governor Tony Evers (@GovEvers) July 24, 2025

 

Democrats on Evers not running

Democrats expressed appreciation for Evers’ service and are now considering the future, including who might run for the office.

U.S. Sen. Tammy Baldwin said Evers’ “commitment to every kid’s education, our teachers, and public schools will undoubtedly shape our future for the better and be a cornerstone of his legacy” and that his “steady hand led us through a once-in-a-generation pandemic, and Wisconsin came out the other side with a strong economy, record low unemployment, and a strong sense of community that bonds us all.” 

Assembly Minority Leader Greta Neubauer (D-Racine) said Evers’ election in 2019 “signaled the end of an era of right-wing governance and a new path forward for Wisconsin” and commended him for vetoing Republican bills that would have “harmed Wisconsinites” and working under split government to get “get things done where possible.” She said she respects his decision to do what’s right for him and his family. 

“Making the decision to step away from public office is not easy,” Neubauer said. “As Democrats, we will continue the work of ensuring the will of the people is the law of the land.”

Senate Minority Leader Dianne Hesselbein (D-Middleton) said Evers’ career has been built on “hard work, compassion, service to others, and family.” 

“He has sought and found practical solutions to tough problems, worked across the aisle when he could, and, when that was not possible, he has fought hard for Democratic principles in the face of Republican extremism,” Hesselbein said. 

Sen. Chris Larson (D-Milwaukee) told the Wisconsin Examiner that Evers has been a great “goalkeeper” during his time in office, but said Democrats need someone that will try to make goals. He expressed immense disappointment in the budget deal that Evers and Senate Democrats came to with Republican lawmakers and recently penned a letter, which has received over 40 signatures, laying out expectations for a potential 2026 candidate.

“I for one am glad that the governor is reading the room and ready to pass the torch to the next generation to step forward and to lead in this fight,” Larson said. “Now that he is moving on and not running, I’m excited to see who steps forward and what kind of platforms they are going to have to basically meet the moment, not just on K-12 education, but higher ed, on tackling climate change… [and] talking about health care.” 

Larson said he thinks the decision to step down could help build enthusiasm among the party’s base, which could bode well as Senate Democrats work to flip the Senate to a Democratic majority for the first time in 16 years. 

“It builds an energy, and it builds an excitement,” Larson said.

Larson said he isn’t worried about how a new candidate will match up with a Republican candidate. 

“The Republicans, [who are] all lining up behind a right-wing zealot who demands loyalty and has supporters who have driven themselves to be irrational and violent…,” Larson said, referencing Trump, “they’re all going down with the ship.”

This will be the first open election for Wisconsin governor since 2010. Some of the Democrats who have been mentioned as potential candidates include Attorney General Josh Kaul, Lt. Gov. Sara Rodriguez, Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley, Milwaukee Mayor Cavalier Johnson, state Sen. Kelda Roys, former Democratic Party of Wisconsin Chair Ben Wikler and former Lt. Gov. Mandela Barnes.

Rodriguez thanked Evers for his work in a statement, saying he has led the state with “integrity, compassion, and a deep belief in doing what’s right – even when it’s hard.”  

“There’s still work to do to make sure every family in Wisconsin has a fair shot at a better life – and I’m ready to roll up my sleeves and get to work,” Rodriguez said. 

Crowley told WISN-12 just before the announcement that he needs to speak with his family as he considers whether to run. In a statement, he praised Evers for his work that has supported Milwaukee County, including the passage of Act 12, which reworked local government funding in Wisconsin and gave Milwaukee the ability to levy a new sales tax.

“I’m especially grateful for Governor Evers’ partnership in passing Wisconsin Act 12 and securing new revenues and resources for Milwaukee County, putting us on a path to long-term fiscal stability for generations to come,” Crowley said. “Simply put, Milwaukee County is stronger, healthier, and better off because of the leadership and partnership of Governor Evers.”

According to the Associated Press, Barnes, who lost the 2022 U.S. Senate race against Republican Sen. Ron Johnson, said he is “considering” running. 

Republicans pan Evers’ record  

Two Republican candidates, Washington Co. Executive Josh Schoemann and Whitefish Bay businessman Bill Berrien, have already launched their campaigns. Other Republicans are still considering whether to run, including U.S. Rep. Tom Tiffany. 

Schoemann said in a statement that he wouldn’t be “outworked” while running for governor and said any Democratic candidate that runs “will be more of the same status quo but even more extreme than Gov. Evers.” 

“I look forward to contrasting my record of cutting taxes, reducing government and innovative reforms with their woke, radical agenda,” Schoemann said. 

Berrien told reporters on a Zoom call that Evers stepping down would not change his approach to the race. He jumped into the race earlier this month, declaring that he is similar to President Donald Trump, as an “outsider” and businessman. He is the CEO and owner of Pindel Global Precision Inc. and Liberty Precision New Berlin, which are contract manufacturers that make machined parts.

“We have a vision and a mission of where we need to take Wisconsin,” Berrien said. “Now that it’s not going to be Gov. Evers that I’m running against, it’s going to be someone probably sharply like him, so, you know, we’ve got our plan. We are aggressively getting around the state, listening and crafting a vision and a strategy.” 

Tiffany fell short of saying whether he would run for the office in a social media post, but said Evers “leaves behind a legacy of decline” and said the state needs to change course before “we end up like MN and IL.” 

Former Gov. Scott Walker also made a cryptic post on social media following the announcement, saying “interesting” with a photo of a red hat with the slogan “Make Wisconsin Great Again” and the numbers 45 and 47, referencing nonconsecutive terms served by President Donald Trump.

Assembly Speaker Robin Vos (R-Rochester) took a more cordial tone, wishing Evers and his wife well.

“No matter what side of the aisle we stand on, the decision to run for statewide office comes with many personal sacrifices that are worthy of recognition,” Vos said. “I want to thank Governor Evers for his service to the state of Wisconsin.”

Republicans have struggled to win statewide elections in Wisconsin in recent years, with the candidates the party supported losing  the last three state Supreme Court races, the last two governor’s races, the last two state superintendent races and the last U.S. Senate race.

Republican Party of Wisconsin Chair Brian Schimming said in a statement on  Evers’ decision to step aside that he  “saw the writing on the wall: Wisconsinites are fed up with far-left policies.” 

“While Wisconsin Democrats continue to lose the approval of voters, Republicans are already working on winning up and down the ballot,” Schimming said.

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At the location of the future Moss Universal Park, surrounded by about 50 people, including Democratic lawmakers and community members, Vining focused her remarks on creating a world where everyone can thrive. (Photo by Baylor Spears/Wisconsin Examiner)

WAUWATOSA — Continuing Senate Democrats’ effort to flip control of the state Senate next year, Rep. Robyn Vining (D-Wauwatosa) announced her campaign late Thursday afternoon for Wisconsin’s 5th Senate District, which is currently represented by Sen. Rob Hutton (R-Brookfield). 

At the location of the future Moss Universal Park, surrounded by about 50 people, including Democratic lawmakers and community members, Vining focused her remarks on creating a world where everyone can thrive.

“It’s going to take some construction — just like at this park,” Vining said, referring to the playground, which is designed to be accessible to children with disabilities and open to everyone in the community. “If we want a world that works for everyone, we need a government that works for everyone — not the few and the connected, but for everyone. That is the world I want to fight for. That is the world that we all deserve, and when we flip this seat and when we win the majority, we will work hard to create that world. We will move closer to a government that works for everyone.” 

November 2026 will be the first time new, more competitive legislative maps adopted in 2024 will be in effect for the 17 odd-numbered Senate seats up for election. All the seats in the  state Assembly and the governor’s office will also be up for election.

“We’re going to have a trifecta,” Senate Minority Leader Dianne Hesselbein (D-Middleton) told reporters. “We’re finally going to be able to get things done for the very first time in a very long time. We’re going to be able to fund K-12 education, higher education, child care and all the priorities that we’ve been fighting for for over a decade.”

Whether Democrats achieve “trifecta” control of both houses of the Legislature and the executive branch of state government hinges in part on a Democrat holding the governor’s seat. Gov. Tony Evers has not yet announced whether he’ll seek a third term in office, but the decision could come any day. 

“It’s my understanding that Gov. Evers is going to make up his mind in the next week and a half,” Hesselbein said. “If the governor wants to run again, we’re behind him all the way.” 

“It’s either going to be him or it’s going to be someone from the absolutely fabulous bench that we have, so we’re not worried,” Vining said. 

The path to the Senate majority, Vining and Hesselbein said, runs through Senate District 5. Republican lawmakers currently hold an 18-15 Senate majority, meaning Democrats need to flip two seats and hold all of their current seats to win the majority for the first time in more than 15 years. Two other competitive seats include Senate District 17, where Sen. Howard Marklein (R-Spring Green) is up for reelection and Rep. Jenna Jacobson (D-Oregon) announced her candidacy last week, and Senate District 21, where Sen. Van Wanggaard (R-Racine) is up for reelection. 

Senate District 5 includes portions of Milwaukee County, encompassing West Allis and Wauwatosa, and Waukesha County, including Pewaukee, Brookfield and Elm Grove. 

According to data from the Democratic Party of Wisconsin, the current 5th Senate District went for former Vice President Kamala Harris by 6 percentage points and Sen. Tammy Baldwin by 5 percentage points. The three Assembly districts that make up the Senate District are split — represented by Vining, Rep. Angelito Tenorio (D-West Allis) and Rep. Adam Neylon (R-Pewaukee).

“We see this as like a 50-51-ish… race where we’re favored ever so slightly,” Vining told reporters. “I mean, that’s the challenge.”

Vining is not the first Democrat in the race. Sarah Harrison, a Brookfield small business owner who ran a failed campaign for the Assembly in 2024, launched her campaign for the seat last month.

The incumbent, Hutton, hasn’t said whether he will run for another term in office. 

Hutton was first elected to the seat in 2022. In the Senate, he currently serves as the chair of the Senate Universities and Technical Colleges Committee and vice-chair of the Senate Transportation and Local Government Committee and has introduced legislation related to transgender Wisconsinites, including banning transgender girls from sports teams that align with their gender and allowing for civil action against medical professionals who provide gender affirming care, and some criminal justice bills, including some related to parole revocation and Wisconsin’s John Doe law.

Prior to the Senate, Hutton served in the Assembly from 2012 to 2018 and on the Waukesha County Board of Supervisors from 2005 to 2012.

Vining said of Hutton that constituents are “frustrated because they don’t know where he stands” on many issues, adding that education funding should be one of the top priorities for lawmakers. 

“What’s the special ed reimbursement rate that he supports? What is it? He’s not going to tell you. There’s going to be issue after issue where you really don’t know where he stands because he’s not going to tell you. I’m going to tell you, I support a 90% special ed reimbursement [rate], I’m going to tell you where I stand on issues,” Vining said. 

Vining has some experience running in competitive races. She flipped Assembly District 14 in 2018, beating out Matt Adamczyk, a former Wisconsin State Treasurer, by slightly more than 130 votes — less than half of 1 percentage point. In her reelection campaign in 2020 with Republicans targeting the seat, Vining beat the Republican candidate by 8 percentage points. In 2024 with new legislative maps in place, Vining ousted one of her Republican colleagues with whom she shared the new district.

“I’ve been the same person in politics the whole time — fighting for families as if they’re my own, fighting for affordable health care. I’m fighting for the things that people care about. People care that you A) listen to them and B) act on it,” Vining said. “I want to continue being the person that hears that you want a 90% special ed reimbursement rate and write the bill to do it and when your EpiPen is too expensive, I’m going to write a bill to try to make that better.”

Showing up to talk to constituents helps win tough districts, Vining said. She has represented about two-thirds of the new Senate district and said she is excited to get out and meet voters in areas she is less familiar with. 

“We have events. We talk with people. We listen. We build relationships,” Vining said.

“Democrats want to take the majority, and we can now spend the next 16 months casting vision for what it would mean to Wisconsinites for us to be in the majority,” Vining said. “It’s our job to cast vision so that people can latch onto it.” 

Vining’s vision focuses on finding the best way to serve people. She listed a number of issues that would be her priority to work on if she were elected and Democrats won the majority, including boosting education funding, improving child care, finally passing postpartum Medicaid expansion and addressing gun violence. She also said she wants to finally pass some of the bills she has proposed over the years while in the Assembly minority, including mental health related measures and a bill that would mandate universal adult-sized changing stations in restrooms in public buildings and encourage businesses to install them as well to help ensure accessibility for those who need it. 

“What we do as representatives is we need to see what we’re missing, and then make sure that we’re talking about those things,” Vining said. In the Assembly, Vining currently serves on the Children and Families Committee, the Health, Aging and Long-Term Care Committee, the Mental Health and Substance Abuse Prevention committee and the Small Business Development Committee. 

Constituents brought the issue of universal changing stations to her attention, she says  — something that other states across the country, including Alabama, have taken action on. A voter named Sarah and her son Matthew, who is disabled, had trouble going to public events because he would have to be changed on the floor of restrooms, she said. 

“Sarah came into my first office hours in February of 2019, right after I was elected, with Matthew [her son]. I met them, then she told me about the problem,” Vining said. “We wrote the legislation. We introduced the legislation and I’ve introduced it every cycle since.” 

Vining said she plans to introduce the legislation again next week. 

“Getting the majority also means making Wisconsin more accessible,” Vining said.

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No Kings Day protest march viewed from the Wisconsin State Capitol | Photo by Gregory Conniff for Wisconsin Examiner

Early campaign reports this week goosed speculation that Gov. Tony Evers might not run for a third term. Evers, who hasn’t declared his intentions, has only raised $757,214 this year and has $2 million in the bank, compared with the $5 million he raised during the same period in 2021, before his successful bid for a second term.

Some progressives, most vocally Dan Shafer, creator of The Recombubulation Area blog, have been calling on Evers to step aside. Traumatized by former President Joe Biden’s fumbling 2024 campaign, Shafer says Evers, who is 73 (a decade younger than Biden) should not make the mistake of hanging around too long and instead should “pass the torch.”

“This is not ultimately an argument about ideological differences or policy disagreements,” Shafer writes. For him, it’s about age. It’s about the Biden trauma. And it’s about the problem Democrats at both the state and national level seem to have nurturing the next generation of leaders.

For some progressives, it’s also about ideology and policy disagreements. Advocates for child care, public schools, criminal justice reform and protecting health care access were furious that Evers didn’t drive a harder bargain with Republicans in the recently completed state budget deal. 

Still, if Evers announces his retirement, a large, non-MAGA portion of Wisconsin will experience a moment of fear. In our closely divided purple state, there is a real possibility a Republican could win the governor’s office, just as new, fairer maps are finally giving Democrats a chance to compete for power in the state Legislature. The Republicans who have declared so far are wrapping themselves in the MAGA flag. Evers is popular across the state and has shown he can win.

Devin Remiker, the state Democratic party chair, has said he is “praying” Evers will run again. U.S. Rep. Mark Pocan, former chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, told reporters recently that he couldn’t think of a better governor for Wisconsin than Evers.

If Evers doesn’t run, Attorney General Josh Kaul, Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley, Lt. Gov. Sara Rodriguez, state Sen. Kelda Roys and Secretary of State Sarah Godlewski are all likely Democratic candidates.

“There’s plenty of people on the bench who would love to be governor,” Pocan said. “… that’s not a concern. It’s really, I want the best person to be governor, and I think the best person who could be governor on the Democratic side is Tony Evers.”

Pocan calls Evers a “responsible adult” in contrast to Republicans who are following President Donald Trump off a cliff, slashing health care and food aid and driving up prices and deficits, making life a lot worse for a lot of people, including a projected 276,000 in Wisconsin who will lose health insurance and 49,000 who will lose food assistance under the federal mega bill.

There is an argument that Evers — “the most quintessentially Wisconsin politician I’ve ever seen,” as Pocan put it — accomplished what most Wisconsin voters wanted him to do in the budget process, put politics aside and get the best deal he could for state residents. Working across the aisle to achieve shared goals with the other party — including a last-minute maneuver that mitigates the disastrous Medicaid cuts Trump and congressional Republicans pushed through, drawing down $1 billion per year in federal funds for Wisconsin, was, as Evers himself pointed out, “significantly different” from the dynamic in Washington. 

“How about that, compromise?” Evers said Wisconsin voters told him, happily, when they heard about the deal. 

If the definition of compromise is a bargain that makes everyone unhappy, Democrats and progressives are clearly the more unhappy parties to this bargain.

Despite the glow of productive bipartisanship when the deal was struck, the details — and how the deal was done — are beginning to grate on some of Evers’ biggest former backers.

Big majorities of Republican legislators voted for the deal in both chambers. Five out of 15 Senate Democrats joined them, and there were only seven yes votes out of 45 Democrats in the state Assembly, where Speaker Robin Vos, who helped craft the budget, made it clear he didn’t need or want Democratic votes.

Arguably, the Democrats who gave impassioned floor speeches denouncing the budget have been in the minority in the Legislature for so long they never have to think about making the kinds of compromises involved in governing a divided state. If you look at it that way, it seems unfair of them to react angrily to Evers, a decent man who shares their goals and has worked diligently to accomplish what he can in the face of nasty opposition. Apart from Minority Leader Dianne Hesselbein, who joined the budget negotiations behind closed doors after it became clear Republicans were going to need some Democratic votes in the Senate, Democrats were largely shut out of the whole process.

And that’s the real problem with the way Evers governs, according to Robert Kraig of Citizen Action. By not involving legislative Democrats from the beginning, he disempowered not just those individual legislators but their constituents, giving up the pressure he could have brought to bear on Republicans if he leveraged citizen outrage and demands for action on broadly popular priorities — funding public schools, expanding Medicaid, keeping child care centers open, and the whole list of progressive policies in Evers’ original budget proposal.

Instead, Evers was the kind of adult in the room who sends everyone else out when it’s time to make a decision. 

This governing style, Kraig argues, is badly out of step with the political moment. As an increasingly dangerous, destructive administration sends masked agents to grab people off the street and throw them in detention centers or deport them without due process, liquidates safety net programs and deliberately destroys civil society, it’s going to take a massive, popular movement to fight back.

Maybe Shafer is right that a younger, dynamic Democratic candidate could emerge as a leader of that movement. Maybe the Democratic Party needs to stop praying for likeable, bipartisan father figures to deliver victory and instead open the doors to the somewhat chaotic, populist backlash that is brewing against the oligarchic, authoritarian kleptocracy led by Trump.

It’s a big risk. But we are in very risky times. Democrats, and the public at large, have not yet figured out how to defend against the unprecedented maliciousness of our current federal government and the MAGAfied Republican party. The whole idea of bipartisanship seems outdated in a world where one side is seeking to tear up the social contract, the Constitution, due process, the justice system, fair elections, and the most basic, longstanding protections against poverty, hunger and disease.

These are the same conditions that gave rise to the Progressive Era. Fighting Bob LaFollette fought the leaders of his own party and founded a nationwide movement to wrest control of government from the wealthy timber barons and railroad monopolies who, through corrupt, captive politicians, fought to control all the resources of our state and nation.

Now those same powerful interests are fighting to claw back everything, to destroy the reforms of the early 20th century protecting workers, the environment, and the public sphere. They are smashing public institutions and flouting legal constraints.

Democrats need to make the case to the public that they will fight back. And they need the public to rise up behind them to help them do it. 

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Bill Berrien is the second Republican to officially launch his campaign for governor and criticized Gov. Tony Evers in his ad for wanting to raise taxes, his actions handling the Trump administration’s deportation efforts, vetoing a bill that would have banned transgender girls from participating on sports teams in an ad posted to YouTube and X. (Screenshot from campaign ad)

Bill Berrien, a Republican businessman and former Navy SEAL, officially launched his campaign for governor Wednesday, comparing himself to President Donald Trump and declaring his support for cutting taxes, deportation efforts and barring transgender girls from locker rooms.

Berrien is the second Republican to officially launch his campaign for governor. He joins Washington County Executive Josh Schoemann who announced in May and has already been on the road pitching himself to fellow Republicans. U.S. Rep. Tom Tiffany has also been considering a run for the office. 

“Just like President Trump, I’m a political outsider and a businessman. It’s time that we fire the bureaucrats and hire a businessman to fix the problems and take our state back,” Berrien said in a statement. It’s a shift for Berrien, who supported Nikki Haley in the 2024 Republican presidential primary and donated over $30,000 to her campaign — a track record that led to pushback against his candidacy from some Wisconsin conservatives. 

In an ad, Berrien spoke over a clip of Trump pumping his fist after last year’s assassination attempt. 

“A Navy SEAL is never out of the fight,” Berrien said as the clip played. “We’ve seen that fighting spirit from President Trump. It’s the same fight it takes to run a Wisconsin manufacturing business.”

“I’ll shake up Madison like he’s shaking up D.C.,” Berrien added. 

For the last 13 years, Berrien has worked as the owner and chief executive officer of Pindel Global Precision Inc. and Liberty Precision New Berlin contract manufacturers that make machined parts for an array of industries including aerospace, agricultural products, medical and firearms. 

A December 2024 report from WUWM details Berrien’s recent role as vice chair of the Wisconsin Defense Industry Council, a collaboration of the Metropolitan Milwaukee Association of Commerce and Wisconsin Manufacturers and Commerce, that seeks to push for more weapons production in Wisconsin. At the time, Berrien said he wanted to figure out how to encourage companies to supply directly to the Department of Defense and also connect businesses with “defense primes” — companies including Boeing, Lockheed Martin and Raytheon. 

Prior to working in the private sector, Berrien served as a Navy SEAL for nine years. He currently lives in Whitefish Bay with his wife and is the father of three. 

The Republican  hopefuls  have bashed incumbent Gov. Tony Evers, who hasn’t decided whether he’ll run for a third term. Evers said he would decide after the state budget process, which was completed last week, and this week said at a visit to Milwaukee to highlight the budget that he expects to announce a decision in a “couple weeks.”

Berrien criticized Evers in his ad for wanting to raise taxes, his actions handling the Trump administration’s deportation efforts, vetoing a bill that would have banned transgender girls from participating on sports teams and locker rooms that align with their gender identity and for using the term “inseminated person” in a section of his budget proposal on artificial insemination. 

Berrien also criticized the movement of manufacturing jobs to China by “globalists” and took a swipe at “career politicians.” 

“Enough,” Berrien said. “I will cut taxes, increase wages and make Wisconsin the manufacturing powerhouse to the world, again.” He also said he would use law enforcement to keep “criminal illegal” immigrants out of Wisconsin and “keep boys out of our daughters’ sports and locker rooms.” 

“President Trump is taking back Washington for the American people,” Berrien said at the end of the ad — naming Trump for the fourth time during the 99 second spot. “Now it’s time to take back our state.” 

Berrien launched his “Never Out of The Fight” PAC in April to help “further” conservative causes and push Republican candidates to “get back to winning.” It reported raising $1.2 million in its first three months, according to WisPolitics.

Democratic Party of Wisconsin Chair Devin Remiker criticized Berrien, saying he was “rich enough to buy himself some attention and clueless enough to think that’s going to work — just like Elon Musk did this past April only to see his political career end.” 

The state party is “already building on our playbook that helped take down Brad Schimel, Tim Michels, and Eric Hovde,” Remiker said. “We have no doubt we’ll be in an even stronger position to defeat whoever Trump hand picks to do his bidding in the primary and emerges as the nominee.”

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Jacobson launched her campaign outside an elementary school in Ridgeway that was closed after the Dodgeville school district combined two elementary schools into one. (Photo courtesy Wisconsin State Senate Democratic Committee)

With the Wisconsin state budget completed just last week, Senate Democrats are gearing up for 2026 elections and their shot at a majority. Rep. Jenna Jacobson (D-Oregon), surrounded by a group of current Democratic senators, launched her campaign Monday for Senate District 17, currently represented by one of the Senate Republicans central to shaping Wisconsin’s budget. 

There are about 16 months until November 2026 when half of the state Senate, the entire state Assembly and the governor’s seat will all be up for election. This will be the first time the new legislative maps adopted in 2024 will be in place for the 17 odd-numbered Senate seats.

Democrats gained four seats in the Senate in 2024 — breaking the GOP supermajority and leaving Senate Republicans with a margin of 18-15 majority. They will need to win at least two seats if they are to win the majority for the first time in more than 15 years.

Sen. Howard Marklein (R-Spring Green), the co-chair of the powerful budget committee, is the incumbent, having first been elected to the seat in 2014 after serving two terms in the Assembly. 

Lisa White, a Democrat who runs an interior painting business, is also running for the seat.

Jacobson, who is serving her second term in the Assembly, told the Wisconsin Examiner that she is challenging Marklein in part because he hasn’t been listening. 

Marklein won the district with 60% of the vote in 2022, but Senate District 17 changed considerably under the new maps. According to an analysis by John Johnson, a research fellow at Marquette University, the district leaned Democratic by 1 percentage point in the 2024 presidential election and by over 4 percentage points in the 2024 U.S. Senate race. 

“The biggest thing that I see about this district is that people really want somebody who’s going to represent what they’re fighting for, what they need and listen to them, and even listen to them when they don’t necessarily agree,” Jacobson said. “They’ve been not receiving that in their current state senator.” 

Jacobson cited a report in the Monroe Times of a Marklein listening session in Belleville in January — coincidentally on the same day that Jacobson was holding one there. 

“There was a list of rules of what would and will not be happening in that listening session,” Jacobson said. “That, to me, is the starkest example of what it means to listen to your community, because I was inviting anybody… there are no rules. I’m open to having a conversation with anybody at any time.”

Marklein’s notice told residents that it was “designed for the senator to receive input and ideas about issues facing residents in the 17th Senate District” and he didn’t “plan to answer questions, debate ideas, challenge the ideas, or otherwise comment because he is seeking to hear every point-of-view equally.” The notice said that “the goal is for every attendee to feel comfortable sharing their input.” It also advised those attending that  their comments might be subject to a time limit. 

Jacobson launched her campaign outside an elementary school in Ridgeway that was closed after the Dodgeville school district combined two elementary schools into one. She called Marklein a “classic politician” who she said has “failed” the Senate district. 

“Our district has time and again been forced into referenda to fund our schools because Howard Marklein has chosen power over people,” Jacobson said. “He has chosen ideology over voting for the needs of the district. That is irresponsible governing.” 

Jacobson first ran for the state Assembly for an open seat in 2021 and said her service on the Oregon village board showed her how local government intersects with state government and why it’s important to shape the latter.

Her announcement came less than a week after lawmakers and Gov. Tony Evers completed the state budget. The Republicans’ narrower Senate majority led to a new dynamic during the budget process. With Democratic votes necessary to pass the bill, Minority Leader Dianne Hesselbein (D-Middleton) became involved in budget negotiations.

Hesselbein joined Jacobson at her campaign announcement Monday, along with Sens. Kelda Roys (D-Madison), Mark Spreitzer (D-Beloit), Dora Drake (D-Milwaukee) and Brad Pfaff (D-Onalaska). 

Jacobson has been fighting for public school funding, Hesselbein said. “In the Senate, she will dedicate herself to lowering costs for your families, to creating a bright future for your children, and making our state stronger every day,” Hesselbein said. “We are excited and proud to be standing behind her in this campaign and we look forward to her joining us and helping us win a Democratic majority.”

Jacobson voted against the budget, joining 37 other Assembly Democrats.

Democrats credited the new maps and the Senate’s closer margins for the budget agreement, which included an increase in funding for special education, the University of Wisconsin system and child care. The bill passed thanks to five Senate Democratic votes, although a recurring theme among Democrats whether they voted for or against the budget, including Jacobson, was that it wasn’t perfect. 

Jacobson said that was part of the reason she launched her campaign. 

“I was hoping under these new maps — with even more voices talking so loudly about the fact that they need state assistance when it comes to affording child care, they need more funding for our schools, they need real help on the everyday costs that are facing Wisconsinites — that under this new more competitive district that would be represented in the state budget,” she said. “What we’re seeing is that the cycle of referendums is not going to end under this budget… and that was a missed opportunity in this budget.” 

During the final discussions over the budget, Marklein emphasized that the document was a “compromise” between Republicans and Democrats while highlighting items affecting his district, such as funding for the UW system that would help the Platteville campus. Marklein did not respond to an email from the Wisconsin Examiner on Monday asking about his 2026 plans and his response to Democrats targeting SD 17.

Jacobson said she doesn’t view Marklein’s long tenure as a state lawmaker as a challenge. She said she is more concerned with the size of the Southwest Wisconsin Senate district, which encompasses Iowa, Lafayette, Green, Crawford and Grant counties as well as parts of Dane County.

“It’s a big district, but the benefit of that is that it’s filled with these amazing rural communities that when people think about Wisconsin that’s what they think of…,” Jacobson said. “Sure [Sen. Marklein has] been an incumbent for a while, but has he been out? How much is he doing outside of walking a parade to really listen to the district?” 

Jacobson, a mother of three children, said public education funding will be one of her top issues, though she is also more concerned about hearing from others. She said she has been traveling the district over the last few weeks and hearing an array of concerns from residents.

“They’re concerned that they’re going to have to have more referenda because of the lack of school funding to increase their property taxes even more,” Jacobson said. “They’re concerned that without meaningful work or support from the state — our health care system in that area… seven hospitals… multiple clinics — those are going to potentially be in jeopardy.”

Correction: This story has been updated to correct the number of seats Democrats need to gain in 2026 to win a Senate majority. 

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“We’ve got a lot of work to do,” Remiker told the convention after he won. “And I want to figure out how we can all work together to best support Democrats in every corner of this state.” (Photo by Baylor Spears/Wisconsin Examiner)

The Democratic Party of Wisconsin met over the weekend at a waterpark resort in the Wisconsin Dells to kickstart its work to compete for crucial seats in government in 2026. Delegates elected  Devin Remiker as chair, a senior advisor to the party who was endorsed by outgoing party chair Ben Wikler. In sessions throughout the weekend state Democrats considered what needs to change for the party to succeed and speakers talked about what Democrats would do if they won a trifecta in state government. 

Remiker chosen in three-way race 

The state party elected Remiker over Joe Zepecki and William Garcia in the race for chair Sunday afternoon. The party used ranked choice voting to choose the winner after  delegates watched a video on how the process worked on Saturday evening.Voting took place the next day. 

Remiker received 485 votes, including 437 first choice votes and 48 second choice votes, putting him over the other candidates. Zepecki, a communications professional, received 415 votes, including 330 first choice and 85 second choice votes and Garcia, chair of the La Crosse County party, received 139 first choice votes, resulting in his elimination in the first round.

“We’ve got a lot of work to do,” Remiker told the convention after he won. “And I want to figure out how we can all work together to best support Democrats in every corner of this state.” 

Remiker, a 32-year-old Two Rivers native, will succeed Chair Ben Wikler, who has led the party since 2019 and decided not to run for another term. He most recently served as a senior advisor for the state party, though he’s been involved with the party in various capacities, including as executive director for a time, since 2018. 

Remiker said he was glad that the party was unifying around  a vision to build on what works, which will allow the party to “hit the gas” into 2026 when elections for the state Supreme Court, governor, Congress and the state Legislature take place.

“There is one thing that we can do, and it is elect Democrats at all levels to send a message to Donald Trump and Republicans in this state that we will not stand for their divide and conquer politics any longer. We will win big,” Remiker said. “We are just 18 months away from a trifecta and 18 months away from history. Let’s hit the gas, and when we win, it won’t be an accident. It will be because we put in the work.”

The chair campaign over the weekend 

The candidates for chair spent the weekend working to make their case for the position, including addressing the convention in speeches Saturday evening. During his speech, Remiker said questions about whether Democrats are fighting back and why the party is broken don’t apply in Wisconsin. 

“In Wisconsin, the Democratic party works,” Remiker told the convention. “We don’t need to fix what isn’t broken. We need to build on what works and, folks, we know what works. Success isn’t an accident: year-round organizing, showing up everywhere, fighting tooth and nail in every election — spring, fall, special — taking nothing for granted. Now is not the time to reset. Now is the time to double down.”

Remiker had the support of out-going chair Wikler, who spoke on his behalf as well. During his campaign he also garnered the support of U.S. Rep. Gwen Moore and the Democratic leaders of the state Senate and Assembly.

“It was Devin who made the plan to fight back when Elon Musk came to town. It was Devin who figured out how to make it backfire,” Wikler told the convention on Saturday evening. “He’s brilliant. He’s an organizer. He’s kind. He gets rural. He gets grassroots, and he knows how to fight in a moment when we need a fighter.”

Remiker told reporters Sunday afternoon that he would have won the election even without Wikler’s support. 

“Even prior to that, I had tons of endorsement and public support from around the state from elected officials, party leadership,” Remiker said. “It was just a little added boost as we had it into the final shot.” 

Garcia had made his case to the convention that the party would win a trifecta in 2026 and he would help do that by strengthening the county parties and ensuring they have the tools, resources, information, and training they need to succeed. 

“County parties need the support to welcome new members and organize new voters to the Democratic side,” Garcia said. “Building local parties means talking to voters everywhere and winning votes everywhere… The path to victory is making our community stronger.” 

Garcia also emphasized that he would reach out to young people, a message that resonated with some.

Jasmine Puls, a senior at UW-Green Bay, said Garcia became her top pick because of that. She said he appeared to be meeting with everyone during his Saturday evening event and told her that he would be willing to visit her campus. Each candidate had a “hospitality suite” after the close of business on Saturday where they could speak with delegates. 

Puls said Garcia felt “like he’s the more personal choice, especially for youth voters,” Puls said. She also noted that Remiker’s event felt a little “show-outy.”

“There was like prime rib and everything was like extreme, and we were getting free cups, free drinks, free everything,” Puls said. “It was huge, but it felt like a show and it just didn’t seem real and authentic.”

Asked about how much he spent on his campaign and about the food served at his campaign events, which also included escargot, Remiker said he “spent enough to win” and said the food was part of Wisconsin tradition.

“I was delighted to have a Wisconsin supper club theme at my hospitality suite last night. We did have prime rib, but it was a Saturday night, and that’s a Saturday night special here in Wisconsin,” Remiker said. “I had a ton of fun. It was a great campaign. I’m really proud of the campaign.” 

Zepecki, meanwhile, ran a campaign that focused on helping make changes to the party that could help seal gaps he identified as a problem.  As he spoke to the convention, he said Wikler has done a great job strengthening the party, but Trump and U.S. Sen. Ron Johnson’s election victories in Wisconsin are proof the party has work to do.

Brenda Vinall-Mogel, a member of the Burnett County party, told the Examiner that Zepecki showing up in her county helped make him her top choice for chair. Zepecki told the convention on Saturday that he traveled 5,000 miles across Wisconsin to listen to people and to make the case for his candidacy.  “We should actually be out in the bars, talking to the people, getting to know them,” Vinall-Mogel said, “asking questions going to the farm days, whatever, and talking to people there and find what their questions are. We need to do a lot of listening.” 

Remiker said that he will help the party work to improve its communications as chair. He said the party specifically needs to be clear that it represents the working class and is working to defend people’s rights and freedoms as well as democracy. 

“We’re going to repeat it in as many mediums as we can and get more messengers that are able to carry that message. The information age kind of divides people’s attention into different groups, into different buckets and niche interests,” Remiker said, adding that Democrats need to work on “connecting the dots about how politics impacts nearly everything in everyone’s lives.”

Wikler preparing to depart as chair

Wikler received major props for his work from elected officials and other Democrats throughout his last convention as chair. Under his leadership, Wisconsin Democrats have won 13 of the last 16 statewide elections under his leadership, flipped the ideological balance of the state Supreme Court and won back seats in the state Legislature after new, fair maps were implemented in 2024. 

“Ben Wikler — what an incredible run!” U.S. Rep. Mark Pocan said. “It is great to be here at the convention of the strongest state political party in the United States of America. Thank you Ben for everything you’ve done.” 

U.S. Sen. Tammy Baldwin said Wikler has been an “extraordinary leader of this party” and added that she wouldn’t have secured another term in office without the work of him and the party. 

As he opened the convention, Wikler celebrated the “No Kings” protests across the country on Saturday ahead of the convention. Thousands of Wisconsinites and millions of Americans protested against Trump, Wikler noted,  adding that they pushed back against a president who thinks “he is above the law, who arrests judges, including in Wisconsin and members of Congress, including U.S, Senators, who sends Marines into U.S cities, who wants to rip health care from millions of people to hand tens of billions or billions of dollars to his royal courtiers, a man who doesn’t see himself as an elected official, but as a king.” 

Wikler said the party convention is a time for Democrats to reconnect, choose new leaders and train each other for the work ahead, saying that “activism and courage” and “willingness to stand up for what is right” is how he knows the country will survive Trump’s presidency. 

“We will get past these years under a would-be Mad King and tin-pot dictator held in check by Democratic values that President [George] Washington sowed into the fabric of our government,” Wikler said. “The Trump administration will end one day.”

Wikler told the convention during a conversation with Baldwin that he plans to go on vacation with his family after his term ends and is working on developing a pitch for a book that may look at the lessons that can be learned from Wisconsin. He also reassured the room that this won’t be the end of his political involvement. 

“I want to stay involved in the fight,” Wikler said. “We’ll see what that will look like.”

In accordance with the state party’s constitution, the outgoing state party chair remains on the governing body for an additional year.

Wikler told reporters that he “absolutely” wants to help support Remiker and the party in its work to win a trifecta. The last time Wisconsin Democrats held a trifecta was from 2009 to 2010.

“There’s an enormous opportunity for a breakthrough in our state over this next 18 months,” Wikler said. “At the same time, I want to take time with my family, and I’m working on a book proposal… then I’ll figure out how I can be useful.” 

Party members say they’d support Evers running again 

One of Democrats’ goals for 2026 is to maintain control of the governor’s mansion in Wisconsin. 

Gov. Tony Evers is still weighing whether he’ll run for a third term in office, but party members appeared supportive of a third run. 

When Evers addressed the convention, he highlighted the work that he’s done over the last several years and emphasized that the work towards winning in the future has to start immediately.

“Everyone stopped calling me two-term or three-term Tony, and now they just call me 400-year Tony,” he said, referencing his partial veto of the last state budget in 2023 that extended a school revenue increase for 400 years. The State Supreme Court recently ruled the veto was constitutional to the anger of Republicans.

The crowd broke out into chants of “Tony, Tony, Tony.” 

Evers also chastised the Trump administration and Republicans for being “at work to obliterate our constitutional checks and balances,” and noted that Republicans fired thousands of federal employees and are trying to cut Medicaid and the Affordable Care Act.

But he said that Democrats are “raising hell too.” 

“When the Trump Administration tried to gut billions of dollars of federal funding that Congress approved and Wisconsin was counting on for our schools’ health care infrastructure, we sued,” Evers said. “When they tried to fire tens of thousands of federal workers, leaving them and their families in a lurch, we sued them. When they tried to gut AmeriCorps, which would affect the services and communities [in] more than half of Wisconsin’s 72 counties, we sued.” 

Evers’ AmeriCorps lawsuit is part of what makes Puls of UW-Green Bay supportive of a third campaign.

“I really hope that he actually makes some changes, especially because I just lost my job from the AmeriCorps funding cuts,” Puls said. “He promised to help with that and fix things, so I’m really — I’m hoping for the best. I’m hoping that he stays true to his word.” 

Margetta Souder of the Eau Claire County Democratic Party also said Evers needs to run again. 

“[Evers is] one of the better governors we’ve ever had, and I think he’s effective if he’s allowed to do what he does best,” Souder said, adding that flipping the Legislature would help him get things done. “If I were him, I would be depressed because of how much harder he has to work in order to get anything done,” Souder said. “He needs support.” 

Mark Unak, an economist and member of the Milwaukee County Democratic Party, said he also wants Evers to run again, and appreciates that he is a “straight-shooter.” 

“His hands are tied with the Legislature, but what he has done has been good,” Unak said. “He comes out of the education department. He knows what the numbers look like. He knows what the demographics look like, so I think he’s a realist.” 

When it comes to other names that have been thrown around, Unak said he wasn’t sure there was a candidate who could fill Evers’ shoes. 

“No offense to [Lt. Gov.] Sara [Rodriguez] and no offense to [AG] Josh Kaul. I don’t think either of them are strong enough to win as governor,” Unak said. 

Sam Laude, a UW-Green Bay student, said some people have been discussing the issue of Evers’ age. He is 73 and would be 75 at the start of a third term if he were to run and win. He said Democrats have had a trend of older candidates and said former President Joe Biden dropped out of the 2024 campaign too late. However, he said Evers is still extremely popular and would likely win another term.

“As long as he maintains that energy, he can absolutely go for it,” Laude said. Watching Evers at the convention, he said he  “definitely still had the energy,” adding that he had hundreds of conversations with people waiting in line to talk to him at an ice cream event Saturday evening. “I think he’s still got it and I hope that continues in the future.”

Laude said that if Evers decided not to run, he would want Wikler to run for governor. 

“He deserves a break. Let him hang out with his family this summer, but we do need a presence like Ben Wikler,” Laude said, adding that he has built bridges in the party and thinks his background, including his background as a student at Harvard, would serve him well.

“He’s plenty smart for the position — would be probably more qualified than most Republican governors to be blunt — and does genuinely care about all these big issues that are impacting Wisconsin,” Laude said. “He would support education, health care access, all those things.”

“I’m on Team Tony for a third term,” U.S. Rep. Mark Pocan wrote on social media ahead of the convention. “There is truly no one more quintessentially WI than [Evers]. Bring on the Addam’s Family island of misfit candidates in the GOP. Evers wins because he’s the best for WI.” 

Rep. Jodi Emerson (D-Eau Claire) told the Examiner that she would support Evers’ decision either way, though she said she would love to see him run. She declined to comment on who she would want to run if Evers decides otherwise, but said there are some “really strong people who are kind of waiting in the wings if he doesn’t want to.” 

“We haven’t seen a Democrat with this high of ratings in a long time. I think he is beloved when he goes out into my district — everybody is so happy to see him. I would love it if he ran for a third term. I also understand if he’s, like, well, you know, I’ve had quite a few years in public service. It’s time to go on,” Emerson said. “The important thing to me is that we get this trifecta next year.”

During his speech, Evers said Republicans “better start getting used to Democrats being in power in the state,” noting that 2026 will be the first time that every member of the Legislature will have had to run under the fair maps he signed into law in 2024.

“With a Democratic trifecta, Wisconsin could expand Badger Care, pass paid family leave, get contaminants out of our water and get our kids and schools the resources they need, and yes, we could finally legalize marijuana,” Evers said to the cheers and whistles from the convention. 

Evers said Democrats need to begin building the foundation to win elections now. 

“We have to win… we’re going to fight like hell to make sure we do because the stakes could not be higher or not,” he said.

Lawmakers eye majorities

A Democratic trifecta would also rely on the party holding the line and making gains in the state Assembly, where Democrats are five seats away from a majority, and in the state Senate, where they are two seats from a majority.

Senate Minority Leader Dianne Hesselbein (D-Middleton) appeared confident that Democrats can win the Senate in 2026. Assembly Minority Leader Greta Neubauer (D-Racine) did not speak at the convention.

“We will get it done,” Hesselbein said. 

Hesselbein said Republicans have been holding the state back from progressing, calling attention to Wisconsin Republicans’ support of enforcing a criminal 1849 law to ban abortion and and their gutting of Evers’ state budget, removing items that would have invested in child care programs, school meals for all and tax exemptions for diapers and over-the-counter medications. 

“When we’re in the majority in the state Senate — and it will happen soon — here’s what the budget will look like. We will put our kids first by finally fully funding our K-12 education… We will make historic investments in the UW and the university system, and we will stop meddling in the colleges and universities. We will make sure that the rich pay their fair share taxes,” Hesselbein said. “That’s just the budget.” 

Hesselbein said Democrats would also work to ensure women have reproductive rights and pass paid medical and family leave. 

Emerson said she thinks the prospect for a majority looks “really, really good for next year.” 

“I’m a perpetual optimist when it comes to elections, though I’ve had my heart broken many times, but I really do think it is within our grasp.” 

Emerson said Democrats could see a boost with Trump in office.

“I think we are gonna see a lot of people who are either only Trump voters and will not come out for a non-Trump election or they’re people who are seeing what’s happening not only in their community but across the country and across the world because of Trump and are saying, ‘nope, not anymore, we’re not going to put up with it,’” Emerson said. 

Emerson said that Democrats are working to actively recruit candidates to run and are focused on holding Republicans accountable and encouraging constituents to do the same. She noted that Democrats have been holding town halls, including in Republican represented areas, as well as working to communicate with people about what is going on in the state Legislature.

Emerson said she has a “whole spreadsheet” of priorities if Democrats win the majorities. She said Democrats are prepared to be  in the majority and are using the current session as a “dress rehearsal” even as they play defense against Republicans. 

“There’s so many [Assembly Bill] ideas out there. For me, I think it really does need to be codify Roe into law,” Emerson said, adding that while there is a lot of chatter about economic policy, the decision on whether someone has a child is an economic decision. “If you’re not in charge of your own body, you really have no freedom at all.” 

Party members respond to attacks on Minnesota lawmakers 

The convention took place right after the apparently politically-motivated assasination of Minnesota Democratic House leader Melissa Hortman and her husband by a man impersonating a police officer. Minnesota Democratic Sen. John Hoffman and his wife were also shot multiple times prior to Hortman.

The party worked to increase the level of security at the convention after the news broke. 

As Wikler called the convention into order, he said the party was meeting in a time of “shock and grief.” 

“I conveyed our support to leaders in Minnesota for swift justice and for this horror to end now and today, amidst the fear and grief, I want to reaffirm our appreciation, our gratitude for all those who have the courage to serve in public office,” Wikler said.

While talking about the attack, U.S. Sen. Tammy Baldwin mentioned the arrest of her colleague U.S. Sen. Alex Padilla of California, saying both incidents represent attempts to silence people. 

“We will not be silenced,” Baldwin said. “Let’s keep that in our heart, in our minds, in our prayers and let’s carry on in their memories. 

State Senate Majority Leader Devin LeMahieu, Assembly Speaker Robin Vos, Hesselbein, and Neubauer released a joint statement about the attacks on Saturday. 

“No one should ever fear for their lives because of their service to their community. Political violence accomplishes nothing, and is never the answer,” the lawmakers stated. “We hope that the assailant is apprehended swiftly.”

During her speech at the convention, Hesselbein said the country and Wisconsin must “resolve political differences with conversation and debate — not at the point of a gun and not with violence.”

Hesselbein said her “heart breaks” for Minnesota colleagues and their families, noting that she is in consistent contact with colleagues all over the county, especially in the Midwest.

“We’re a close-knit community, and we’re trying to keep track and to keep each other safe,” Hesselbein said. “All of us in the Wisconsin Legislature will do what we can to help Minnesota, to help them heal and to prevent this from ever happening again and to continue to seek a safe and respectful world.”

Emerson said the attacks made the convention feel different this year. 

“Any time somebody is targeted for the job that they hold, we’ve failed as a society,” Emerson said. “I was really devastated to see that happen, just like it was really devastating to see the assassination attempt on President Trump last summer, too. None of this should happen and it shouldn’t be a partisan thing.” 

“How do we work really, really hard for our values, while not ostracizing other people, and I think it’s a fine line to walk, but it’s really important. We can argue vehemently about the policies that separate us and the approaches that separate us,” Emerson said. “But in the end, I really, truly, believe that all 99 Assembly people and all 33 Senators are doing what they do because they think that their approach makes Wisconsin a better place.”

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