Reading Time: 3 minutes

As Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers gave his final State of the State address at the Capitol on Tuesday, I was struck by how many of the people I’ve met or covered over the past nearly six months were all in the same room. 

Evers, who is not seeking reelection this year, entered the Assembly chambers shortly after 7 p.m. and spoke of his accomplishments over the past seven years with longtime Assembly Speaker Robin Vos, R-Rochester, and Senate President Mary Felzkowski, R-Tomahawk, seated right behind him. All seven members of the Wisconsin Supreme Court, who have frequently been deciding factors in conflicts between Evers and Republican lawmakers, were in the audience. Statewide elected officials, including Attorney General Josh Kaul and Superintendent of Public Instruction Jill Underly, were there. Both Democratic and Republican representatives and senators sat underneath the glass skylight to listen to Evers. 

In his hour-long speech, Evers called on the Republican Legislature to take bipartisan action on issues such as tax cuts, special education school funding and corrections reform before lawmakers leave Madison and turn to the campaign trail for elections later this year. He also announced plans to call a special session for lawmakers to address a constitutional amendment to ban partisan gerrymandering. Republicans criticized Evers’ remarks as a partisan speech. 

The governor’s address Tuesday night came as Wisconsin stands on the precipice of significant change. A new governor will be elected later this year. New legislative maps and Democratic gains in 2024 set up real competition for control of the Legislature.

It’s been almost six months since I began my role as the state government and politics reporter at Wisconsin Watch. I returned to Wisconsin, where I was born and raised, in September after starting my journalism career reporting in Florida and Indiana.

These initial months at Wisconsin Watch have been an exciting whirlwind as I’ve immersed myself into the debates and issues facing our state. Eight years away left me with much to catch up on. 

I’ve had a lot of coffee — maybe too much — as I’ve met people inside and outside of the Capitol who can help me understand the deeper issues beyond press releases and social media posts. I’ve attended many committee meetings, hearings and press conferences. I’ve made phone calls and sent text messages when I needed explanations about the recent state budget or legislative procedures. I’ve stopped by a host of Assembly and Senate offices to introduce myself, ask questions and learn what lawmakers are working on. 

And if you read all the way through Forward, Wisconsin Watch’s free weekly politics newsletter, you will know I love diving into our state’s history and seeing what it can teach us about what is happening in Wisconsin today.

My curiosity and my past reporting experiences in other states have driven my work so far. In November, I looked into why Republican lawmakers sent bills to the governor’s desk that Evers would never sign. When WisconsinEye, the public affairs network, went dark for weeks between December and January, I looked beyond our borders to understand how neighboring states film legislative proceedings. As voters face another Wisconsin Supreme Court election, I asked the candidates about their past rulings and how they reflect how each candidate would serve on the court. 

I’ve largely found people willing to share their perspectives and point me in the direction of others who can provide the information to explain complicated topics. I’ve particularly enjoyed the times I’ve heard “Welcome home,” as I’ve shared what brought me back to Wisconsin. 

Evers’ address and the last year in the governor’s office signal an end to one chapter of Wisconsin’s history. I feel like I am just getting started. If you have tips, ideas, questions or feedback, email me at bcarloni@wisconsinwatch.org.

As the Tony Evers chapter of Wisconsin history draws to a close, a new chapter is just beginning is a post from Wisconsin Watch, a non-profit investigative news site covering Wisconsin since 2009. Please consider making a contribution to support our journalism.

Gov. Tony Evers urged Wisconsin lawmakers to work through the rest of this year during his final State of the State address Tuesday evening — rejecting a Republican tax cut and school funding proposal and calling for lawmakers to invest in schools. 

Evers, who decided not to run for a third term in office, told lawmakers that the people of Wisconsin are expecting them to get more done this year. The Assembly plans on wrapping up its work for the session by the end of the week. The state Senate plans to work into March, but with the Assembly’s self-imposed deadline, this month is the last chance to pass bills that could get to Evers’ desk before the next legislative session.

“I know many lawmakers are antsy to end the legislative session and pack up to get back on the campaign trail — by the way, if anyone running wants advice from someone who’s won five statewide elections, let me know,” Evers said. “I know many of you are up for election, but here’s the deal: after years of delivering historic, bipartisan wins for our state, Wisconsinites have high expectations for the work we can do together over the next 10 months.” 

Wisconsin’s upcoming 2026 November elections will produce a new governor and could lead to new leadership in the state Assembly and Senate where the balance of power is at stake.

Republican lawmakers were not enthralled by Evers’ address, shaking their heads when they disagreed, making side comments to their fellow lawmakers and pulling their phones out during portions of the address. Democratic lawmakers stood to applaud throughout the address with some Republican lawmakers joining the applause at times while remaining seated. 

Evers touted a number of his accomplishments in the more than 800 bills he has signed throughout his last seven years in office. He noted that 97% of those bills were bipartisan. 

Some of the accomplishments he highlighted included $2 billion in tax cuts, securing $360 million to support child care in the state improving and repairing over 9,600 miles of roads and over 2,400 bridges across Wisconsin, bolstering support for public defenders and district attorneys and passing a law to ensure education about Hmong and Asian American history in school. 

Evers added that he is not done yet.

At the top of Evers’ to-do list for his final year in office is getting a deal to reduce property taxes and provide schools with additional funding.

Over the last couple of weeks, Evers has been negotiating with lawmakers on how to use the state’s projected $2.5 billion budget surplus.

“I’m hopeful we can continue building upon those efforts this session, including reaching bipartisan agreement on a plan to get meaningful resources to K-12 schools and provide property tax relief, and it must balance these important obligations a heck of a lot better than the plan Republican leaders sent me this week,” Evers said. 

The most recent proposal put together by Republican leaders and delivered to Evers on Sunday included funding for special education and the school levy tax credit to reduce property taxes for local communities. It did not include funding for general school aid.

In the recent state budget, Republican lawmakers did not provide additional state funding to general school aid in part because of their frustration with Evers’ 400-year veto, which extended an annual $325 per pupil school revenue limit increase well beyond the last budget cycle. Without state funding, schools in Wisconsin can only use the authority Evers gave them to increase property taxes. 

“I get Republicans want to blame my 400-year veto for property taxes going up. Why? Politics, of course. Republicans running under fair maps need someone else to blame for failing to fund our schools at the levels I’ve asked them to for about two decades of my life,” Evers said. “Here’s the truth: funding our schools is a responsibility that the state and local partners share. Local property taxes go up when the state fails to do its part to meet its obligation.” 

Evers also noted that his 400-year veto is not an automatic property tax increase, but rather schools opt into exercising the additional authority and if there was additional state aid, then districts would not raise property taxes.

“The Legislature has rejected over $7 billion for K-12 schools that I requested over the last four state budgets,” he said. “If lawmakers want to have an honest conversation about property taxes, start there.”

“We have a constitutional obligation to fund our schools in this state,” Evers said. “The Legislature must approve the level of funding necessary to meet the percentages our kids and our schools were promised in the last budget. We can’t afford for lawmakers to lose focus on the future we’ve been working hard to build together just because it’s an election year. I know the Legislature would rather hit the road and take the rest of the year off, but I’m going to ask lawmakers to stick around until our work here is finished.” 

GOP leader wants sit down negotiations

After Evers’ address, Assembly Speaker Robin Vos (R-Rochester) told reporters that Evers was taking credit for bipartisan work that was only possible because of the Republican-led Legislature. 

Ahead of the address, Vos made similar comments to reporters, saying that “every success that Gov. Evers has had on policy has only been because the Legislature worked with him on the vast majority of those things to get them done.” Evers’ two terms in office have been marked by an often contentious relationship with Republicans, who have held the majority in the state Senate and Assembly during his entire tenure. Still, lawmakers and Evers have been able to pass four state budgets and get various bipartisan bills signed into law.

Vos said lawmakers had received a reply from Evers to their property tax  proposal that evening. 

“It sounds like he is willing to draw bright lines in the sand. That is not something I’ve ever found to be productive. You need to be able to sit down and talk about things that are important to both the Legislature, the taxpayers and the governor,” Vos said. “It should not be a ‘my way or the highway’ type negotiation.”

Vos said he was disappointed that Evers hadn’t reached out to speak with lawmakers on Monday or Tuesday, but is optimistic that lawmakers can speak with Evers Wednesday.

“It seems to me we tried very hard to reach in the middle. Now, it’s the governor’s job after a pretty partisan speech to actually figure out how he’s going to get to the middle like we did,” Vos said. 

Vos claimed the GOP plan invests more money into public education than Evers proposed. The GOP plan includes $500 million for property tax relief through the school levy tax credit and $200 million for special education reimbursement. It does not include any money for general school aids.

Evers’ proposal included $200 million for special education funding, $450 million for general school aids to buy out the projected statewide school property tax levy and in exchange, he proposed that Republicans would get $550 million towards the school levy tax credit.

Asked to clarify, Vos said Republicans had not asked for the $550 million for the school levy tax credit.

“We didn’t ask for that. It’s like me saying, you want money for child care? Well, that’s not even part of the discussion,” Vos said.

Democratic lawmakers also called on the Legislature to keep working this year. 

Assembly Minority Leader Greta Neubauer (D-Racine) criticized Republican lawmakers at a press conference Tuesday morning for planning to “gavel out of session for the next 10 months” at the end of this week, saying they were giving “themselves a vacation while folks in our districts are left wondering how they are going to make ends meet.” She said Evers and Democrats were planning to continue working hard to deliver for the people of Wisconsin.

Other issues on Evers’ to-do list

Evers also laid out several other issues areas he wants addressed in his final year. 

Evers urged lawmakers to send him bills that would codify the Office of Violence Prevention into state law and provide $66 million for the Victims of Crime Act (VOCA) programs. 

“Do the right thing and get this done,” Evers said. 

He also announced that the state has plans to partner with the Milwaukee Bucks, the state’s professional basketball team, on a campaign to combat domestic violence. 

Evers also noted his previous attempts to advance gun control measures but didn’t urge Republican lawmakers to do anything this year. 

“There’s no issue Republicans have done less about than guns,” he said. “This much is clear: If Wisconsinites want to get something — anything — done about gun violence, we must elect legislators who will do a damn thing to change it.” 

Evers said that he is also hoping that lawmakers will work to pass a bill to close the Green Bay Correctional Institution. 

“It’s been over a year now, and Republicans have neither enacted my plan nor proposed a plan of their own,” Evers said. “I’m still hopeful we can work together to pass a bipartisan bill this year on comprehensive corrections reform to set an achievable goal for GBCI to close, convert Lincoln Hills, and revamp Waupun.”

On artificial intelligence and data centers, Evers said Wisconsin must “embrace a future where we don’t have to choose between mitigating climate change and protecting our environment or creating good-paying jobs and having a strong economy.”

Evers also urged lawmakers to pass a bipartisan bill to reauthorize the Knowles-Nelson Stewardship program that “both supports land acquisition and management of Wisconsin’s valuable natural resources and public lands,” as well as a bill combating PFAS so the $125 million that was approved over two years ago can be released to Wisconsinites. 

Federal government concerns

The outgoing governor also spoke to “what worries me about our future and keeps me up at night,” focusing on his concerns about actions by the Trump administration. 

Evers said he is worried about the “reckless decisions being made in Washington,” saying he thinks they “will have disastrous consequences for Wisconsinites, taxpayers and our state budget moving forward.” He said he is also worried about federal workers who have been laid off. 

According to WPR, 2,4000 federal workers in Wisconsin have lost their jobs under the Trump administration. 

“I’m also angry when I think about our neighbors — young kids and families across our state — who aren’t going to school or work or anywhere else, because they’re scared leaving their home may mean their family will be torn apart,” Evers said, referring to fears about aggressive federal immigration enforcement. “I worry about our kids who are being traumatized by violence on social media, in the news, on our streets and in our neighborhoods, and I worry about what all of this means for America’s Dairyland, which has depended on the hard work of immigrants for generations.”

“Wisconsinites are feeling the squeeze due to tariff taxes and erratic trade wars,” Evers continued. “Prices are going up on things like school supplies, groceries, clothes, gas and more.” 

Evers also said he is worried about the effects of the federal tax and spending bill signed by Trump last year. He noted that Wisconsin could face penalties if the state’s payment error rate for the SNAP program doesn’t remain below 6%. 

The Evers administration has estimated that a penalty could cost the state up to $205 million, and that $69 million and 56 additional administrative positions for DHS are needed to ensure that the state’s error rate remains below 6%.

“The sooner the Legislature invests in FoodShare quality control efforts, the more time the state has to keep FoodShare error rates down. It’s pretty simple,” Evers said. “We can save Wisconsin taxpayers potentially hundreds of millions of dollars in penalty fees a year we could have to pay the Trump administration if we don’t. I’m not negotiating with Republicans about a $70 million investment the state must make right now to save Wisconsin taxpayers as much as $200 million in penalty fees later. We’ve been asking for this for months, and it has to get done. If the Legislature fails to provide the funding the state needs, Republicans will be to blame for the penalty fees taxpayers will be forced to pay.”

Evers also announced that he plans to sign an executive order to have Wisconsin join the World Health Organization’s Global Response Network. 

Wants constitutional amendment on nonpartisan redistricting 

Evers said he plans to call a special session in the spring to pass a constitutional amendment banning partisan gerrymandering in Wisconsin. 

Wisconsin’s current legislative maps were adopted by the Republican-led Legislature and Evers after a state Supreme Court decision found that the previous maps were unconstitutional. The maps have made  Wisconsin’s legislative races newly competitive. However, lawmakers did not change the map drawing process. 

“Wisconsin is as purple as ever, but we’ve shown we can put politics aside and work together to get good things done… A big part of that is the fact that, today, lawmakers are elected under the fair maps I signed into law.  But here’s the problem, Wisconsin: New maps are redrawn every 10 years,” Evers said, adding that without a nonpartisan redistricting process there is “no guarantee Wisconsinites will still have fair maps after the next U.S. Census.” 

Evers noted that Republican states, under pressure from the Trump administration, have adopted election maps that seek to further favor Republicans. He said that “as a result, Democratic legislatures have been put in the unthinkable position of having to respond by trying to restore balance to our elections.” 

“Politics could get in the way of creating a nonpartisan redistricting commission that everyone can support, but there’s one thing that we should all be able to agree on, which is that politics should stay out of redistricting from start to finish,” Evers said. 

Constitutional amendments in Wisconsin must pass two consecutive sessions of the Legislature before going to voters for a final vote that decides whether a change is made. They do not require a signature from the governor. 

Vos said he is open to proposals for nonpartisan redistricting, but noted the failure of a previous GOP proposal to implement a nonpartisan redistricting commission.

“Frankly, all the Democrats across the country are rushing the gerrymander. I hope he’s sincere in saying he doesn’t want that, but call me skeptical,” Vos said. 

Evers added that he “won’t hesitate to bring the Legislature into special session later this year in August or September or October.” 

“Heck, I’m old enough to remember when the Legislature was willing to meet in December,” he said. 

“Year of the Neighbor” 

Each year during his State of the State address, Evers has declared an overall theme for the year. For his final year he announced the “Year of the Neighbor.”

“I want us to focus on our Wisconsin values of kindness, respect, empathy, and compassion,” Evers said. “We could all use a good neighbor, and we could all be better neighbors, and we’re going to spend the next year celebrating the neighbors who make Wisconsin the great place it is to call home.” 

Some of the “neighbors” Evers highlighted in his address included “the first responders who answer our call in our darkest hour,” “the librarians who help us find our new favorite book,” “the teachers who comfort, inspire and educate our kids,” “the state worker who helped us find and apply for health care or job training” and the “veteran who served our country.” 

“Wisconsinites are helpers by nature; it’s in our DNA. When things are tough, we roll up our sleeves and get to work. We shovel a driveway or bake a casserole, and we show up for our neighbors,” Evers said. “Whether it’s unpredictable weather or the unpredictable nature of politics, we’re all in this together, and we’re going to get through it together, not by alienating our neighbors, but by getting to know them, by looking out for one another and by maintaining our Wisconsin values of kindness, empathy, compassion and respect.”

GET THE MORNING HEADLINES.

SUBSCRIBE

Reading Time: 6 minutes

It’s the last year of Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers’ final term, and activity at the Capitol since January reflects much of how the last eight years have gone with the Republican Legislature. 

GOP lawmakers continue to send conservative bills to Evers’ desk for a likely veto. such as a proposal to allow people to seek legal action for injuries from gender transition procedures when they were a minor. Evers in January called for Assembly Speaker Robin Vos, R-Rochester, to allow a bipartisan bill that would extend postpartum Medicaid to new moms to “finally” reach the governor’s desk, while Vos last week told reporters it wouldn’t advance. 

As the political world turns to who might be Wisconsin’s next governor, Evers and Republicans are attempting to negotiate a tax cut in the wake of a projected $2.4 billion state surplus reported in January. The last time there was an open governor’s seat the state faced a multibillion-dollar deficit. Surpluses have been a regular feature of the last eight years of split government.

“There have been plenty of times in the last eight years where we have had a disagreement and we had a public argument with Gov. Evers,” Vos said last week. “I think there’s a long list of things where I think he’s just wrong on the issue. But on this one, considering the fact that he came out and sincerely said he wants to do something on property taxes. We feel the same. I don’t know why we wouldn’t negotiate in good faith to try to find something that can actually get across the finish line.” 

Evers, who is not seeking reelection in 2026, will give his final State of the State address before the Legislature at 7 p.m. on Tuesday. Part of Evers’ legacy during his two terms as governor is his navigation of split government and the oftentimes contentious relationship between his administration and the legislative branch.

Asked to reflect on his own legacy, Evers highlighted for Wisconsin Watch three specific achievements: a deal that kept the Brewers in Milwaukee through 2050, a shared revenue deal that boosted state support for local municipalities and the replacement of heavily gerrymandered GOP maps with “fair maps.” But he also criticized the often contentious relationship with the Legislature.

“There’s something wrong when lawmakers are spending more time thinking of new and creative ways to circumvent the governor and the executive branch than working to address pressing challenges facing our state. So, for the last seven years, we’ve been hard at work to restore the separation of powers and hold the Legislature accountable to the will of the people that elected us,” Evers said in a statement to Wisconsin Watch. “My promise to the people of Wisconsin was — and is — that I will always work to do the right thing and get things done. Now, today, thanks in part to the fair maps we enacted, we’re seeing more collaboration and more compromise than seven years ago, and I believe most Wisconsinites would say that is a good thing because that is how government is supposed to work. So, while we haven’t agreed on 100 percent of the issues 100 percent of the time, I’m proud of the good bipartisan work we’ve accomplished together over the last seven years.”

Evers’ defeat of Republican Gov. Scott Walker in 2018 marked a change in the Legislature’s relationship with the governor’s office. For eight years prior, a Republican governor and Legislature meant conservative ideas — slashing the power of public sector unions, strict voter ID, concealed carry, corporate tax cuts — became law with ease. Evers, a moderate Democrat, became a check on that power. 

In the weeks before Evers officially took office, Walker and the Republican-led Senate and Assembly enacted laws in the lame duck session limiting the power of the incoming Democratic administration.

Since then, and despite Evers’ frequent calls for bipartisanship, the governor and legislative Republicans have been engaged in a yearslong tug-of-war over their powers. It’s a relationship that has been marked by court cases, record-breaking numbers of gubernatorial vetoes and the Legislature advancing numerous constitutional amendments that don’t need Evers’ signature. While Evers has served as a check on far right legislation, Republicans have shrugged at Evers’ calls for special sessions on Democratic issues such as abortion rights and gun safety. 

“I think the most telling was the 2020 COVID experience,” said Barry Burden, director of the Elections Research Center and political science professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. “The state was facing a bunch of crises that year. … There were so many things the state needed to address and there was not a single bill passed in the Legislature and sent to his desk that year. Instead, the two branches were mostly pointing fingers at each other.” 

Despite the partisan battles, every other year a compromise between the two sides has brought the biennial state budget across the finish line on schedule and with billions of dollars in unspent tax revenue that has shored up the state’s fiscal health. 

“The governor is open to meeting with anybody to try and get things done,” said Rep. Christine Sinicki, D-Milwaukee, who was first elected to the Assembly in 1998. 

His easygoing demeanor has helped that relationship with the Legislature, Sinicki said. Republicans seem to recognize that, too. 

“When you talk to Gov. Evers, you realize he’s sincere,” Senate Majority Leader Devin LeMahieu, R-Oostburg, told the audience at a recent WisPolitics event. “I think he’s a sincere person, but (there’s) obviously a lot of things we don’t necessarily agree on.” 

Conflict and the courts

Several power disputes between Evers and the Legislature have ended up before the Wisconsin Supreme Court, which transitioned from a conservative to liberal majority during Evers’ two terms. They include: 

• In 2020, the court’s conservative majority sided with Republican lawmakers who challenged the Evers administration’s powers when the governor’s office extended the “Safer at Home” order during the coronavirus pandemic. 
• In late 2023, the court’s new liberal majority struck down the Republican legislative maps, ruling they were unconstitutional. Evers in 2024 signed the current maps into law. 
• In 2025, the liberal majority upheld the governor’s veto powers after Evers used his veto pen to raise school district revenue limits annually for the next 400 years. 

Sen. Chris Kapenga, R-Delafield, is leading a constitutional amendment to prevent the governor from using veto powers to increase taxes or fees. 

“The state Supreme Court has given the executive branch unprecedented power,” Kapenga said in a statement to Wisconsin Watch. “Nowhere is this more apparent than in the use of the partial veto pen.” 

One of the other significant disagreements of the Evers era that reached the Supreme Court has been the oversight of administrative rules, or policy changes sought by executive agencies like the Department of Natural Resources. 

Republicans have long criticized these policies as red tape for Wisconsin businesses. The 2018 lame duck legislation gave the Legislature the ability to delay the implementation of policies from state agencies, such as a ban on conversion therapy or updating surface water quality standards. 

Evers sued the Legislature on the issue. In 2025, the Supreme Court’s liberal majority last summer ruled that a key legislative committee that oversees administrative rules could not block the Evers administration’s policies from going into effect. The Legislature is essentially in an advisory role now, said Rep. Adam Neylon, R-Pewaukee, one of the co-chairs of the Joint Committee on Review of Administrative Rules. 

“I think that people are expecting more from an executive role or from the governor and it’s in some ways disrupted the balance of the co-equal branches of government,” Neylon said. “I think, especially a lot of the court decisions upholding the 400-year veto or Evers v. Marklein, which took away our oversight of the rulemaking process, I think we’re in an era now that the power has been slowly drifting into the executive and I think real people do feel that.” 

The balance of power is a legitimate concern for the Legislature to have, but Republicans prior to the Supreme Court’s decision asserted control over the process in ways that often negatively affected public health issues, said Sen. Kelda Roys, D-Madison, one of the Democrats running for governor and a member of the administrative rules committee. 

“The most important legacy is the court decision, Evers v. Marklein, that says, basically, the Legislature can’t be judge, jury and executioner,” Roys said.

What’s next

Whether the partisan battles of split government continue depends on where Wisconsin voters take the state during the 2026 elections later this year. Evers’ departure leaves an open governor’s race. New legislative maps and Democratic gains in both chambers in 2024 set up real competition for control of the Legislature in 2026. 

A unified government with one-party control of the executive and legislative branches could bring a burst of new laws starting in 2027, Burden said. 

But more split government conflicts are also possible, and none of the candidates for governor appears as interested in bipartisan negotiations as Evers, Burden said. Republican U.S. Rep. Tom Tiffany cleared the GOP primary field in January. Seven major Democrats are running for governor, including Roys, former Lt. Gov. Mandela Barnes, former Department of Administration Secretary Joel Brennan, Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley, Madison state Rep. Francesca Hong, former Wisconsin Economic Development Corp. CEO Missy Hughes and Lt. Gov. Sara Rodriguez. 

“He has a more conciliatory tone, I think, than Democrats would like to see,” Burden said. “So if we get divided government again next year in some form, whether it’s a Tiffany governorship or a Democratic governorship and the Legislature at least partly divided, I think the kind of stalemate that we’ve seen will continue and the option to go to the courts or to use constitutional amendments to get around the governor will still be a popular method.”

As Tony Evers delivers his final State of the State, he remains crosswise with the GOP Legislature is a post from Wisconsin Watch, a non-profit investigative news site covering Wisconsin since 2009. Please consider making a contribution to support our journalism.