Senate Republicans chose Sen. Julian Bradley (R-New Berlin) as minority leader Thursday. He will take office when lawmakers return in January.

Bradley succeeds Senate Majority Leader Devin LeMahieu (R-Oostburg), who decided against running for reelection. He will lead a caucus of just 15 Republicans after Democrats swept the election on Tuesday night. Democrats added three seats to their caucus, winning a total of 18 seats to take the  Senate majority for the first time since the 2008-09 legislative session. 

Bradley said in a statement that the election results had “changed the math in the Senate, but they didn’t change what we believe or who we work for.” 

Three Republicans were reportedly running for the position, according to WisPolitics. They were  Sen. Mary Felzkowski (R-Tomahawk), who had served as Senate president, Sen. Patrick Testin (R-Stevens Point), who led Senate Republicans’ election efforts and had served as president pro tempore, and Sen. Eric Wimberger (R-Gillett).

Bradley was not one of the names reported in WisPolitics ahead of the caucus meeting, but he emerged as the chosen leader. He has served in the state Senate since 2020 and is the first Black Republican to serve in the Wisconsin Senate. 

“Wisconsin families still want safe communities, good jobs and a government that lives within its means. We’re going to keep fighting for those goals and our state,” Bradley said. “I’m grateful to my colleagues for the trust they’ve placed in me. Leading this caucus is a responsibility I don’t take lightly.” 

Bradley said the caucus will be focused on “protecting taxpayers and expanding opportunity for every Wisconsinite” in the new session. During his time in office, he has served on the Joint Finance Committee, as the vice chair of the administrative rules committee and as the chair of the utilities, technology and tourism committee. 

Sen.-elect Erik Severson, a Republican from Osceola, said in a statement that Senate Republicans needed a “new path forward” following the election results.

“While I respect the work of the previous leadership team, we need a fresh approach to how
things are being done in Madison as we move forward together in a drastically reshaped
political climate,” Severson said. “While the leadership team may have changed, our focus on
common-sense policies that put taxpayers ahead of liberal special interests will not change.”

Bradley, 45, was born in Baltimore before moving to Wisconsin in 1992. He was previously a professional wrestler and a realtor and operations manager for Northwestern Mutual and CenturyLink.

Sen. Romaine Quinn (R-Birchwood) was chosen to be the assistant minority leader.

WAUSAU — Wisconsin Republicans started the evening on Tuesday feeling optimistic. 

Attendees at Republican Tom Tiffany’s election night party in Wausau chatted while holding old fashioneds and napkins that declared: “You betcha we’re celebrating!” Tiffany arrived at the party around 7 p.m., taking pictures and shaking hands with attendees.

The celebratory vibe didn’t last long as a blue wave swept across the nation and Wisconsin Tuesday evening. Tiffany was defeated by Gov.-elect David Crowley. Democrats won control of the state Senate and Assembly, ousted Republican incumbent Treasurer John Leiber and defeated Jay Schroeder, the Republican candidate for secretary of state who ran on a promise  to take over elections in Wisconsin. 

Wisconsin Republicans’ inability to buck national trends was foreshadowed a couple of hours before polls closed when Republican Party of Wisconsin Chair Brian Schimming told reporters that U.S. Rep. Tom Tiffany had run a good campaign, but they were watching turnout. 

“We’re getting different signals around the state about turnout. We’re kind of watching that. I believe big turnout helps Republicans and helps Tom Tiffany,” Schimming said. Republicans have struggled in statewide races during years that President Donald Trump hasn’t been on the ballot as some of his supporters don’t turnout for midterm or spring elections. “I’m conscious of the fact that it’s an off year.” 

According to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, preliminary turnout was about 56% across the state and there was high turnout in the blue stronghold of Madison, which saw about 79% turnout, and Milwaukee, which saw nearly 71% turnout. 

A little before 10 p.m., Tiffany took the stage to concede Gov.-elect David Crowley, who will serve as Wisconsin’s first Black governor. He told reporters he had called Crowley beforehand and congratulated him. He said the night didn’t turn out as he’d hoped.

“I wanna congratulate David Crowley on his victory. While we have our differences, we both love this great state and I wish him and his family the very best as he prepares to serve as Wisconsin’s next governor.” 

When one attendee tried heckling Crowley, Tiffany shut it down, telling the crowd “We’re gonna be magnanimous.”

Asked what led to the loss, Tiffany did not mention President Donald Trump, instead blaming himself for not delivering the Republican message well enough. He also pointed to the price of gas and other high costs. 

“I mean, it’s clear voters have said, ‘You’re the party in power, and we’re gonna try something different,’” Tiffany said. “Now, there’s going to be a new party in power here, and they’ll have to deliver.” 

Tiffany and Republicans in the state Assembly and Senate tried to distance themselves from the unpopular president throughout their campaigns, but it was a difficult task, as Trump remained a constant in the campaign. As Democrats sought to tie their opponents to Trump, Trump highlighted his endorsement of Tiffany throughout the campaign, including on Election Day when Trump wrote in a post on X that Tiffany has “always been at my side.”

Over the course of the campaign, Trump’s popularity fell significantly across polls conducted by Marquette Law School. In October just ahead of Election Day, 61% of Wisconsinites said they disapproved of the job he was doing. 

Republican Treasurer John Leiber, who lost reelection by 4 points to Democrat Yee Leng Xiong, told WisPolitics that he doesn’t see a “future for the Republican Party with Trump in it.”

Two Republicans who serve in the state Legislature — and will now serve in the minority for the first time in their tenure — also pointed to the national environment. Republicans there will be disempowered for the first time in 16 years. They won just 15 seats in the Senate and 46 seats in the Assembly on Tuesday. 

Rep. Karen Hurd (R-Withee), who won reelection easily to her red district, told the Examiner that Republicans were conscious of how the federal government could affect Republican chances in the state. 

“What happens at the federal level has not just a trickle-down effect, but a flood effect on what’s happening in our state elections, and we knew that,” Hurd said. “We were doing our very best to say, ‘Separate us from the federal… We’re worried about schools and universities and roads. We don’t have anything to do with the war in Iran. We don’t have anything to do with the gas prices or with the price of eggs.” 

“It’s very hard for people to separate that,” she added.

Sen. Mary Felzkowski (R-Tomahawk) told the Examiner a little bit before Democrats declared victory in the state Senate that it was an “uphill battle going into this” and there were “a lot of national headwinds for Republicans.”  

Republicans will have to work to have an influence on Wisconsin policy from a disempowered position for the first time in over 16 years. 

Felzkowski noted that there are only two Republicans, Rep. Jeff Mursau and Rep. Dan Knodl, who have ever served in the minority.

“No one else has ever served in the minority, so this is a learning curve for all of us,” Felzkowski said. 

Felzkowski said Republicans in the Senate will choose their leadership this week and Assembly Republicans will choose theirs next week. Both leadership positions are open as Assembly Speaker Robin Vos (R-Rochester) and Sen. Devin LeMahieu (R-Oostburg) both decided against running for reelection. Vos wrote in a post on X reacting to the Democratic wins that he knows that over the next two years “Republicans will stand firmly with the taxpayers and job creators who built Wisconsin’s success.” 

“Conservatives will offer constructive alternatives, demand accountability, and make sure voters can see the difference between growing government and growing opportunity,” he said. “The next two years will test our resolve. They will also clarify the choice ahead.”

Both Felzkowski and Hurd said they look forward to working with Crowley in office. Felzkowski said she would work well with Crowley, noting they worked together on Act 12, a 2023 law that overhauled local government funding and allowed Milwaukee County to raise its sales tax. The law became a point of attack for Republicans during the campaign as they alleged Crowley would raise taxes as governor. 

However, Felzkowski also said that if Republicans had held control of the Legislature, they would have been able to keep Crowley in check. A Democratic-led Legislature, she said, will mean “the brakes are off.”

“We are gonna go so far left. Crowley himself came right out and said, when he beat Francesca Hong, my platform’s not much different to hers, and she’s a Democrat socialist so we’ll see what happens,” Felzkowski said. “I think it’s a sad day for Wisconsin.”