State Rep. Francesca Hong sits for a photo in her office in the Capitol in 2022. (Photo by Baylor Spears/Wisconsin Examiner)

State Rep. Francesca Hong, a Madison Democratic Socialist, chef and bartender, is joining the growing Democratic field for governor — saying she hopes to be a relatable candidate who can bring working class people together to foster a government that works for them. 

Hong launched her campaign with a 90-second ad shot in the kitchen of L’Etoile, a high-end restaurant across from the Capitol in Madison and in the dining area of the adjacent restaurant Graze. Hong points towards the Capitol, which is labeled in the ad “MAGA-controlled Legislature,” and says that “a lot of people in that building don’t get why it’s so hard to get by right now.” 

“Working hard doesn’t mean you can always keep up. One wrong step can lay you out flat. This is by design,” Hong says.

Hong told the Wisconsin Examiner in an interview that she is running because she sees the current moment as ripe for a “movement” for “building working class power,” as “more and more people are realizing that the system is rigged.”

“It’s about politics rooted in care — where we care for ourselves, our children, our small businesses and our workers. The movement requires building coalitions, meeting folks where they are, honoring and receiving all different types of talents and treasures and time that people are willing to give to engage with others. It’s happening, and it needs to happen faster here in Wisconsin.” 

Hong said she feels a sense of urgency because of the direction the Trump administration and Republicans are taking. 

“We have an authoritarian regime that endorses mass suffering, gutting food from children and gutting health care from working people and dismantling public education and programs,” Hong said. “It’s irresponsible to be thinking about incrementalism as a way to make this moment. I think it’s unrealistic to rely on incremental policy, and what working class people are demanding is that they have their needs met… Wisconsinites, they f-ing hustle, and they deserve a governor who is going to be working as hard as they are.”

Four other Democratic candidates are already in the open race, including State Sen. Kelda Roys of Madison, Lt. Gov. Sara Rodriguez, Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley and Mukwonago beer vendor Ryan Strnad.

Two Republican candidates have entered the race on the GOP side so far: Whitefish Bay manufacturer Bill Berrien and Washington County Executive Josh Schoemann. U.S. Rep. Tom Tiffany has said he will make a decision about entering the race by the end of the month. 

Hong was first elected to the state Assembly in 2020, becoming the first Asian American to serve in the body. At 36, she is the youngest candidate to join the race so far.

Gov. Tony Evers’ decision not to seek a third term opened the way for a competitive primary. “I think that this is probably the only time where someone like me can run for governor and win,” Hong said. 

She acknowledged that her campaign will be different in style and substance from more traditional campaigns. “I think there’s going to be some skepticism that’s going to come from the establishment folks in political circles about some of the campaign strategies we may lean on, especially when it comes to creative digital,” she said.

Hong formerly owned Morris Ramen, a restaurant in downtown Madison she opened with Matt Morris and restaurateur Shinji Muramoto in 2016 and closed last year. She currently bartends and picks up shifts at another restaurant every once in a while. She is also a single mother who rents her home in Madison.

“It’s going to sound corny, but I really love this state,” Hong said. “It’s where I have failed and succeeded. When it comes to my culinary career or winning an election and being sent to the Capitol. It’s where George [her son] was born. It’s my parents’ home. They’ve lived here longer than anywhere else, and the state has given me and my family a lot.” 

She says she began considering running for governor after the recent state budget process.

Hong voted against the budget and called on other Democrats to do the same because it made no increases in general state aid to Wisconsin’s public schools. During her time in the Legislature, Hong has also been a champion for providing school breakfasts and lunches to all students free of charge. 

This session Hong joined the Legislative Socialist Caucus. She said she identifies as a Democratic Socialist. 

“That means I’m dedicated to building working class power where everyone has their basic needs met to be able to take care of themselves and the people that they love and their neighbors and somebody that they don’t know,” Hong said. 

Her campaign comes at a moment when other Democratic Socialists are running high-profile campaigns across the country. U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders has been traveling the country on a “Fight Oligarchy Tour” that made stops in Wisconsin. In New York City, state Rep. Zohran Mamdani recently won the Democratic nomination for mayor.  

Hong said Mamdani’s message  resonated with her. 

“Mamdani has showed us that meeting voters where they are, building a diverse, multi-generational, multi-faith, multi-racial and multi-ethnic coalition is how you build trust with voters,” Hong said, adding that she appreciates his focus on  “affordability and concrete ways that government can do its job and be a force of good.” 

The policies that she has proposed in the Legislature have been “practical,” Hong said.

Hong was a leading sponsor on a state law that requires schools teach Hmong and Asian American history. Hong, the daughter of Korean immigrants, also helped launch the state’s first Legislative Asian Caucus alongside two of her new colleagues this session and has authored resolutions to proclaim 2025 as the year of the snake and celebrate 50 years of Hmong, Lao, Cambodian and Vietnamese people residing in Wisconsin.

This session, she has also coauthored a resolution to declare that Wisconsin have an Economic Bill of Rights and a bill to prohibit state employees’ cooperation with Immigration and Customs Enforcement in public buildings without a warrant. 

“We can make better possible when there are universal policies that support working class people — universal child care, guaranteed paid leave, fully funded public schools, access to capital for small businesses and investing heavily in a care infrastructure where we can take care of our seniors,” Hong said. “Regardless of political identity, these types of social insurance programs are designed to ensure that working class people can not only get by, but be able to take care of themselves and their families in the ways that they see fit.” 

Hong said it is “imperative” that Democrats flip the state Assembly and Senate to make progress towards those policies. New legislative maps adopted in 2024 brought that goal into sight for Democrats for the first time in many years.

Hong said she is going to do everything she can to support candidates running for the Assembly and to help flip districts currently represented by Republicans. The Wisconsin Legislature has been led by Republicans since 2010.

This will be Hong’s first time running for statewide office. Hong said she is anticipating an array of challenges for her campaign. She said she will continue putting in a lot of hours as a state lawmaker, and she may not be able to pick up as many shifts at Gamma Ray, the Madison bar she works at.

Hong said she is also committed to meeting people where they are in a wide variety of places, including bowling alleys and pro wrestling matches and the rodeo. She said those are the places where people might be willing to share their stories. 

Hong recalled stopping at a bar in Chippewa Falls. She said she got her usual Miller High Life, while two men next to her had a Miller Lite light and a regular Miller Lite. She said she made a comment along the lines of “you might as well just be drinking water at that point” and it led to a conversation about concerns one of the men had about hospital access in a part of the state grappling with recent hospitals closings.

“He was worried that his elderly mother, who was almost 90 and still drives herself to the hospital… she’s not going to get the care she needs,” Hong said. “That is real. Health care is very real for folks, health insurance is too expensive. We have policies that are going to help make health insurance cheaper, both for small businesses and for workers. 

Hong hopes she can give people the sense that “there’s somebody in their corner,” and show them that she “can be a strong messenger for helping people realize that together we can make better possible.”

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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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Gov. Tony Evers signed an executive order Monday that is aimed at protecting access to vaccines in Wisconsin. (Photo by George Frey/Getty Images)

Seeking to combat efforts of the U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and the Trump administration, Gov. Tony Evers signed an executive order Monday that is aimed at protecting access to vaccines in Wisconsin. 

“Vaccines save lives, folks. Spreading fear, distrust, and disinformation about safe and effective vaccines isn’t just reckless, it’s dangerous,” Evers said in a statement. “RFK and the Trump administration are inserting partisan politics into healthcare and the science-based decisions of medical professionals and are putting the health and lives of kids, families, and folks across our state at risk in the process.”

Kennedy in his role as the health secretary has taken aim at vaccines, including the COVID-19 vaccine. This week, a CDC committee with new members appointed by Kennedy who are skeptical of vaccines is expected to consider softening or eliminating some recommendations for the COVID-19 vaccine and some childhood immunizations. 

“Here in Wisconsin, we will continue to follow the science to ensure Wisconsinites have access to the healthcare they need when and where they need it to make their own healthcare decisions that are right for them,” Evers said. 

The order directs the state Department of Health Services to take several steps towards protecting access including monitoring and reviewing immunization recommendations, issuing guidance on the COVID-19 vaccine, determining additional measures that may be necessary to provide clarity and guidance on other routine vaccines.

The Office of the Commissioner of Insurance is also directed under the order to collaborate with health plans to make sure people have accurate, up-to-date information on access to vaccines and to help limit the costs of vaccines and to direct health insurers within their regulatory authority to provide coverage for the COVID-19 vaccine without cost-sharing.

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Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers address the Legislature in his 2024 State of the State message. (Baylor Spears | Wisconsin Examiner)

Gov. Tony Evers is suing the Wisconsin State Legislature for clarification on administrative rulemaking powers after a state Supreme Court decision earlier this year found that lawmakers were unconstitutionally blocking administrative rules indefinitely. 

Since the Wisconsin Supreme Court’s Evers v. Marklein II decision in July, Evers has taken steps to implement 12 administrative rules that were approved by him, but without getting the sign off from committees. His administration has said the additional approval isn’t needed. 

However, Republican lawmakers have objected to Evers implementing the rules without going through the legislative committees, instructing the Legislative Reference Bureau not to publish any rule that hasn’t gone through a review by the Legislature in accordance with Wisconsin law. 

“The Legislature cannot continue to indefinitely obstruct my administration from doing the people’s work — and the Wisconsin Supreme Court agrees, but Republican lawmakers are continuing their unlawful behavior anyway,” Evers said in a statement about the court filing. “At the end of the day, this lawsuit is about following the law and making sure there’s accountability for elected officials if they fail to do so. It shouldn’t take going to court to get Republican lawmakers to comply with state law and Supreme Court decisions, but it seems like that’s what it’s going to take, unfortunately.” 

Evers argues in the filing in Dane County Circuit Court that the state law that barred agencies from publishing rules that hadn’t gone through the Joint Committee on the Review of Administrative Rules was invalidated under the state Supreme Court ruling. 

“No statute bars agencies from promulgating final administrative rules pending a legislative committee’s review,” the filing argued. “And even if any such statute existed, it would be facially unconstitutional under Evers II… a legislative committee cannot have discretion over a pre-promulgation pause without violating constitutional bicameralism and presentment procedures. Such a statute would also unconstitutionally intrude on the executive branch’s authority to execute statutes that authorize administrative rulemaking.”

Evers is asking for a declaration and an injunction that orders the Legislative Reference Bureau must publish the nine rules the Evers Administration has already submitted and all administrative rules that have completed all preceding rulemaking procedures and been approved by the governor. 

Assembly Speaker Robin Vos (R-Rochester) and Senate President Mary Felzkowski (R-Tomahawk) said in a statement that Evers is directing agencies to violate “valid” parts of Wisconsin law that “no court has ever questioned, let alone found to be invalid in any respect.”

“Just because Governor Evers is now a lame duck who no longer believes he is accountable to the people, it does not give him the right to ignore laws that the Legislature enacted, and a prior occupant of his office signed,” the Republican leaders said. “That’s not how the rule of law works.”

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Rep. Sylvia Ortiz-Velez secured Republican support for her resolution and, unlike the Hispanic Caucus, was able to get a scheduled floor vote. Ortiz-Velez speaks at a press conference in January. Photo by Baylor Spears/Wisconsin Examiner.

Monday marks the start of Hispanic Heritage Month, and this year’s celebration could be the first time that the Wisconsin Legislature officially recognizes the month. 

Assembly Joint Resolution 83 recognizes that Hispanic Heritage Month runs from Sept. 15 through Oct. 15 and that it presents an opportunity to honor the contributions of Hispanics and Latinos to the “past, present and future” of Wisconsin and the country. The month starts halfway through September because Sept. 15 marks the anniversary of independence from Spanish rule for  several Central American countries, including Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras and Nicaragua.

The Assembly unanimously passed the resolution authored by Milwaukee Democrat Rep. Sylvia Ortiz-Velez, though its journey to the floor was marred by a public dispute among Democratic lawmakers. Black History Month resolutions have also stirred controversy in the past and for many years faced roadblocks to passage. This year the Black History Month resolution passed smoothly. 

Ortiz-Velez authored her resolution after she was not included as an author on a similar effort  by members of the Hispanic Legislative Caucus. Ortiz-Velez had declined to join the newly formed caucus, and its members explained that the authors of their resolution were exclusively  caucus members. 

Ortiz-Velez’s resolution differed from the caucus version in that it doesn’t honor the work of any specific individuals. 

Ortiz-Velez secured Republican support for her resolution and, unlike the Hispanic Caucus, was able to get a scheduled floor vote.

Ortiz-Velez said on the floor that in writing her resolution she “wanted to make sure that I focused on the values that bind us together, so everyone can feel that they were included and had a seat at the table.” She noted in her speech that Hispanic and Latino people make up 7.8% of the state’s population — the largest minority group in Wisconsin. 

“Across the state, Hispanic and Latino families are helping revitalize small towns and urban neighborhoods by opening businesses and buying homes and restoring vacant properties, supporting local schools and churches,” Ortiz-Velez said. “Hispanic and Latino Wisconsinites share the same core values… faith, family, hard work and service to community and country.”

The resolution states that Hispanic and Latino people settled in the area before Wisconsin achieved statehood in 1848 and that the 20th century was a time when Central and South Americans increasingly migrated to Wisconsin for work, becoming a “vital part of Wisconsin’s agricultural economy.”

“Wisconsin has become home to more than 450,000 Hispanics and Latinos, who represent one of the fastest-growing demographic groups in the state,” the resolution states. “Hispanics and Latinos live and work all across the state, enriching and revitalizing rural and urban communities alike.” 

It also recognizes that Hispanic and Latino residents have served as elected officials and “have risked their lives to defend the United States in every armed conflict in modern history.” 

Several lawmakers spoke in favor of the resolution ahead of the unanimous vote last week, including Rep. Priscilla Prado (D-Milwaukee), the leader of the Hispanic Legislative Caucus. 

Prado said the resolution was a “long overdue acknowledgment of the meaningful contributions that Hispanic communities have made to our great state.” 

“Unity is possible, even if we disagree on other issues, and at a time when division can feel ever so present, this resolution promises to lean into our shared humanity. It is not about winners or losers. It’s about the community I represent, and that I identify with,” Prado said. “Today, let’s pass this resolution, not just as a formality, but with excitement and heartfelt recognition to our Hispanic communities and their contribution to our great state.” 

Ortiz-Velez said in a statement that if the resolution passes the Senate, it will be the first time a joint resolution recognizing Hispanic Heritage Month will have ever passed the full Legislature. 

The resolution also has bipartisan support in the Senate with Sen. Rachael Cabral-Guevara (R-Appleton) as the leading coauthor. The Senate does not have a scheduled floor session during September. 

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Gov. Tony Evers and Wisconsin Economic Development Corp. CEO Missy Hughes at the Hannover Messe trade show in Germany last week. (Photo courtesy of WEDC)

Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation Secretary and CEO Missy Hughes will step down from her position in the Evers Administration on Sept. 19, according to a Friday announcement. 

Hughes was first appointed to the position in 2019 and was confirmed by the state Senate in 2021 and in 2023. She is the first woman to serve in the position. Prior to that, she served as general counsel and chief mission officer at La Farge dairy cooperative, Organic Valley.

Hughes thanked Evers in a statement for “his vision and support for our efforts to build an economy for all.” 

“Each of our state’s successes serves to inspire more development, more innovation, and more growth,” Hughes said. “People start seeing something good happening in their communities, and they want to keep it moving forward. Opportunities to be in the national news for positive accomplishments show companies and talent that Wisconsin competes on the global stage. Every day, Wisconsin is solving problems for the world, and we’ve made sure the world has us on its mind. I’m incredibly grateful to have been a part of this work and the Evers Administration.”

According to Evers’ office, WEDC during Hughes’ tenure has worked with companies to commit over $8 billion in planned investments and to create or retain over 45,000 jobs. 

Hughes’ departure comes as she considers a run for governor in 2026, in the first open race since 2010, though she made no indication of her future plans in her statement. 

Gov. Tony Evers’ decision not to run so he can spend time with his family has left a lane for Democratic leaders across the state to consider a run. So far, Lt. Gov. Sara Rodriguez entered the race first and Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley launched his campaign this week. Others considering include state Sen. Kelda Roys, Attorney General Josh Kaul and state Rep. Francesca Hong (D-Madison).

Evers said Hughes has played an important role in his administration’s focus on “building an economy that works for everyone, investing in Wisconsin’s homegrown talent and Main Streets, and supporting and expanding some of our state’s most iconic brands and companies while attracting new industries and opportunities here to Wisconsin.”

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Wisconsin Superintendent Jill Underly called on the Trump administration to reconsider the decision in a statement this week. Underly at a rally for 2025 Public Schools Week. Photo by Baylor Spears/Wisconsin Examiner

The U.S. Department of Education has abruptly terminated nearly $11 million for two grant programs that have been helping Wisconsin serve children with vision and hearing loss and others receiving special education services, according to the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction.

Wisconsin is one of several states to be affected by the cuts to Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) Part D grants. Others include Washington, Oregon and a consortium of New England states including Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Vermont, according to ProPublica.

Wisconsin Superintendent Jill Underly called on the Trump administration to reconsider the decision in a statement this week. 

“Make no mistake, losing these funds will directly impact our ability to serve some of our most vulnerable kids,” Underly said. “Wisconsin had planned work with these funds that includes direct support for deafblind learners and their families and efforts to recruit and retain new special education teachers.”

According to DPI, the Trump administration said the programs “reflect the prior administration’s priorities and policy preferences and conflict with those of the current administration.” 

The first program to be affected is the Wisconsin Deafblind Technical Assistance Project, which provides assistive technology tools, coaching, family support and professional training for young people up to the age of 21 with vision and hearing loss. The program currently serves 170 students, and of those, 85% have four or more disabilities. 

The funding cut comes in the middle of a five-year grant cycle. Wisconsin was supposed to get a total of about $550,000 that was expected to last through September 2028.

“These are kids who depend on specialized support just to access their guaranteed right to a free and appropriate public education,” Dr. Underly said. “Losing these dollars at this point in the year will be devastating for the kids who need these supports the most.”

The other program being cut is the State Personnel Development Grant, which focuses on helping address Wisconsin’s critical special education teacher shortage as well as assisting with recruitment, retention and development.

The grant funds from the program, which totaled $10.5 million, was helping to fund a number of programs, including the Special Educator Induction Program. In its first year, the state program helped 280 new special education teachers. 

“At a time when schools in every corner of the state are struggling to find and keep special educators, cutting this support is unconscionable and harmful to every student with an IEP,” Underly said.

According to DPI data, only 46% of new special education teachers in Wisconsin remain in the field after seven years. 

The state agency plans to appeal the Trump administration’s decision.

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Senate and Assembly Democratic lawmakers proposed their own package of education bills ahead of the floor session that would increase general aid for public schools by $325 per pupil, provide transparency on voucher school costs and provide free school meals to students. (Photo by Baylor Spears/Wisconsin Examiner)

Wisconsin Assembly Republicans passed a handful of bills Thursday on an array of issues. Democrats argued the measures won’t solve the problems facing Wisconsinites and unveiled their own proposals. 

The Assembly floor session is the first since lawmakers broke for the summer after completing the state budget. The Senate does not plan to meet this month, and Senate Minority Leader Dianne Hesselbein (D-Middleton) told reporters during a press conference that it was a “shame” they wouldn’t. She said she has had conversations about meeting in October. 

Assembly Minority Leader Greta Neubauer (D-Racine) said Republicans’ agenda for Thursday was an example of “prioritizing culture wars” rather than “doing what’s right.” 

Democrats’ education bills

Senate and Assembly Democratic lawmakers proposed their own package of education bills ahead of the floor session that would increase general aid for public schools by $325 per pupil, provide transparency on voucher school costs and provide free school meals to students. 

“We would like to see our legislative Republican colleagues focus on the issues that are facing Wisconsinites — issues like cost of living, their public schools and their property taxes,” Neubauer said. “That’s why we’re bringing forward this package today, because we know from conversations with our constituents what they’re really concerned about.”

The Democrats’ education agenda  contrasts with the plan announced by Assembly Republicans earlier this week. Republican proposals include encouraging consolidation of schools, calling on Gov. Tony Evers to opt into a federal school choice program, banning drones over schools and improving math education.

One Democratic  bill would dedicate $325 in additional per pupil state aid to Wisconsin school districts. It would cost nearly $500 million for 2025-26 and nearly $700 million for 2026-27. 

Sen. Kelda Roys (D-Madison) called it the “bare minimum” that school districts need and said it would help school districts avoid raising property taxes. 

“School districts will do better under this bill than current law,” Roys said. “We know every kid around the state deserves to go to a great school so that they can meet their potential, but to be clear, this bill is not everything that our kids need or deserve, not even close.” 

Wisconsin’s most recent state budget did not give school districts any increase in per pupil general aid, despite calls from education advocates, Gov. Tony Evers and other Democrats to provide additional funding.

Republican lawmakers said they would not increase state aid after  Evers used his partial veto power to extend a cap on the annual increase to limits on the revenue districts can raise from local taxpayer of $325 per pupil for the next 400 years. Without state funding, school districts only have the option of increasing property taxes to bring in the additional funds. The Legislative Fiscal Bureau projects that property taxes will increase by more than 7% on average over the next year.

Roys said the bill is a “test” to see if Republicans want to help keep property taxes stable, since providing no state aid to schools will drive those taxes up. She blamed Republicans for placing districts in a situation where they have to go to property taxpayers to keep up with costs. 

Roys also knocked a Republican bill that would encourage school districts to explore consolidation and sharing services. 

“They want to consolidate school districts. They want to close schools, and by the way, everything’s the governor’s fault. Give me a break,” Roys said. “They want to hold the line on property taxes? Prove it.” 

The bill also includes an additional $31 million to ensure no school districts receive less state aid in 2025-26 than they received in 2024-25. 

The Department of Public Instruction’s July 1 estimate found that 277 districts — or 65.8% — of school districts were going to receive less in general aid from the state in 2025. 

Another bill seeks to provide greater transparency on the costs of voucher schools to districts by requiring property tax bills to include information about the cost. The bill would expand on a push that public school advocates are making at a local level after the city of Green Bay was able to add the information. 

Rep. Deb Andraca (D-Whitefish Bay) said the bill would help inform residents who may be confused about where their tax dollars are going. 

“We can say, time and time again, that the state is underfunding our local public schools. That is true. What they also don’t understand, and there’s a really simple fix, is how much of that money is leaving their district to go to other voucher schools. In some cases, millions and tens of millions of dollars… It is a simple fix. It is very straightforward,” Andraca said.

Requiring in-person work for state employees 

AB 39 would require state employees to return to in-person work for at least 80% of their time — or four days a week for a full-time employee — starting this year. The bill passed 51-44 with all Democrats opposing it. 

The bill initially required state agency employees to be in person the whole week, but an amendment dropped the minimum to four days. 

Republican lawmakers have been calling for stricter limits on remote work for several years. The policies became normal for state employees during the COVID-19 pandemic. 

Nedweski said she isn’t “anti-telework,” but said remote work needs to be managed and measured. She said agencies haven’t provided data to show it is working. During the Assembly Committee on Government Oversight, Accountability and Transparency hearing on the bill, agency leaders said remote work policies have helped with recruitment and retention of employees.

“It’s time for state employees to return to the office and do the work that Wisconsin’s hard-working taxpayers are paying them to do to the best of their ability and in their most productive and efficient way,” Nedweski said. “We have a policy that allows for remote work agreements. We’re not saying the policy is ending, we’re saying, come back, have your performance evaluated and re-sign your remote work agreement.” 

Rep. Mike Bare (D-Verona), the ranking member of the GOAT committee, pointed to the testimony they heard as he argued the bill wouldn’t help.

“A bill like this with a one-size-fits-all return to work policy will not make our state government better… Remote work policies were born from a crisis, and we all remember too well. They’ve  become a success for our state government. We now have state workers dispersed all across the state. We’ve achieved savings by consolidating physical workspace. We’ve stayed competitive with the private market by appealing to how employees want to work and then what they expect from their work environment.” 

Flag prohibition

AB 58 would prohibit flags, other than the United States flag, the state of Wisconsin flag and a few others on a list of exceptions, from being flown outside state and local buildings including the Wisconsin State Capitol. The bill passed 50-44, along party lines. 

Rep. Jerry O’Connor, the author of the bill, argued that flags are part of the reason for increasing divisiveness, and even political violence. Wisconsin leaders condemned political violence during the session after the assassination of right-wing activist Charlie Kirk on Wednesday.

“It’s not the role of the government to pick the winners and losers on partisan and activist issues,” O’Connor said. 

Some of the exceptions would include local government flags, those commemorating veterans, prisoners of war or missing in action, those recognizing a foreign nation for special purposes and a flag of a unit of firefighters, law enforcement officers or emergency medical technicians. 

He said these exceptions are “simply recognizing those flags that are efficiently recognized by all levels of government.”

“We should have a shared outlook as to what we do as elected officials in this building here to promote unity and not division… I think we all could agree that those are the flags that represent all of us,” O’Connor said. 

Rep. Chuck Wichgers (R-Muskego) spoke specifically about pride flags, which are a symbol of the LGBTQ+ community, when explaining his support of the legislation. 

“You’re asking every Wisconsinite to sanction what that means,” Wichgers said in reference to the Progress Pride flag. The chevron portions of the flag include black and brown stripes to represent people of color who identify with the LGBTQ+ community as well as those living with HIV/AIDS. The light blue, pink and white stripes in the chevron represent transgender people.

“I can guarantee you when you ask the people that are in favor, they’re not going to know what that chevron means, so we’re endorsing, sanctioning something that is being flown above our flag that is probably divisive,” Wichgers said. 

Rep. Christine Sinicki (D-Milwaukee) said, however, that she views the bill as being divisive and as a violation of the First Amendment. 

“I think as a body we should be promoting inclusiveness. It’s not just the more morally right thing to do. It also strengthens our communities, promotes mutual respect, and actually leads to more civic engagement,” Sinicki said. “These symbolic acts do matter. They matter to me, and they matter to the majority of people across Wisconsin.” 

Prohibit health services funding for immigrants without legal status

AB 308, coauthored by Rep. Alex Dallman (R-Markesan), passed 50-44 along party lines. The bill would prohibit state, county, village, long-term care district and federal funds from being used to subsidize, reimburse or provide compensation for any health care services for a person not lawfully in the United States.

Dallman said at a press conference that the bill is meant to stop Wisconsin from expanding its Medicaid to cover immigrants without legal status. Wisconsin already doesn’t allow this. 

“This is going to take a step forward to say that we are going to again keep these funds available for our citizens who are paying in all these dollars,” Dallman said. 

Advocates expressed concerns to the Examiner earlier this week that the bill would lead to health service providers having to check everyone’s citizenship status before providing care.

Rep. Angela Stroud (D-Ashland) said the bill is “the kind of thing that makes people hate politics.”

“We don’t provide health care to undocumented immigrants. The reason we’re voting on this today is so that the majority party can go out and tell their voters that Democrats failed to stop giving health insurance to undocumented people, but we can’t stop something that isn’t happening. Why waste time and taxpayer money this way?” Stroud said. “If you don’t have affordable health care, they don’t want you to hold them accountable. Instead, they want you to blame someone else.”

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Flooding in Wauwatosa after the August 2025 storm. (Photo courtesy of Erol Reyal)

President Donald Trump confirmed Thursday that Wisconsin will get $29.8 million in federal relief funding to support flood damage victims. 

Massive storms brought record-breaking flooding in southeast Wisconsin about a month ago. Preliminary damage assessments conducted by Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and Wisconsin Emergency Management had suggested that over 1,500 residential structures were destroyed or sustained major damage and total damage costs estimated at over $33 million across three counties. Damage reports had also indicated over $43 million in public sector damage throughout six counties.

Gov. Tony Evers had officially requested a Presidential Disaster Declaration and FEMA funding during the last week of August. His request included access to FEMA’s Individual Assistance and Public Assistance for Milwaukee, Washington and Waukesha counties, which could help residents get reimbursements for costs from flood damage. 

“We had Huge Victories in Wisconsin in 2016, 2020, and 2024, and it is my Honor to deliver BIG for Wisconsinites!” Trump wrote in a Truth Social post about approving the FEMA funding. 

U.S. Sen. Ron Johnson wrote in a post on X that Trump called him to deliver the news of the approval. 

“Thank you to President Trump for continuing to deliver BIG TIME for Wisconsinites,” Johnson said. He also thanked U.S. Reps. Bryan Steil and Scott Fitzgerald for helping to lead the push for the assistance.

U.S. Sen. Tammy Baldwin and U.S. Rep. Gwen Moore had also called for the funding. 

“It’s been more than a month since disaster hit Wisconsin, and families are hurting. I have been fighting for these funds because Wisconsinites need help and they need it now,” Baldwin said in a statement. “I’ll continue to closely monitor to make sure Wisconsin gets everything we need to be on the road to recovery and the whole-of-government recovery effort does right by all Wisconsinites.”

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Assembly Speaker Robin Vos (R-Rochester) said he is “very confident” in the Capitol police force and noted that many of the incidents that have occurred were not located in Capitol buildings. (Photo by Baylor Spears/Wisconsin Examiner).

Wisconsin leaders condemned political violence and said they are continuing to discuss security in the Capitol on Thursday following the assassination of Charlie Kirk at Utah Valley University.

Kirk, a conservative activist and co-founder of Turning Point USA, was shot and killed Wednesday while speaking at a university event in Orem, Utah. The search is still underway for the shooter.

During a floor session Thursday, the Wisconsin State Assembly held a moment of silence for Kirk as well as one to honor the 24th anniversary of 9/11.

“Mr. Kirk’s family are in our thoughts today,” Senate Minority Leader Dianne Hesselbein (D-Middleton) said at a press conference. “We are still sad about the assassination of Representative Melissa Horton in Minnesota. Political violence and violence is never the answer — whether it’s the arson attack on Gov. Josh Shapiro’s home, the attempt on President Trump’s life or the university and college shootings that are happening all across our nation. Violence is never the answer.”

Hesselbein also acknowledged the shooting at Evergreen High School in Colorado that happened Wednesday afternoon.

“This was another senseless act of political violence unfortunately against Charlie Kirk, and I want to express my deepest condolences to his loved ones,” Assembly Minority Leader Greta Neubauer (D-Racine) said. “We all condemn political violence in the strongest possible terms. No one should fear for their lives because of their jobs.”

Security and safety concerns have been at the forefront of lawmakers’ minds this year, especially after the assassination of Minnesota Rep. Melissa Hortman and her husband. The names of several Wisconsin politicians were found on a list of targets belonging to the Minnesota shooting suspect.

“Given the recent rise in political violence, of course, this is top of mind for many of our colleagues, and of course, the staff who work in the Capitol as well as the press, the guests, the children that come through this building on Capitol visits,” Neubauer said. “It’s an ongoing conversation, and we hope to continue that with our Republican colleagues, who of course control the safety in our chambers, as well as the other entities in the Capitol.” 

Assembly Speaker Robin Vos (R-Rochester) said he is “very confident” in the Capitol police force and noted that many of the incidents that have occurred were not located in Capitol buildings. 

“When you look at Minnesota, it was in their homes. If you look at what happened yesterday to Charlie Kirk, it was in a public venue on campus, so the idea that we’re somehow going to fortify a single building to make people feel safer when the reality is that most of the violence that has occurred has not been inside of the buildings, but outside of people’s home.

In a video Wednesday evening, President Donald Trump condemned the assassination and listed acts of violence that have occurred against right-leaning figures, including the attempt on his own life last year, but neglected to mention the murder of the Hortmans. He blamed the incidents on “radical left political violence.” 

“For years, those on the radical left have compared wonderful Americans like Charlie to Nazis and the world’s worst mass murderers and criminals. This kind of rhetoric is directly responsible for the terrorism that we’re seeing in our country today, and it must stop right now,” Trump said. “My administration will find each and every one of those who contributed to this atrocity, and to other political violence.”

Asked about Trump only recognizing violence against conservatives, Vos said he didn’t see the comments. But Vos said he knows that in Trump’s “heart” he believes that “assassination is 100% of the time wrong.”

“When Melissa Hortman, who was clearly a liberal Democrat, I didn’t hear anybody on the right celebrating the fact that she was assassinated. It was awful, and that’s what it should be,” Vos said, adding that he condemned anyone celebrating Kirk’s death.

During the moment of silence, Vos said Kirk was a man “who represented free speech” and “was silenced in the most horrific way possible.” He said that the country is “rapidly deteriorating” as “many see the other party as their mortal enemies out to destroy the country, not just good-hearted political rivals that we should be.”

Wisconsin’s congressional delegation and other state leaders also condemned political violence on Wednesday, though one Republican has taken the route of blaming others for the violence. 

Wisconsin U.S. Sen. Tammy Baldwin said that “there is no two ways about this: political violence has no place in America. I am keeping Charlie and his family in my thoughts in this truly horrifying moment.”

U.S. Rep. Tony Wied called Kirk “a true American Patriot” and said “his legacy will live on for generations to come.” 

“There is absolutely zero place for political violence in our country,” Wied said. 

“Violence against anyone because of their political beliefs is wrong. Violence against others is wrong.  Violence is never the answer for resolving our differences or disagreements,” Gov. Tony Evers said. “Wisconsin joins in praying for Charlie Kirk and the Utah Valley community and first responders.”

U.S. Rep. Derrick Van Orden, who represents Wisconsin’s 3rd Congressional District, has been posting consistently since news broke about the assassination, blaming reporters and Democrats for the violence. 

“The left and their policies are leading America into a civil war. And they want it,” Van Orden wrote in one post. In another, he said reporters and Democrats were “directly culpable.” 

Democratic Party of Wisconsin Chair Devin Remiker said in a statement that Van Orden was encouraging violence. 

“His terrifying statements, which are inviting civil war and encouraging violence against Democrats and the media, are being completely ignored by Republicans in Wisconsin and in D.C.. They have a responsibility to tell Derrick Van Orden to stop pouring gasoline on an open flame, and I implore them to do so immediately,” Remiker said.

Remiker had already condemned the violence in a statement Wednesday, saying, “this sort of violence will continue until all of us, regardless of party, condemn these sorts of heinous actions.”

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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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According to a 2025 report from the The Center for Gun Violence Solutions and The Center for Suicide Prevention at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, gun-related suicides in the U.S. reached record highs in 2023 with 27,300 — or 58% — of all gun deaths being suicides; 90% of suicide attempts involving guns are fatal.(Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)

Democratic lawmakers are proposing a way for Wisconsinites who are experiencing depression or suicidal ideation to voluntarily put themselves on a “do not buy” list that would block them from being able to purchase a handgun themselves.

Sen. Kelda Roys (D-Madison) and Rep. Lee Snodgrass (D-Appleton) said in a cosponsorship memo that the bill would honor the Wisconsinites who have died by suicide including former Rep. Jonathan Brostoff, who killed himself in 2024. 

“We all deserve to live free from the fear of gun violence — whether that be in public or in the comfort of our homes. Last year, many of us in the Capitol lost a dear friend in Jonathan Brostoff, and there are many more people around the state who died by suicide using a gun,” Roys said in a statement. “It is our hope that we can honor their memories by offering a helping hand to anyone who is struggling with thoughts of self-harm.” 

The lawmakers said the bill is picking up on the work of Brostoff, who was an advocate for improving access to mental health services. During his time in the Legislature, Brostoff also served as a member of the 2019 Speakers’ Task Force on Suicide Prevention.

Lawmakers, many of whom served with him, honored him on the floor of the Legislature earlier this year. 

After Brostoff’s death, Gov. Tony Evers called on lawmakers to pass a similar policy.

“A big part of preventing gun suicide is access to intervention: the time and space between the person and the firearm are crucial,” the lawmakers said in a memo. 

According to a 2025 report from the The Center for Gun Violence Solutions and The Center for Suicide Prevention at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, gun-related suicides in the U.S. reached record highs in 2023 with 27,300 — or 58% — of all gun deaths being suicides; 90% of suicide attempts involving guns are fatal.

The Wisconsin Department of Justice (DOJ) would be required to maintain a list under the bill. The proposal would provide $150,000 in state funding to the Department of Justice for the purposes of maintaining the list. 

A person would be able to request a prohibition for one year, five years with the first year being irrevocable or a 20-year period with the first year being irrevocable. 

The prohibition could be removed if someone submitted a request to the DOJ outside of the irrevocable period. After receiving a request for the revocation of a prohibition, the DOJ would have to wait 48 hours to remove the person from the database. 

Snodgrass said in a statement that people experiencing suicidal ideation need ways to protect themselves. 

“A constituent came to me in a time of crisis, feeling helpless that when they hoped to add themselves to a ‘do not sell’ list, found there was no process and no such list,” Snodgrass said. “Thankfully, my constituent is thriving today and we are grateful for their advocacy on this issue to help save lives in the future.”

A “Do Not Sell” list — also known as a ‘Voluntary Prohibition of Handgun Purchases’ list — has been adopted in a handful of other states, including Washington, Utah and Virginia. Reporting from The Trace in 2024 found that within the six years only about 130 people had participated in the program.

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Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley (Photo by Isiah Holmes/Wisconsin Examiner)

Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley launched his campaign for governor Tuesday morning, saying that his story is “Wisconsin’s story” and he wants to work to address the “affordability crisis” that many Wisconsinites are facing. 

Crowley had already said he was planning to enter the race just a day after Gov. Tony Evers announced he wouldn’t be running for a third term in 2026. Evers’ decision not to run has created the first open race for governor in 16 years. 

In a campaign ad, Crowley, 39, highlighted his difficulties in his childhood and his journey to becoming the youngest and first Black person to serve as Milwaukee county executive. 

“I didn’t grow up in the halls of power. I grew up here and here and here,” Crowley said as photos of his previous homes flashed on screen, “Evicted three times as a kid, having to pick up yourself and everything you own off the curb, it’ll break you or it’ll make you.”

The field for the Democratic primary is still shaping up. Lt. Gov. Sara Rodriguez was the first to launch her campaign, following Evers’ announcement. State Sen. Kelda Roys (D-Madison) has also said she is “very likely” to enter the race. Others considering joining the fray include former Lt. Gov. Mandela Barnes, Attorney General Josh Kaul and state Rep. Francesca Hong (D-Madison).

The primary election is just under a year away. 

Crowley said in an interview that Evers has served as a “great, steady, calm strength” that the state has needed over the last decade and he “knew that we were going to need some experienced executive leadership to take over” and someone “who’s going to fight for Wisconsinites all across this state.” 

Crowley was elected to be Milwaukee County executive in 2020. He highlighted the fact that he has managed the state’s largest county, including its $1.4 billion budget, guiding it through the COVID-19 pandemic.

Crowley also represented Milwaukee in the state Assembly from 2017 to June of 2020. 

“I didn’t want any child to go through that,” he said of his struggles with poverty and eviction in his early life, “so I became a community organizer. I went on to serve in the state Assembly, where I saw what happens when extremists had total control, and I’d had enough,” Crowley says  in a new campaign ad. “At 33, I returned home elected to lead the largest county in Wisconsin, helping create thousands of new jobs, cutting our carbon emissions in half, balancing the budget, all while delivering the largest property tax cut in our history and convincing Madison to return more money right back to every local community across the state. But the progress we’ve made isn’t nearly enough.”

Crowley told the Wisconsin Examiner in an interview that his experience in the Legislature combined with his executive experience set himself apart from other potential candidates. He said he knew on Day One he “would hit the ground running to be able to move our entire state forward.”

Crowley will have to run and win statewide, something he hasn’t done before, before he can accomplish that. 

Asked about challenges Democrats could face in competing statewide in 2026, Crowley said it’s important to recognize people’s frustrations with the Democratic party, especially nationally. He said he has shared the frustrations. 

“We haven’t had a cohesive national message that we could get around that would help energize our base and get folks out,” Crowley said. 

Crowley noted that his experience isn’t just with the city of Milwaukee — the county itself is made up of 19 municipalities with varying needs. 

‘When we talk about the issues that we have focused on — balancing the budget, being able to cut taxes, tackling the opioid epidemic, expanding access to mental health services — these aren’t partisan issues. These aren’t rural or suburban or urban issues. These are issues that are affecting every community,” Crowley said. “My goal is to go and talk to all communities, to let them know that I’m not only willing to listen but am willing to allow those voices on the ground, at the grassroots level, to be able to be part of the solution.” 

Crowley said that he has helped deliver for communities outside of Milwaukee County. He takes credit for leading on Act 12, a 2023 bipartisan law that overhauled local government funding in Wisconsin, boosting state payments for communities across the state and provided Milwaukee with the ability to raise its sales tax.

Crowley said that Act 12 was “definitely historic in nature” — providing funding that communities were able to invest in fire and safety, roads, infrastructure and public services — and gave Milwaukee County and other communities a “bit of reprieve,” but it “didn’t fix all our problems.”

“We’ve had a Republican-controlled Legislature for the better of more than 15 years, and so [Evers has] had to work across the aisle, and this is what divided government looks like,” Crowley said when asked if he would’ve done anything different in recent budget negotiations, which left many Democrats dissatisfied. “It’s not the sexiest or the prettiest, but it means that you have to find compromises… I want to make sure that we continue to do what’s right, but also know that there’s more that we can do for working families.”

Crowley said that’s why it’s important that Democrats pick up seats in the state Legislature in 2026 in addition to keeping control of the governor’s office. Democrats are two seats away from flipping the Senate and five seats away from flipping the Assembly. To do so, Crowley said they cannot “continue to defend the status quo.” 

“We have to look forward. We have to talk about the new vision of what Wisconsin needs to look like,” Crowley said. “What fully funded public schools really means? What does it mean to support families who are in need of  child care across this state, and making sure that they have access not to just affordable housing, but we need attainable housing that is available for folks at all different income levels.” 

Crowley said these issues are all at the root of helping address the “affordability crisis.” 

“People are getting less even if they are making more money, and they need a little bit of relief,” Crowley said. “They’re struggling — trying to figure out how they’re going to put food on the table, how they’re going to keep up with rent or their mortgage, and I know exactly what that’s like. I had two loving parents, who had their own issues and struggled to put food on the table.”

On education, Crowley noted that Wisconsin used to provide about two-thirds of the funding that school districts needed. 

“We at least need to revisit that and figure out how we can get back to that level,” Crowley said. 

Child care was one of Evers’ top issues during the most recent state budget negotiations and he secured $110 million in state funding for direct payments to child care providers. That program will sunset in June 2026. 

Asked whether he would take a similar approach to funding for child care centers, Crowley said that the state should “look at the public-private partnerships when it comes down to funding anything and everything.” 

“As it relates to the services that we’ve provided in Milwaukee County, we can have limited resources, but based off of the partnerships that we have created, we’ve been able to move the needle on many of the programs and services that we offer,” Crowley said. “How do we bring the child care providers into the fold and help them come up with ideas that we need in order to fund them, and I do think that businesses can play a role.” 

On affordable housing, Crowley said that the state needs to work to cut down on bureaucracy and “red tape”.

“There’s a lot of bureaucracy, even if the state wanted to invest in both affordable and attainable housing. You have to wait for local approval, and I think both sides of the aisle understand that we can’t wait for the bureaucrats, and we need to cut the red tape with a type of housing that communities are looking for.”

Crowley added that “what works in Milwaukee may not work in La Crosse, may not work in Wausau, may not work in Green Bay” and that he wants to ensure that the state is listening to people in their communities about what is best. 

Crowley added that there’s “going to be time for us to talk about specific policies,” but he is planning on using “the next couple of weeks, next couple of months, to hear directly from those who are impacted and see what solutions they want to see brought to the table.” 

Crowley added that it would take working with the Legislature to get these things done.

“I absolutely think that one of the things that we have lost in politics is the art of compromise,” Crowley said. “Now, compromising means that you’re finding ways to bring results, and that’s what voters care about. They care about the results, not necessarily the process, but compromising doesn’t necessarily mean that we’re giving up our values to get to a place.” 

Crowley said he would commit to having office hours to work with legislators and hear their ideas “no matter what side of the aisle or what letter is behind their name.” He said this type of communication also needs to extend to every community across the state. 

“The issues affecting communities — there isn’t a cookie cutter solution to them, and there’s no one size fits all solution to the issues that are affecting all of our communities,” Crowley said. 

In his campaign video, Crowley also took aim at President Donald Trump. 

“With costs shooting up, we’re all getting less, even if you’re making more. And Donald Trump’s chaos and cruelty means that the Wisconsin that we cherish will perish unless we unite and fight back,” Crowley said. 

Trump will likely be a major factor in the race for governor in Wisconsin, especially in the Republican primary where the field is also still taking shape, but all of the candidates who have announced so far have closely aligned themselves with Trump.

Crowley said he doesn’t doubt Trump and other national Republican groups will try to “put their thumb on the scale for their particular candidate.” 

“We’re going to run a tight grassroots campaign crisscrossing to every community across this state, letting them know my vision, and I want folks to know whether you’re Democrat, Independent or Republican, there’s a place in this campaign for you, because I’m looking to be the governor for all of us,” Crowley said. 

On the Republican side, Whitefish Bay manufacturer Bill Berrien and Washington Co. Executive Josh Schoemann have officially launched their campaigns. U.S. Rep. Tom Tiffany, who has spoken to President Donald Trump about running according to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, has said he plans to announce a decision by the end of the month. 

In a statement, Berrien called  Crowley’s campaign launch “another career politician” jumping into the race. 

“After years of failed leadership from bureaucrats like David Crowley and Tony Evers, Wisconsinites are ready for a builder to take the reins and lead our state to a bright and prosperous future,” Berrien said. “It doesn’t matter who the Democrats nominate — I plan to beat them.”

Crowley said he isn’t worried about “which Republican” he faces in a general election.

“My fear is any Republican who has the potential of winning this race, and that’s why I’m entering this race now, because we have to unify our party. We have to bring new voices to the table. We have to bring independents back into the fold and build a broad coalition that’s not only going to help me become the next governor, but that’s going to help us win the Senate and the Assembly moving forward.”

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“They are not really focusing on the future. They are continuing to obsess about the past and the good work that we have done. Unlike where our Democratic colleagues are, we're really looking at the issues that are important to the entire state of Wisconsin," Assembly Speaker Robin Vos (R-Rochester) said during the press conference. (Photo by Baylor Spears/Wisconsin Examiner)

Assembly Republicans announced a broad education agenda Tuesday along with a set of task forces. The slate of proposals they plan to advance this fall includes one to encourage school district consolidation and one to push Gov. Tony Evers to opt into a federal school choice program, though exact bill details were scant. Among the new task forces is one that pursues goals similar to those of a Republican committee established this year to improve government efficiency.

As Wisconsin lawmakers return from their summer break, they are beginning to roll out their goals for the rest of the legislative session through early 2026. Democratic lawmakers have also been rolling out  bills, including a package to cancel Walker-era labor laws and one that would reauthorize the Knowles-Nelson Stewardship program. 

Assembly Speaker Robin Vos (R-Rocherster) knocked Democrats’ proposals at the press conference Tuesday. 

“I’ve been watching over the course of the past several weeks as my Democratic colleagues have been talking about what they would like to accomplish this fall and the vast majority of things they’ll be introducing are repealing some good things that we have done,” Vos said. “They are not really focusing on the future. They are continuing to obsess about the past and the good work that we have done. Unlike where our Democratic colleagues are, we’re really looking at the issues that are important to the entire state of Wisconsin.” 

Republicans’ education proposals seek to address a number of issues.

Rep. Amanda Nedweski (R-Pleasant Prairie) said new GOP legislation seeks to help address financial issues school districts are facing by encouraging them to look at consolidating and sharing services. 

Currently, there are 421 public school districts across the state. Nedweski said that given declining enrollment, that number may need to be cut. 

“We have lost 53,000 students over the last decade,” Nedweski said, “Because student enrollment is the primary driver of our state’s school funding formula, districts experiencing declining enrollment receive less money in state aid.” 

As state support for education has declined, Wisconsin school districts have increasingly had to go to referendum to ask for additional funding from local property taxpayers. Public school advocates blame record-breaking  referendum drives on state funding not keeping pace with inflation. During the most recent state budget, Democrats and advocates called for additional per pupil funding for public schools, but Republicans rejected it and provided no increase to schools’ general state aid.

“Democrats might argue that the solution is something to throw more money at the problem, but it does not solve the issue that there are just less kids being born today than there were 20 years ago,” Nedweski said. “It’s a birth rate issue as enrollment continues to decline, especially in smaller rural districts. Many schools will face difficult decisions, and our goal is to provide support and give tools, remove barriers, and create incentives for voluntary consolidation.”

Nedweski argued that consolidation would help address the “cycle of referendum.” 

She pointed to her own district as an example, saying she has seven single-school K-8 school districts and two school districts that are high schools. 

“That’s a lot of administrative costs and a lot of redundant services and money being spent that couldn’t be going to teachers and into the classroom, so many of them have gone to referendum over the last couple of years, some have been successful, some have failed,” Nedweski said. “We’re seeing a failure rate increase and consolidation cases like these could lower overhead, reduce costs and allow schools to serve students more efficiently and more effectively.” 

She said the specifics of the financial incentives are still being worked out, but will include providing state funds to help consolidating districts equalize their mill rates if they vary, a grant program for school districts exploring consolidation and potentially a policy related to “grade sharing,” among two or more school districts. 

“We are still sort of polishing up some of this policy that we really have taken input from people all around the state from administrators, even educators,” Nedweski said. 

A bill from Rep. Jessie Rodriguez (R-Oak Creek) will instruct Evers to opt into a new federal school choice tax credit program. 

A provision in the federal law signed by Trump in July and that goes into effect in 2027, will provide a dollar-to-dollar tax credit of up to $1,700 to people who donate to a qualifying “scholarship granting program” to support taxpayer-financed private-school vouchers. Governors have until Jan. 1, 2027 to opt into the program.

“This program isn’t about one educational school,” Rodriguez said. “Instead, it helps public, private, charter and even homeschool families access the tools they need to help their kids succeed.”

Rodriguez noted that the scholarships can be used for tutoring, transportation costs, supplemental courses and other costs. 

According to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Evers has already said he will not opt Wisconsin into the program. If the bill were passed by the Senate and Assembly instructing Evers to take action, he could veto the legislation. 

Rodriguez called on Evers to reconsider.

“He claims that opting our state in would be ‘catastrophic’ to public schools, but the federal tax credit can benefit students in private and public schools alike,” Rodriguez said in a statement. “Having Wisconsin join this federal program should be a slam dunk!… This is a chance to bring more resources into our classrooms — public, private, rural and urban — to help our children succeed.”

Teachers Bill of Rights and other bills

Rep. William Penterman (R-Hustisford) is authoring a bill that would implement a “Teacher’s Bill of Rights” that he said would seek to ensure teachers have recourses when  students exhibit disruptive or violent behavior. The language of the bill isn’t yet available.

“Every teacher needs to be safe in his or her classroom, so there needs to be a policy in place,” Penterman said. “What is the recourse if I, as a teacher, send a student away for some sort of violent, disruptive behavior? Teachers and administration need to be on the exact same page. We’re still finalizing some of the details, so I look forward to sharing the final bill with you when it comes out.” 

Rep. Joel Kitchens (R-Sturgeon Bay) said lawmakers will try to help address disparities in math performance by passing legislation similar to a new reading instruction law, but for math. He said the bill will seek to implement screeners to help catch students who are struggling early and put them on an individualized plan to help catch them up. 

“This bill is not going to be the full solution to the problem, but I think it’s a very good first step,” Kitchens said.

Kitchens said he also plans to introduce a bill to ban drones from flying over schools without written permission from school administrators following some complaints from constituents.  

“This is both a safety and a privacy issue,” Kitchens said. 

Another bill from Rep. Dave Murphy (R-Greenville) seeks to make it easier for students to participate in college dual enrollment courses. 

Vos said the bills do not negate Wisconsin’s local control policies for school districts. 

“We always stood strongly in favor of that, but there are some statewide standards,” Vos said. “As an example, if you look at protecting teachers, I think that’s very easy for us to say. It doesn’t matter if you teach in Milwaukee or Burlington, River Falls or Rice Lake, you should have the same protections to ensure that if a disruptive student happens at your school where it’s taking its division and that they’re standing behind you.”

Vos said that the goal of his caucus is to release bill drafts over the next two weeks, then move them through the public hearing process in time to be considered during an October floor session. 

The bills would also need to advance in the Senate.

“We are the ones who work a little bit faster in the Assembly, but an awful lot of things become  law because of our partnership with the state Senate…  I am extremely confident by February, when we adjourn, we will have produced a good package of bills we can all stand behind,” Vos said. 

Speakers’ task forces

The lawmakers also announced the creation of four bipartisan task forces by Vos, including one focused on protecting children online, one seeking to make state government more efficient using artificial intelligence, one to better elder services and one that will explore how to rework the state’s rulemaking process after a recent state Supreme Court ruling took away some of lawmakers’ power to block rules. 

The task forces will meet this fall with the goal of wrapping up their work by the end of the year.

The rulemaking task force will be chaired by Rep. Brent Jacobson (R-Mosinee). He said the task force will seek to identify agencies with broad rulemaking powers that may be “better left to the Legislature,” to strengthen standing committee review of rules and to write a constitutional amendment proposal that will reimplement the Joint Committee on the Review of Administrative Rules (JCRAR). 

Jacobson said the Wisconsin Supreme Court’s Evers v. Marklein II decision in July — which found that state laws giving JCRAR broad powers to block administrative rules indefinitely were unconstitutional — was a “180-turn” on the rulemaking process. 

The Evers administration has  taken steps after the ruling to implement rules without the approval of legislative committees. Republican lawmakers have, in turn, tried to block the implementation of the rules, including a committee last week calling on the Evers administration to drop a proposed rule language change that would replace the phrases “mother” and “woman” with “member” and “father” with “other parent.”

Jacobson made an appeal to Democrats, noting the Evers will not be in office come 2027. 

“There could be a Republican in the governor’s office after next year’s election, and this topic could be one of Democrats’ top priorities next session,” Jacobson said. “With an open governor’s race, we have an opportunity for a bipartisan revamp of the way we hold bureaucrats accountable in Wisconsin.” 

Rep. Patrick Snyder (R-Weston) will chair a task force dedicated to looking at elder services. Rep. Lindee Brill (R-Sheboygan Falls) will chair a task force on “protecting kids.”

“We face a rising youth mental health crisis in our state. We recognize that social media and unrestricted access to the internet has opened a deep chasm into our family structure and filled it with mindless or even dangerous content,” Brill said. “As so many forces try to rip families apart and divide them from each other, we have an obligation to work diligently to keep families together, connected, informed and strong.”

Rep. Jim Piwowarczyk (R – Hubertus) will chair a task force on government efficiency and modernization. It is different from, though related to, a committee formed in the last legislative session that mirrored the federal Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). Wisconsin’s version is called the Government Oversight, Accountability and Transparency Committee (GOAT). 

The Speaker’s Task Force on Government Efficiency and Modernization will specifically look at ways to replace outdated processes with modern tools, reduce administrative overhead through automation, integrate systems and use data to predict demand and allocate resources more effectively. 

The GOAT Committee also has a goal of working to eliminate government inefficiency.

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Wisconsin already doesn’t allow immigrants without legal authorization to apply to BadgerCare. There are two programs, Medicaid Emergency Services and BadgerCare Plus Prenatal Plan, that will provide coverage for those without legal status. (Photo by Thomas Barwick/Getty Images)

A Republican bill that seeks to stop Wisconsin from using public funds to support health services for immigrants who lack legal authorization to reside in the U.S. is poised to advance on Tuesday. 

The bill — AB 308 — would prohibit state, county, village, long-term care district and federal funds from being used to subsidize, reimburse or provide compensation for any health care services for a person not lawfully in the U.S.

It is the latest bill that Republican lawmakers have introduced targeting immigrants. Another bill introduced and passed earlier this year seeks to require local law enforcement officers to cooperate with Immigration and Customs Enforcement. 

The bill is coauthored by Rep. Alex Dallman (R-Markesan) and Sen. Van Wanggaard (R-Racine) and currently has 25 other Republican cosponsors. No Democrats are signed onto the bill. 

During the bill hearing last week, Dallman focused mostly on Wisconsin’s Medicaid program, BadgerCare, arguing that he wants to prevent the state from ever taking steps similar to Minnesota and other states that expanded their Medicaid programs to cover immigrants who lack legal status. Wisconsin already doesn’t allow immigrants without legal authorization to apply to BadgerCare.

In 2023, Minnesota expanded its Medicaid program to cover residents without citizenship or legal residency status, but that was repealed after Republicans threatened a government shutdown to force Democrats to eliminate the expansion. 

The cost estimate for the program was nearly $200 million, Dallman noted.

“These are enormous price tags for individuals who are not here lawfully. This condition should not be the case here in Wisconsin with a state budget that is currently already very lean,” Dallman said. “We must prioritize our citizens over those who are here unlawfully. While Wisconsin currently does not allow undocumented immigrants to enroll in BadgerCare, this bill preemptively… ensures that Wisconsin does not become like Minnesota or Illinois.”

Dallman noted that the bill includes a carve out to ensure that it won’t lose Wisconsin money or put it out of step with federal law.

According to the Legislative Fiscal Bureau summary, the prohibitions in the bill would not apply to the extent that a payment is required under federal law or the application of the prohibitions would result in the loss of any federal funds.

“This bill is not about immigration,” Dallman said, but it is about “protecting our constituents and their hard-earned tax dollars that they send into our state.”

In written testimony, Wanggaard said the bill would extend the current restrictions to “all other health services paid for by the State of Wisconsin.” Wanggaard, who did not attend the public hearing, wrote that the bill would ensure Wisconsin “is not the next test dummy extending health benefits to illegal aliens.”

Democrats and advocates said they are concerned about the sweeping effects the bill could have on all Wisconsinites. 

William Parke-Sutherland, government affairs director at Kids Forward, said the bill would be unworkable as law and would affect every health care provider in the state.

“This bill is entirely short sighted, and nobody has thought about how this would create a state in which we do not want to live,” Parke-Sutherland said. “If a child is at the school and is sick, does the school nurse need to figure out how to verify their status before they provide any degree of care?… I just don’t think that people have thought through the consequences of us in Wisconsin having to live in a situation where we all need to carry our papers.” 

Parke-Sutherland noted that there are already strict citizenship requirements people need to meet to enroll in nearly all Medicaid programs.

The Wisconsin Department of Health Services (DHS) outlines the restrictions on its website as well as  two programs available to noncitizens. One is Medicaid Emergency Services, which provides short-term medical coverage for people who have a medical emergency and aren’t eligible for BadgerCare Plus or Wisconsin Medicaid, and the other is BadgerCare Plus Prenatal Plan, which provides health care coverage for pregnant mothers who are not eligible for BadgerCare Plus due to immigration status or being in prison or jail.

“This is trying to solve a problem that doesn’t exist, and it’s creating way, way, way more problems,” Parke-Sutherland said. “If you are creating a situation where you’re prohibiting funding for services for people who are unlawfully present, then you are creating a need for people to verify their status in order to receive health care.” 

In a fiscal analysis, the Department of Corrections said it is concerned the bill could violate the 8th Amendment. A 1976 Supreme Court decision in Estelle v. Gamble established that the deliberate failure to deal with an inmate’s medical needs constitutes cruel and unusual punishment. 

Wanggaard refuted the analysis in written testimony, saying the bill language means it would only apply to state programs that require enrollment. 

“It does not mean that, for example, an illegal immigrant in the state prison system could not receive health care services from DOC,” Wanggaard said. 

The language of the bill, however, says that “no funds of this state or of any county, village, town, or long-term care district… and no federal funds passing through the state treasury shall be authorized for or paid to any person to subsidize, reimburse, or otherwise provide compensation for any health care services for an individual who is not lawfully present in the United States.”

Rep. Karen Kirsch (D-Greenfield) said her Republican colleagues are taking a page from President Donald Trump and his administration by downplaying the effect of the bill. 

“They’re watching how Trump handles things,” Kirsch said. “They’re pushing the envelope on every interpretation of every word and every piece of legislation to go target people, to go after people… They’re watching how he handles things, and I think that they’re mimicking that at the state. They’re trying to make it sound like, ‘Well, this is all so reasonable. This is not a big deal. Don’t worry about it.’ And then if it passes, then we’re going to see it’s way… way worse.”

Kirsch said she is concerned about the potential “chilling effect” that the bill could have, discouraging individuals and families from seeking care when they need it. 

“[Republicans are] trying to raise this to the public consciousness, and then people are going to be confused,” Kirsch said. “‘Is this a way that they’re going to find me, if I’m an undocumented person?… Even if I do qualify for care, maybe something’s going to happen to me?’ It can have this overall chilling effect of confusion of whether or not people feel safe enough to get care.”

Kirsch took issue with the argument that the bill would protect taxpayers’ money. 

“When they do have access to health care, that also keeps our health care prices down because they’re not showing up in our emergency rooms, they’re doing preventative care, they’re taking care of their diabetes, and they’re not showing up with some serious diabetes complication in our emergency room,” Kirsch said. 

Kirsch also noted that undocumented immigrants pay sales tax and contribute to the state’s economy. She referenced a 2024 report from the University of Wisconsin School for Workers that found that undocumented immigrants specifically contributed $240 million in state and local taxes in 2022.

According to the Wisconsin Lobbying website, the American Civil Liberties Union of Wisconsin, Inc., Kids Forward, the Wisconsin chapter of the National Association of Social Workers, the Wisconsin Association of School Nurses and the Wisconsin Council of Churches are registered against the bill. The only group registered in favor is FGA Action, a Florida-based nonprofit that advocates for conservative policies in statehouses around the country.

David Gwidt, Deputy Communications Director for the ACLU of Wisconsin, said in a statement to the Examiner that the legislation if enacted “could result in absurd circumstances for medical and mental health providers across the state and exacerbate this fear and uncertainty experienced by our immigrant neighbors.” 

The Assembly State Affairs Committee plans to vote on whether to advance the legislation Tuesday, setting it up for a floor vote later this week.

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Rep. Sylvia Ortiz-Velez (D-Milwaukee) speaks at a press conference in January 2025. (Photo by Baylor Spears/Wisconsin Examiner)

Rep. Sylvia Ortiz-Velez of Milwaukee is leaving the Assembly Democratic caucus — a decision that comes after leadership alleged that she made comments about shooting three of her colleagues. 

Ortiz-Velez has been at the center of several disagreements over the last several weeks with her colleagues, including a public dispute with the newly-formed Hispanic Legislative Caucus over resolutions to highlight Hispanic Heritage Month. 

Ortiz-Velez said she was excluded from being an author on the resolution, though the leader of the caucus Rep. Priscilla Prado (D-Milwaukee) has said the caucus agreed to limit authors to members. Ortiz-Velez had earlier declined to be a part of the caucus. She decided to write her own resolution honoring Hispanic Heritage Month, and her resolution, which has Republican and Democratic cosponsors, is now being set up to be voted on this week.

Last week her access to the Wisconsin State Capitol was revoked due to an alleged threat, though Assembly Speaker Robin Vos’ office said the revocation was done in error, the threat was found to be not credible and her access restored. 

Assembly Minority Leader Greta Neubauer (D-Racine) initially confirmed that Ortiz-Velez had left the caucus but declined to speak on the issue. 

On Friday, however, eight Democratic leaders, including Neubauer, said in a statement to the Journal Sentinel that Ortiz-Velez “made a comment about shooting three members of our caucus who she has had personal disagreements with.”

“This is unacceptable behavior, especially given the heightened political environment and the murder of Representative Melissa Hortman and her husband earlier this year,” the lawmakers said. “We are not in a position to ignore comments like these and referred it to Human Resources. After conversations with the Speaker’s office, we spoke with Capitol Police as well. We appreciated them looking into the matter and handling it from there.”

Former Minnesota Rep. Melissa Hortman and her husband were the victims of a politically-motivated assassination in June. 

Ortiz-Velez told the Journal Sentinel that she did not make a threat, but rather used a “poorly worded hyperbole.” 

“What I was trying to express is that I want peace with people, but others seem to keep attacking me, and if they attack me, I have a right to defend myself. And if someone perceived it differently, I’m very sorry, and I will be certain to refrain from that kind of language in the future,” Ortiz-Velez said. 

Ortiz-Velez has previously split from her caucus on other votes. She was the only Democrat to vote for the new legislative maps that were drawn by Gov. Tony Evers and that Republican lawmakers decided to adopt, she was one of a handful of Democrats to vote for the recent state budget in July and also recently was the only Democrat on a bill, vetoed by Evers, that would have declared gig workers to be independent contractors.

According to WisPolitics, Ortiz-Velez also alleges that her colleagues were trying to keep her from testifying on AB 306, a Republican bill that would restrict an executive emergency powers, because she plans to accuse Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley, who plans to run for governor, of abusing his power during the COVID-19 pandemic. 

“I left the caucus because they’ve been terrible to me,” Ortiz-Velez told WisPolitics.

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At a press conference outside the state Capitol Wednesday, Sens. Jamie Wall, Jeff Smith and Senate Minority Leader Dianne Hesselbein urged Republicans to schedule a hearing for their bill expeditiously. (Photo by Baylor Spears/Wisconsin Examiner)

Less than a month before the planned closure of two Wisconsin veterans’ housing sites, a handful of Democratic and Republican lawmakers are seeking a way to save the sites. But bipartisan work on a solution appears out of reach as lawmakers bicker over who is to blame for the lack of funding and over whether to take up Democratic- or Republican-authored bills.

Gov. Tony Evers’ administration announced, shortly after the state budget was completed in July, that two Veterans Housing and Recovery Program (VHRP) sites, one in Chippewa Falls and one in Green Bay, would be closing on Sept. 30 due to a lack of funding in the state budget. One facility in Union Grove will remain open. 

The program, which is run under the Wisconsin Department of Veterans Affairs, serves veterans who are on the verge of or are already experiencing homelessness, including those who have been incarcerated, unemployed or have physical and mental health problems. Participants get access to transitional housing, referrals to service providers, financial assistance, assistance with seeking vocational opportunities and access to a room at a reduced rent for working veterans.

Participants can stay for a maximum of 24 months, but the average length is six to 10 months.

The program has been funded with a combination of an appropriation from the Veterans Trust Fund, payments made by program participants and per diem payments, which are made to the agency by the federal government at a current rate of about $71 per resident per day. However, growing staffing and maintenance costs at the facilities led to the need for additional state support. Evers had included a funding proposal in his budget but that was removed by Republican lawmakers.

Following the news of the closures, Sens. Jeff Smith (D-Brunswick) and Jaime Wall (D-Green Bay) introduced a bill that would dedicate $1.9 million to the sites.

At a press conference outside the state Capitol Wednesday, the bill authors and Senate Minority Leader Dianne Hesselbein (D-Middleton) urged Republicans to schedule a hearing for their bill expeditiously.

Citing the upcoming closure date, Hesselbein said the Senate and Assembly must meet. She said committees could meet this week or next to hear the legislation and pass it out of committee this month and have the bill on the floor in October.

“It’s a cool day out here today. The weather is going to get worse. We need to take care of our veterans,” Hesselbein said.

According to the Associated Press, the state Senate is not planning to meet for a floor session this month. 

“It’s way past time to take action to keep these facilities open so they can continue to provide vital services to our veterans,” Hesselbein said, adding that “when Democrats have the power of majority which we believe is coming in just a few years, we will always have your backs.” Democrats are seeking to flip control of the state Senate in the 2026 election cycle. 

Smith called Republicans’ lack of action on the issue “callous,” noting that Democrats tried months ago to include the funding in the budget. When Democrats proposed an amendment to  fund the veterans’ housing sites in the state budget, every Republican voted against it except for Sen. André Jacque (R-New Franken). 

It is unlikely that the Republican-led Legislature will allow Democrats’ bill to advance. 

“[Republicans] have ignored our pleas. As far as we know, we’re not going to see these bills on the floor this month, and this is the final chapter. This is when it ends. No hope for the veterans that they like to pretend that they care about,” Smith said. 

Jacque, meanwhile, began circulating his own bill last month to provide the needed funding for the facilities. 

The Republican bill, coauthored by Jacque and Rep. Benjamin Franklin (R-De Pere), includes $1.9 million for the VHRP program as well as two other policy changes related to veterans. 

One would require the Board of Regents of the University of Wisconsin system to provide funding to the UW Missing-in-Action Recovery and Identification Project to support missions to recover and identify Wisconsin veterans who are missing. The other would lower the eligibility threshold for veterans and surviving spouses to claim the veterans and surviving spouses property tax credit.

Jacque said the two policies were also left out of the budget and are critical to helping veterans.

“Every budget has missed opportunities, and I am hopeful that the rest of the session will provide openings to address those challenges in a number of areas, particularly providing for our veterans who have done so much in service to our country and communities,” Jacque told the Wisconsin Examiner in an email.

Jacque said he has “found a lot of support” from his Republican colleagues and is “hopeful that the bill will be referred to the Senate Committee on Natural Resources, Veterans and Military Affairs,” which he chairs.

In response to a question about Jacque’s bill and whether Democrats are working with any Republicans to advance funding for the facilities, Hesselbein brushed off the GOP bill saying it simply pulled from Democrats’ ideas. 

“What Sen. Jacque did is he took three Democratic bills and pushed them all into one omnibus. We’ll be interested if he gets a hearing. I’m not sure…,” Hesselbein said. “I like to have clean legislation when we try to have committee hearings so you can hear exactly what’s going on with those bills, so we are supporting the bill that Sen. Wall and Sen. Smith put forth.”

Smith said Democrats separated the VHRP funding from other policies purposefully. Wall added that their bill is a “smaller, cleaner ask” than a bill with multiple items. 

Jacque told the Wisconsin Examiner in an email that he is “extremely disappointed by Sen. Hesselbein’s comments and her unwillingness to put partisanship aside for the sake of working to support veterans — as I did when I voted for the omnibus veterans motion her caucus introduced during the budget. I am rather surprised at her comments due to her longstanding penchant for putting forward omnibus bills and amendments.” 

Jacque noted that he has supported and authored legislation to expand the property tax credit for veterans and surviving spouses in previous years “going all the way back to my service in the State Assembly,” and has also supported previous UW MIA legislation. 

“I supported VHRP within the budget and it was not introduced as standalone legislation by any legislator previously to that, at least to my knowledge,” Jacque added. “I didn’t think Sen. Hesselbein was that unaware of the history of these initiatives.”

Not every Republican lawmaker has appeared open to providing additional funding that would be used to keep the two VHRP programs open. Following the initial news of the planned closures, Sen. Howard Marklein (R-Spring Green) and Rep. Mark Born (R-Beaver Dam) co-chairs of the Joint Finance Committee, blamed Evers for not negotiating for the money in the budget.

According to the Green Bay Press Gazette, Sen. Eric Wimberger (R-Oconto) claimed last week that Evers had a “slush fund” — referring to federal pandemic aid — and should be able to find the money to keep the facilities afloat. He pointed to the Wisconsin DVA’s Veterans Trust Fund, a state fund that supports most grant and benefit programs for Wisconsin veterans, and said the agency has regularly returned around $1 million in unspent funds each year and in 2025, the agency sent back about $600,000.

WDVA Assistant Deputy Secretary Joey Hoey has disputed the comments, saying that the agency is “only allowed to spend the money they tell us to spend.” He has also said the trust fund cannot be used for the staffing costs and that there isn’t enough in it.

Wall objected to Wimberger’s “slush fund” comments as well on Wednesday, saying that federal American Rescue Plan Act money has been spent. ARPA funds were used to help support costs for the program in 2023-24. States had to expend the one-time ARPA funds by the end of 2024.

“[Evers] took some ARPA interest funds and used it to help prop up the program. Those funds don’t exist anymore. The ARPA funds all had to be allocated by the end of last year,” Wall said. “The ARPA interest money was all spent in the last budget, so that get out of jail free card doesn’t exist.”

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Assembly Speaker Robin Vos (R-Rochester) said Wednesday that the Evers administration is “drunk with power” and is upending a process “that has literally worked for generations.” Vos speaks to reporters in Jan. 2024. (Baylor Spears | Wisconsin Examiner)

The Joint Committee on Employment Relations unanimously approved pay raises for state and University of Wisconsin employees Wednesday morning, but not without criticism from the top Assembly Republican of Gov. Tony Evers’ decision to implement them ahead of the committee. 

The budget — passed by the Republican-led Legislature and signed by Evers in early July — included a 3% pay increase in the first year of the budget and a 2% increase in the second year. Evers, seeking to get the pay raises to employees as soon as possible, instructed the Department of Administration (DOA) to implement the raises without getting the additional go-ahead from the committee in mid-August. 

DOA Deputy Secretary Anne Hanson told the committee that the raises should be reflected in paychecks starting this week.

“When the Wisconsin Supreme Court clarified that the state separation of power doctrine in Evers v. Marklein last year, it became clear that the implementation of raises established and funded by the state budget legislation would no longer necessitate separate approval by a legislative committee under the direction of Gov. Evers,” Hanson said. “DOA staff worked quickly to carry out the law.”

The Evers v. Marklein case centered on the Knowles-Nelson Stewardship program and projects being blocked by the Joint Finance Committee. The Court found 6-1 that it was unconstitutional for the committee to withhold already appropriated funds for the program. 

Assembly Speaker Robin Vos (R-Rochester) complained about Evers’ actions before the committee voted Wednesday, saying the Evers administration is “drunk with power” and is upending a process “that has literally worked for generations.” 

“Really seems like rather than trying to be collaborative and go through the normal process where Republicans, Democrats, legislators, executive branch, all sit down and work out a deal, they’re just going to try to impose their will on the state, which will mean unfortunately that during the next budget discussion, it will be dramatically different,” Vos said. “It’s really a shame that the Evers administration has decided to play politics with it and do something which is clearly outside the scope of norm and what should be outside the scope of the law.” 

The conflict over the powers of the Legislature and of the executive branch goes beyond the implementation of pay raises. Republicans lawmakers are also trying to stop the implementation of administrative rules by the Evers administration, which was seeking to put some in action without going through the Joint Committee for Review of Administrative Rules. Evers in this case cited another recent state Supreme Court decision as clarifying his authority.

Senate Minority Leader Dianne Hesselbein (D-Middleton) and Assembly Minority Leader Greta Neubauer (D-Racine), the Democrats on the committee, did not speak to the issue, though Hesselbein said she is concerned that the pay for employees isn’t enough. 

“I’m glad we’re doing this adjustment, but I would like to note after a conversation with representatives of hard-working men and women throughout the state providing public services… that the compensation for the average state employee does remain 18% below inflation since 2012,” Hesselbein said. “While this is a small step in the right direction, we have a lot more to do.”

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The report found the median wage for Wisconsin workers — $25.01 per hour — reached a record high for the second year in a row, though the report says this doesn’t represent the full story when it comes to workers’ wages. (Justin Sullivan | Getty Images)

The Trump administration’s policies are defining the current economic moment Wisconsin workers are facing — undercutting economic growth and undermining workers, according to the 2025 State of Working Wisconsin report. 

Every year since 1996, the High Road Strategy Center, a University of Wisconsin-Madison nonprofit think tank, produces the report to present information on the state of work and jobs, including who is “winning” and “being left out” of the economy, though future reports may be in trouble. 

Laura Dresser, a co-author of the report and High Road Strategy Center associate director, said in a statement that the 2025 data shows “some real strengths for working Wisconsin owing to the strong recovery from pandemic shutdowns.” 

“Long-standing inequalities are still with us, and federal policy puts substantial clouds on the horizon,” Dresser said. “I’m especially concerned about the administration’s attacks on the integrity of federal economic data.”

Joel Rogers, director of the center and a UW-Madison professor, and Leslie Vasquez, outreach specialist and communications director, are also authors of the report that was released the Friday before Labor Day. 

Dresser’s concern about federal jobs data stems from President Donald Trump’s decision last month to remove Erika McEntarfer, the director of the Bureau of Labor Statistics, from her position after a dismal jobs report that showed hiring slowed in July and was weaker in May and June than previously reported. He falsely claimed the reports were rigged as his justification. 

The report warns that the approach being taken by Trump is a “disaster for economic decision making and for public trust.” 

“Good economic decisions require reliable data,” the authors stated in the report. “Without reliable independent data, we cannot understand the economy nor, more narrowly, can the High Road Strategy Center continue confidently producing reports that draw on it. With hopes for continued national commitment to reliable data, and fears about the quality of what politically motivated ‘revisions’ will do, we will anxiously monitor changes in leadership and data at the BLS.”

Wage median reaches high, gaps ongoing 

The report found the median wage for Wisconsin workers — $25.01 per hour — reached a record high for the second year in a row, though the report says this doesn’t represent the full story when it comes to workers’ wages. 

While Wisconsin’s median wage reached a new high, a difference in wages exists among workers based on gender, race and ethnicity. Men’s median wage — $27.05 — in 2024 was more than $4 per hour higher than women’s median of $22.97, a 15% difference. 

When race is considered, the differences become more stark. White men have the highest wages at a median of $28.54 per hour. The median for white women was about 17% less at $23.66 per hour. 

The median wages for workers of color fell considerably below that of white men and women. Black men and women had about the same hourly median wage at $19.93 and $20.29 — 29% less than white men. Hispanic men had a median wage of $18.56 and Hispanic women a median of $17.57.

The report also found that over 800,000 workers — nearly a third of Wisconsin’s workforce — make less than $20 per hour. 

The report says raising the minimum wage would be one way to help close these gaps. Wisconsin’s minimum wage is currently $7.25, a number in line with the federal minimum wage and that has been unchanged since 2009. 

“Raising the minimum wage to $15 per hour would not only be politically popular but would directly or indirectly raise the wages of 231,800 (or 18%) of women workers, 36,200 (or 25.6%) Black workers, and 50,200 (or 26.6%) Hispanic workers in the state,” the report states. 

In response to the report, Peter Rickman, president and business manager of the Milwaukee Area Service & Hospitality Workers (MASH) Union, also urged Wisconsin lawmakers to make increasing the state’s wages a priority this fall.

“The service and hospitality working class needs comprehensive living wage legislation with a $20 per hour floor, yearly adjustment for inflation, reduction of the tip penalty, and restoration of local control,” Rickman said. “Democrats and Republicans alike tell us that they want to represent the working class. Now is their time to show us by introducing and passing comprehensive living wage legislation.”

Meanwhile, Wisconsin reached a record of 3,058,500 jobs in July, but the state’s overall jobs growth has been weak. 

Wisconsin has added about 1,400 jobs per month in 2025 — growing about half as fast as the national rate. According to the report, the state has 2% more jobs than before the pandemic, while the U.S. overall has seen 5% more jobs. 

Unemployment remains low in Wisconsin with a 3.1% rate in July 2025. Wisconsin also has a 66.4% labor force participation rate, higher than the national average of 62.6%. 

“The jobs and unemployment data are strong, but the economy is cooling off after the rapid recovery from pandemic shutdowns,” the report states. 

It also finds the economic softening mirrors the national environment where analysts have warned of a slow down or even a recession.

Federal policies undermine growth 

Federal policy changes under the Trump administration are contributing to these outlooks, according to the report.

“For workers, the warning signs and the brewing economic storm of tariffs, immigration crackdowns and federal disinvestment are especially concerning,” the report states. “While the current labor market is solid, these substantial disruptions may not only slow our overall economic growth, but also reduce the power of working people, as opportunities become more scarce.”

The report predicts that tariffs, which are taxes on imports to the U.S., will raise the price of goods for American consumers, the Trump administration’s deportation agenda will undermine the country’s economic strength by hobbling jobs growth and federal cuts to social safety nets will hit the state’s low-wage workers hardest.

“Economists and investors have observed that immigration changes may constrain economic growth even more than the high cost of tariffs. Employers are already complaining about the impact of the raids on their workforce and customers,” the report states. 

According to the report, 320,000 immigrants reside in Wisconsin and generate $23 billion in economic output annually. In 2023, federal data found that immigrants constituted 7% of Wisconsin’s workforce. 

Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) arrests in Wisconsin have doubled under the Trump administration, and of late, the administration, which promised to focus on “criminals,” has been shifting towards deporting people with no criminal convictions and no pending criminal charges. 

“Despite considerable economic and cultural contributions, immigrants face persistent barriers to fully participating in the workforce and community life,” the report states. “The current administration’s anti-immigrant policies have increased fear and dampened new immigration, constricting the Wisconsin economy where labor markets are already tight.”

The Trump administration has also approved cuts to federal Medicaid and food assistance programs, which Gov. Tony Evers’ administration estimates could cost Wisconsin over $284 million and puts thousands at risk of losing support.

“The federal budget, enacted this summer, contains hundreds of provisions with disturbing implications for working people. It holds enormous tax breaks for the rich,” the report states, noting that an analysis by the Institute Taxation and Economic Policy Wisconsin found the “annual tax break to Wisconsin’s richest 1% will be $67,000. And the tax break for the bottom fifth of households in the state? Just $70.” 

“All of this, and more, is coming and will hit lower wage working families across the state especially hard,” the report states. 

The upheaval in federal policies also comes as participation in unions in Wisconsin, which the report says helps with improving conditions for workers, are down as a result of state policies. 

From 2011 to 2024, unionization in Wisconsin fell from 14% to 7%. Over the same time period, union coverage nationally only fell two percentage points from 13% to 11%. 

That drop in Wisconsin, the report notes, comes after over a decade of public sector unions being disempowered in Wisconsin by Act 10, the state law signed by former Gov. Scott Walker in 2011 that significantly reduced collective bargaining powers of public sector employees. 

In addition, the Trump administration has targeted unions, ending collective bargaining for a million federal employees — four out of five federal workers represented by unions at over a dozen federal agencies. He has also fired members of the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB), the agency tasked with protecting labor rights, for “unduly disfavoring the interests of employers.” 

“Despite federal and state policies that have impeded unionization over the last half century,” the report states, “unions continue to provide workers with the means to improve wages and working conditions in their jobs.”

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