Wind turbines rise up above farmland near Middleton on November 19, 2013. (Photo by Scott Olson/Getty Images)
Wisconsin Democrats have announced a bill that would cap residential energy bills at 2% of household income.
On Tuesday, Democrats said the proposal from Rep. Darrin Madison (D-Milwaukee) would protect Wisconsinites’ bank accounts while the state finds ways to expand clean energy production in the face of climate change and manage the increasing energy burden posed by data center developments across the state.
“Rising energy rates are becoming an unsustainable burden on regular people in Wisconsin,” Madison said at a Tuesday morning press conference. “Our energy system still has big problems to tackle, like dramatically moving towards carbon-free electricity, or the challenge of data centers, which are currently on course to double the amount of energy creation in Wisconsin. Regardless of your stance on data centers, artificial intelligence and the role these technologies can or should play in our communities, the people of Wisconsin must have their energy burden lifted. This bill is a common sense, necessary protection for people struggling to afford their basic needs before we take further action on any of these things as legislators to address those issues.”
At the press conference, residents who have struggled with energy bills spoke about how getting power disconnected can reverberate through people’s lives, causing health problems or forcing choices between other household costs.
“We’re doing everything we can, yet we still cannot keep up,” said Jill Sexton, a Wausau resident who is on disability assistance with a husband on Social Security. “I ended up taking a part time job specifically to cover the increase in our electric and heating bills. Nowadays, here’s our reality: Each month we choose between paying the electric bill and heat bill or filling our prescriptions. Some months I don’t buy the medication. Some months we stretch food until the very last day.”
Several lawmakers tied the bill to the national Democratic party’s growing focus on “affordability” and bipartisan skepticism of data centers.
“We have the money. It’s all about how we prioritize where we spend it,” Rep. Ryan Spaude (D-Ashwaubenon) said at the press conference. “Folks in my district and around the state are on a knife’s edge. Many of them are just barely getting by. This bill is going to do something. It’s going to keep more money in their pockets. It deserves a hearing and it deserves to be passed by this body.”
Legislators announced the bill just as communities are grappling with the construction of massive data centers across the state. While the centers can provide an easy source of property tax revenue for local governments, they also use a massive amount of water and energy — raising questions about the protection of local water supplies, adequacy of the state’s existing renewable energy sources and concerns that a data center-generated spike in energy use will be passed on to local ratepayers.
Last week, Sen. Jodi Habush Sinykin (D-Whitefish Bay) and Rep. Angela Stroud (D-Ashland) introduced a bill that would require data centers to cover the cost of increased energy use, mandate the development of more clean energy and ensure data center construction pays local workers living wages.
“While our state energy system faces deep uncertainty, especially when it comes to the climate crisis, we’re responding to data centers that are going to have increasing energy demands and raise rates for many communities,” said Rep. Francesca Hong (D-Madison) who is running in the Democratic primary for governor. “It is vital that we cap all utility payments at 2% of income so that we can protect our ratepayers and our communities first. This bill is a clear and systemic practical response to rising energy rates, and it’s one of the key cornerstone priorities of the Assembly Democrats’ affordability agenda.”
Under the rate cap bill, the Public Service Commission would be responsible for administering an energy burden relief fund. The fund would cover the difference for any household with energy costs that are more than 2% of the monthly household income. The bill would give the PSC 12 months after enactment to start the fund and three years to automatically enroll every eligible household.
The bill would allow the PSC to prioritize households making less than 300% of the federal poverty level, only provide payments to cover energy costs for primary residences and provide a maximum energy use threshold to prevent people from receiving state aid for energy intensive home businesses such as mining cryptocurrency.
Also, the bill would prevent public utility companies from disconnecting the service of people making less than 300% of the federal poverty level and require the PSC to annually report the number of utility disconnections.
An empty high school classroom. (Dan Forer | Getty Images)
Wisconsin lawmakers are exploring ways to make it easier for school districts to consolidate as they face declining enrollment and financial difficulties.
There are 421 school districts in the state of Wisconsin and about two-thirds are struggling with declining enrollment. According to preliminary numbers from the Department of Public Instruction, enrollment for public school districts in the 2025-26 school year fell by about 13,600 students, representing a nearly 2% decrease from last year’s estimate. Total enrollment across school districts is about 759,800 this year.
Reps. Joel Kitchens (R-Sturgeon Bay), Amanda Nedweski (R-Pleasant Prairie) and Sen. Mary Felzkowski (R-Tomahawk) said during an Assembly Education Committee public hearing Tuesday that declining enrollment is to blame for the financial troubles that schools are facing.
“The districts that are going to referendum all the time. It’s almost always because of declining enrollment. It just gets more expensive per student to educate those kids as the districts become smaller,” Kitchens said. “We’re not telling districts this is what you have to do or what you should do. We’re telling them this is an option for you to consider.”
Schools in Wisconsin have seen a drop of about 53,000 students over a decade, from the 2013-14 to 2022-23 school years. Kitchens pointed to estimates from the Wisconsin Department of Administration that the population in Wisconsin is projected to drop by 200,000 by 2050, noting it will be largely due to the state’s declining birth rate.
Wisconsin’s school funding system is based in part on per pupil numbers, meaning that if fewer students are enrolled schools receive decreased funding from the state, even if a district’s overall costs may not fall.
Kitchens said that having 421 school districts is not going to be sustainable in the long term in Wisconsin and questioned whether there is another state that “on a per capita basis has that many” school districts.
Kitchens said the issue shouldn’t be partisan. He noted that school consolidation is something that the 2019 Blue Ribbon Commission on Wisconsin school funding supported through its recommendations.
“Many districts have used the referendum process to increase the property tax burden on the local residents to backfill the loss in state aid revenue,” Nedweski said. “Many others have seen them repeatedly fail as property taxpayers are unwilling to raise their taxes to increasingly fund empty schools.” She noted that a recent Marquette Law School Poll found that 57% of participants said they would vote against a referendum request. “There is no referendum that can be passed or law that can be signed to single-handedly reverse decades of birth rate declines to alleviate the stresses of declining enrollment in our schools. It’s clear that a more long-term solution is needed to address these demographic challenges because the status quo is not sustainable.”
Wisconsin has had a record number of school districts go to referendum to help meet costs. But beyond declining enrollment, public school advocates say the burden on local taxpayers asked to fund their schools through referendum has grown mostly due to the fact that state investments in public schools have not kept pace with inflation for almost two decades. In the most recent state budget, Wisconsin lawmakers provided additional special education funding, but opted not to provide any increase in general aid, leaving increased costs to fall on property taxpayers.
State Superintendent Tom McCarthy noted during the hearing that Wisconsin is currently spending the least, proportionally, in state revenue that it has ever spent on schools under the current funding formula. He noted that about 32.1% of state general purpose revenue goes to state general aid to schools, and that percentage used to be around 35%. He also said the conversation about declining enrollment and costs had to include the acknowledgement that school districts’ revenue limits have been frozen at different points over the last decade, prohibiting school districts from raising more funds unless they go to referendum to ask voters.
Nedweski said the bills would be useful tools and incentives for districts facing decisions about whether to consolidate.
“Buildings do not educate kids, teachers do,” Nedweski said. “By finding efficiencies through voluntary consolidation, districts will be able to reduce overhead and direct resources to the classrooms so that our students can continue to receive a quality education, while taxpayers receive relief on their property tax bills.”
The package of bills would take a number of steps to encourage districts to explore consolidation, including providing financial incentives.
School districts already receive additional aid when they consolidate. For the first five years after consolidation, a consolidated school district gets $150 per pupil. In the sixth year, the aid drops to 50% of what the school district received in the fifth year and in the seventh year, the aid drops to 25% of the fifth year.
AB 644 would increase that additional state aid to schools that consolidate in 2026, 2027 and 2028 to $2,000 per pupil in the first year. The last six years would be the same as under current law.
Kitchens said that he thought most school districts would be able to decide within a year whether consolidation is something that they want to pursue.
“I’m very open in the future to extending that deadline, but I think to get it passed, we need to put a sunset on it, so we’re doing three years,” Kitchens said.
Dee Pattack, executive director of the Wisconsin School Administrators Alliance, noted that the inclusion of 2026 won’t really be useful for school districts since districts that want to consolidate have missed the opportunity to do so if they haven’t decided by now for next year. She also suggested that lawmakers look at spreading out the additional aid more gradually, saying that dropping aid from $2,000 to $150 per student creates a cliff.
Kitchens said he would look at amending the timeline included in the bill.
Rep. Francesca Hong (D-Madison) noted that decisions about consolidation can be emotional and personal for communities.
“Public schools are the heart of our communities, oftentimes in rural communities, especially. They’re one of the largest employers. It’s where you have the most celebrations. There’s athletic events that are important to everyone in the communities and so this decision of consolidation is deeply complex. It’s personal for a lot of school districts,” Hong said.
Hong, who is running in the Democratic primary for governor, questioned whether lawmakers had considered just leaving the decisions on consolidation up to local communities altogether, noting that Wisconsin law favors local control of schools.
“That’s why it’s voluntary. That’s why we’re offering these tools. It is not mandatory. We know it’s going to be difficult,” Kitchens said, adding that Door County used to be full of one-room school houses until there was a consolidation in 1960. “When they consolidated that and formed Southern Door [County] School District, people were out there with pitchforks. It’s always going to be difficult, but we have to look at the future and what it’s going to be.”
Kitchens noted that districts are not “clamoring” to consolidate and that the option exists as a last resort for most.
“There are a few that are, and you’ll hear from at least one of them today that really have reached that point where they know it’s necessary,” Kitchens said. “We’re not hearing districts begging for this.”
Joe Green, district administrator and director of special education for the Greenwood School District, and Chris Lindner, district administrator for the Loyal School District, testified about the rural school districts’ journey of consolidation, which their school boards are focused on getting done by July 1, 2028. They said it has been an emotional journey as people are attached to their schools and communities, but that it could be the best option for them.
“It might be the thing that gets us over the hump to consolidation,” Green said of the new legislative proposal. “It might be the funding that our two districts need to put a good plan in front of our communities. It might allow us to do some small projects to make consolidation smoother. There may be small construction, or things that we need to do to retrofit buildings, if that’s the way that our facility studies go. There’s a million different scenarios out there on what consolidation can look like. But without that funding, I mean, honestly, with our two districts $150 bucks a kid is $100,000 — not gonna do much with that… it’s just not going to do much.”
Green said the districts already share bus service and that 50% of their co–curricular activities are shared. They said that the schools began sharing students and staff due to their difficulty finding adequate staff to deliver instruction in rural Clark County in central Wisconsin.
Lindner said that consolidation could help open up more opportunities for students. “We do drama together. If we did not, we would have five to six students that would not be able to do drama because, you know, can’t do it with five or six kids,” he said.
Lindner said consolidation could also help save money.
“Our taxpayers are paying a lot of money for our operating referendums,” he said. “We tell communities if we do not start working together more, then we will be losing.”
AB 645 would instruct DPI to provide grants of up to $25,000 to groups of two or more school district boards for the costs of a feasibility study for school district consolidation or whole grade sharing agreements.
Another bill, AB 647, would have DPI provide four-year grants of up to $500 per pupil enrolled in a single grade to school districts that enter into a whole-grade sharing agreement, agreeing to educate students at one location.
Felzkowski said that whole-grade sharing is a step before consolidation.
“It lets them test the waters if they ever want to move to full consolidation,” Felzkowski said, adding that middle and high schools may be able to provide more class offerings, including advanced coursework, to students with grade sharing.
AB 648 would help create new supplemental state aid for consolidated school districts to address differences in school districts’ levies when they merge. The measure is meant to address concerns of higher property taxes for residents of low-levy districts when a consolidation takes place.
AB 649 provides the funding for the bills, including $2.7 million for grants to schools that enter whole-grade sharing agreements, $3 million to provide state aid to offset levy limit differences and $250,000 for feasibility studies.
McCarthy of DPI noted at the hearing that there are already several legal and mechanical supports in place to encourage consolidation, and that even with those, the last major consolidation that took place was on July 1, 2018. Two K-8 districts merged to become the Holy Hill Area School District in Richfield.
McCarthy of DPI said the slate of bills being proposed are “largely building from past efforts to support and to incentivize consolidation” and that the agency doesn’t view them as “a brand new door that’s being opened up” to solve problems.
The final bill in the package, AB 646, would study what changes should be made to Wisconsin’s school districts. Under it, DPI would hire a contractor to conduct a study of Wisconsin’s school districts that looks at current school district boundaries, potential school district consolidations, existing school district facilities, staffing levels and salary scales, the population of school-age children in each school district, and revenue limits and current overall spending.
McCarthy said the agency is most excited about this final proposal. He said it is similar to what Vermont has done and addresses some of the factors that are important to consider when consolidating.
The study would culminate in recommendations for changes to school district boundaries, a survey on the conditions of school district facilities across the state, information on the current and 10-year projection of the population of school-age children in each district and recommendations for school district consolidations that promote efficiency, are geographically feasible and economically viable.
“We probably owe it to our school partners to take a long look at what are the right geographical boundaries here,” McCarthy said. “As we’re thinking about how to manage this stuff, it might be a good moment in time to slow down and think about how do we sync some of these things up to be a more effective patchwork of schools that are serving our communities?”
Democratic and Republican candidates for governor are working to build their name recognition and campaign throughout the state and had their first opportunity to appear on the same platform at a forum Thursday. Shown are, from left, Matt Smith of WISN-12, Francesca Hong, Sara Rodriguez, Kelda Roys, David Crowley and Missy Hughes, all Democrats, and Josh Schoemann, a Republican. (Photo by Baylor Spears/Wisconsin Examiner)
The primaries for Wisconsin’s open gubernatorial election are about nine months away and the 2026 general election is still a year out, but Democratic and Republican candidates had their first opportunity to speak at a group forum Thursday.
The forum, moderated by WISN-12 News Political Director Matt Smith, was hosted at the Wisconsin Technology Council’s annual symposium and focused mostly on the economy, especially the technology sector.
Democratic candidates at the forum included Lt. Gov. Sara Rodriguez, state Sen. Kelda Roys, Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley, state Rep. Francesca Hong and former Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation (WEDC) CEO Missy Hughes.
Washington County Executive Josh Schoemann was the lone Republican candidate at the forum. U.S. Rep. Tom Tiffany, who is seen as the frontrunner on the GOP side, was not present.
All are competing to replace Democratic Gov. Tony Evers, who won’t seek reelection, in the first open Wisconsin governor’s race in 15 years.
Threats to the economy
Smith asked the candidates what they see as the greatest threat to Wisconsin’s economy. In her answer, Roys elicited the first — and biggest — round of applause from the audience.
“Wisconsin needs three key things to survive and thrive economically. We need higher wages for our workers — we lag behind our midwestern peers — we need lower costs on everything from housing to health care, and we need more freedom,” Roys said. “The biggest threat to all three of these things is the Trump regime.”
Roys said Trump’s tariffs are driving up prices for many products including appliances, building materials and groceries. She also said cuts to health care are going to have a disproportionate impact on rural parts of the state and that targeting immigrants is hurting the state’s agriculture industry. Entrepreneurship and capitalism, she added, also rely on the rule of law.
“We need to have a free society that obeys democratic norms, and right now, Trump and his regime are our biggest threat,” Roys said.
Hong said “authoritarianism” is the biggest threat to the economy, adding that disparities are growing in part because of actions being taken at the federal level, such as cutting food assistance.
“When you have essentially a federal government that is taking away rights of states and our communities, that is going to threaten the economy,” Hong said. “It is workers that power the economy.”
Schoemann said “affordability” is the greatest threat and expressed concerns about young people and retirees leaving the state to live elsewhere. He said the state should work to deregulate industry and lower utility rates and cut taxes to address the threat.
Washington County Executive Josh Schoemann speaks at the first candidate forum of the campaign cycle. He said “affordability” is the greatest threat and expressed concerns about young people and retirees leaving the state to live elsewhere. (Photo by Baylor Spears/Wisconsin Examiner)
“The average price of a home in Wisconsin right now is almost $350,000… A brand new teacher and a brand new cop who are married with a dual income can’t afford to qualify for the mortgage for that one. If they have a child, they’re trying to pay for child care, and they have utility bills that are going through the roof, and Verizon just had another increase in prices, and not to mention Netflix,” Schoemann said to some chuckles from the audience. “I know we laugh, but it’s a problem. It’s a massive problem.”
Rodriguez agreed that affordability is a big concern, saying that she wants her 19-year-old son to be able to build a life in Wisconsin but she is concerned that he won’t be able to afford to live here.
“He’s not going to be able to do that if he can’t afford a home. He’s not going to be able to do that if, you know, he’s not going to be able to afford child care, so I think affordability is our biggest threat,” Rodriguez said. She added that the state needs to figure out how to ensure that its workforce can grow.
Crowley said “complacency” is the biggest threat.
“We can’t continue to do the same work that we’ve been doing. We should no longer be defending the status quo because we have to figure out how do we build new institutions … ” Crowley said. “We see that public trust has been destroyed in government.”
Hughes said the state isn’t investing enough in K-12 and higher education.
“When we start from a place of thinking, ‘No, we don’t want to take a risk. No, we don’t want to have investment in something,’ we end up just staying in the same place and often spiraling downward,” Hughes said.
Working with the Trump administration
Democratic candidates were asked how they would work with the Trump administration, while Schoemann was asked whether there is anything he would push back on.
Rodriguez said that she would use the “bully pulpit” of the governor’s office to put pressure on the Trump administration to be more consistent. She noted her background as a health care executive, saying that being able to plan is essential.
“You’re trying to figure out what you’re going to be doing in the next several years. Small businesses do the same thing. With this back and forth on tariffs… it is almost impossible to, so, that’s why it feels like we’re stuck,” Rodriguez said.
Roys called Trump a “bully and an authoritarian” and said Wisconsin needs a governor who will stand up to the administration. She noted governors in other states, including California Gov. Gavin Newsome, Maine Gov. Janet Mills and Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker, as examples of governors across the country who are pushing back.
State Sen. Kelda Roys (D-Madison) speaks at the first candidate forum of the campaign cycle. “We need to have a free society that obeys democratic norms, and right now, Trump and his regime are our biggest threat,” she said. (Photo by Baylor Spears/Wisconsin Examiner)
Crowley said that he has worked with the federal government under Trump and President Joe Biden to secure grant funding for Milwaukee County. He also noted that he worked with Republicans at the state level to help pass legislation that overhauled local government funding in Wisconsin.
“When we go into a restaurant, you’re not having a conversation with a waiter about their relationship with the cook. You want to make sure that your food is coming out hot and ready and delicious,” Crowley said. “We need our government to work the exact same way. Doesn’t matter if we agree on anything or not. We need to be delivering for the people that we represent every single day because it’s about moving our state forward.”
Hughes noted that Trump pushed for a plan operated by FoxConn during his first term, which had promised would create 13,000 jobs, and the state of Wisconsin invested $1.5 billion in infrastructure to make that happen. The original plan was mostly abandoned by the company.
“I had to come in and clean up that mess,” Hughes said. She was involved in brokering a deal with Microsoft, which launched plans in 2024 for a $3.3 billion data center on the land that was once going to be the site of the FoxConn development.
“You have to work at every level of the economy from a small business on Main Street all the way to our biggest businesses and supporting them and everywhere in between,” Hughes said. “Donald Trump thinks you can do these big things, and it’s all going to be better, and we’re all ending up paying the price for that.” Instead of taking Trump’s “silver bullet” approach, Hughes said, Wisconsin’s governor must understand the complexity of the state economy and ”keep working hard to create the quality of life that keeps people here here.”
Hong said it would be hard to work with the administration. She added that the lack of funding for SNAP is “disrupting an entire ecosystem,” and said public officials need to fight for the most vulnerable.
“We have to make sure that people have food, and so, I think working with an administration that has no interest in your constituents is going to be incredibly difficult to be able to ensure that there is an economy that works for everyone,” Hong said.
Schoemann didn’t say whether he would push back on anything the Trump administration is doing. He said tariffs have been difficult, but he also said the issues are global.
“I hear from manufacturers and agriculture alike it’s the constant give and take, but let’s face it,… the changes that the world is going through right now — it’s a global thing,” he said.
Data centers and artificial intelligence regulations
The growing presence of data centers in Wisconsin and the concerns they raise about increased electricity costs and water consumption, as well as the use of artificial intelligence (AI), was a significant focus of the forum.
According to datacentermap.com, there are currently 47 data centers in Wisconsin. Proposals for more centers in the state are popping up as well, including one for a campus operated by OpenAI, Oracle and Vantage Data Centers in Port Washington.
A recent Marquette Law School poll asked Wisconsinites about data centers and found that 55% say the costs of large data centers are greater than the benefits they provide, while 44% say the benefits outweigh the costs.
Schoemann, noting his close proximity to Port Washington, said that he thinks there is an “abundance of opportunity” created by data centers, but the state needs to be “very, very strategic and smart about where” data centers are placed. He said he also has concerns that there isn’t enough power in Wisconsin, and expressed hope that there will be a nuclear power “renaissance” in the state.
Crowley said he doesn’t think the government should be picking “winners and losers” when it comes to data centers, but instead should “make sure that this is fertile ground for entrepreneurs and businesses to either stay or move right here to the state of Wisconsin.”
Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley speaks at the first candidate forum of the campaign cycle. “There’s an opportunity for us to really become AI and a data hub not only for the entire country, but for the entire globe,” Crowley said. (Photo by Baylor Spears/Wisconsin Examiner)
“There’s an opportunity for us to really become AI and a data hub not only for the entire country, but for the entire globe and really sets us apart in making sure that we continue to invest in businesses and companies here,” Crowley said.
Hughes said that Wisconsin has a diverse economy and that she doesn’t see the state becoming a data center-based economy in the near future, but that data centers do offer an opportunity for communities.
“To have some of these data centers land here in Wisconsin, provide incredible property tax and revenue for the communities that are really determining how to pay their bills, how to build new schools, how to build new fire departments, it’s an opportunity for those communities to access some of that investment and to benefit from it,” she said.
Hughes also said the state is already involved in conversations with companies seeking to build data centers in Wisconsin and that should continue. She said a project needs to be right for individual communities, noting the example of Microsoft scrapping its plans last month for a data center in Caledonia after major pushback from the local community. The company is now looking for an alternative site.
“We talked to them about their environmental needs, about where they’re building and how to make that happen in a way that has the least impact to the communities and the best benefit for Wisconsin,” Hughes said. “Working directly with the companies and getting to know those companies, acting with them as partners, is critically important for these to be good investments and ultimately beneficial for Wisconsin.”
Hong raised concerns about the environmental impact of data centers and the prospect that they could drive up utility bills.
“One of the big considerations here is that for the workers and jobs that are created from these AI data centers, let’s make sure that the housing that’s being built, the workers are going to stay in Wisconsin, that we have to make sure that the companies are being held accountable,” Hong said.
Roys said that “data centers are coming whether people like it or not” and the question for policymakers is whether they can implement “an approach that respects the values that I think all of us share — of democracy and shared decision making that’s transparent, that’s accountable, of fair play… and of protecting all of our resources.” She added that she has been concerned seeing “the biggest and wealthiest” companies seek to force their ways into communities.
Asked about the role that the state should play in regulating artificial intelligence, most of the candidates appeared open to some regulation of AI but expressed concerns about stifling growth.
Roys said she wants to see consumer protections and said she has authored legislation to crack down on crypto kiosk scams as well as to regulate on the use of AI to ensure landlords don’t use it to help hike rents.
Hughes compared AI to a hammer, saying it could be used to hurt someone or to build structures.
“Trying to regulate it at this moment could potentially hold back some of the benefits that we might see from it. I think that we need to continue to watch it,” Hughes said. “ … I want to make sure that we preserve the right to use that tool in a way that can really advance our society forward.”
Crowley said he thinks there should be laws in place, but there is no “one-size-fits-all solution for technology.”
“How do you make sure that those who are directly involved in this particular industry are at the table, making sure that there is some predictability when it comes down to starting your company and also making sure they can continue to grow?… But make sure that we’re also protecting our environment, protecting the consumer at the exact same time.” Crowley said.
Schoemann, meanwhile, said he was concerned about how AI could be a threat to the state’s workforce. He noted that Washington County has studied the potential impacts of AI, finding that many jobs could be automated using AI in the next 15 years or so.
He said he wanted to see more study of AI’s impact, to answer the question, “How do we prepare the workforce?”
Broadband and marijuana
A question about how to increase broadband access in Wisconsin led the an unexpected answer from Hong: “Legalize weed.”
Wisconsin is one of 11 states that hasn’t legalized recreational or medical marijuana. By some estimates the state is losing out on millions in tax revenue each year due to cannabis prohibition.
“The revenue that comes in will be able to invest in fiber optic and high-speed internet in many different companies across the state,” Hong said.
State Rep. Francesca Hong (D-Madison) speaks at a candidate forum hosted by the Wisconsin Technology Council. (Photo by Baylor Spears/Wisconsin Examiner)
The push to legalize marijuana for either recreational and medicinal purposes in Wisconsin has been a fruitless pursuit under split government. Republican lawmakers are working to advance a medical marijuana proposal in the Legislature right now, though it is unclear whether it can garner enough support to become law.
Rodriguez said she didn’t disagree with Hong, noting that Wisconsin’s midwestern neighbors are able to bring in significant revenue by taxing marijuana.
“Gov. [J.B.] Pritzker thanks us all the time for the amount of tax Wisconsin [consumers pay],” Rodriguez said.
Rodriguez also added that she wants to build off the Evers administration’s successes expanding broadband.
“It is a requirement for modern day working, for schools. We saw that during COVID,” Rodriguez said. “Making sure that we are able to get that type of connection to every part of Wisconsin is going to be important.”
Hughes agreed both with marijuana legalization and with Rodriguez on broadband, saying there have been “incredible strides” in installing broadband in rural areas under the Evers administration.
“I’m all for legalizing weed, and abortion for that matter,” Roys said.
Roys noted that the state’s progressive tax structure has flattened over the last 16 years and that reversing that trend — taxing higher income residents — could help pay for investments in broadband.
Schoemann started his answer focused on broadband, rather than staking out his position on marijuana legalization, saying broadband it is a massive issue, especially in the Northwoods. He said Washington County was able to make progress using American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funding, though he didn’t necessarily support the funding.
“I took [U.S] Rep. Glenn Grothman’s advice: ‘If they’re dumb enough to give you the money, you should be dumb enough to spend it,’” Schoemann said. “Some of that we did in broadband… I think we have to finish the job on broadband.”
Democrats and pro-democracy organizations held a rally Thursday to call for the creation of an independent redistricting commission. (Henry Redman | Wisconsin Examiner)
A group of pro-democracy organizations held a rally, attended by Democratic legislators, Thursday afternoon outside the state Capitol to push for the creation of an independent commission tasked with drawing the state’s legislative maps.
The renewed push for permanently taking the construction of Wisconsin’s political maps out of the hands of politicians comes amid a national debate about gerrymandering and as the state’s Democrats are outlining what state government will look like if they hold power in all three branches after next year’s midterm elections.
Across the country, Democrats — who have for years been the party calling for a nonpartisan process for drawing political maps — are weighing the merits of “unilaterally disarming” by putting the drawing of maps in the hands of independent bodies in blue states while Republicans are redrawing maps in red states such as Texas in an explicit effort to hold on to their slim congressional majority.
Next month, voters in California will weigh in on a referendum asking if the Democrats in control of the state’s government can temporarily bypass the independent map-drawing commission and redraw maps to benefit Democrats as a counter to the Republican effort in Texas.
State Rep. Francesca Hong (D-Madison), a candidate in the Democratic primary for governor, told the Wisconsin Examiner after the Thursday rally that Wisconsin Democrats should push for a permanent resolution to the state’s map debate because a more effective counter to increasing authoritarianism than tit-for-tat congressional gerrymanders is creating systems that allow government to be more responsive to voters’ wishes.
“Here in Wisconsin, what the people want are permanent fair maps, and that means keeping the decision of redistricting out of politicians’ hands and within a group of nonpartisan folks,” she said. “If we’re going to have representative democracy, that’s what we need. But we also have to remember to be proactive, and that’s why the permanent fair maps matter. And if we’re going to be responsive to an eroding democracy, that’s also how we should be empowering the people …”
After Thursday’s rally, the advocates — including members of the Wisconsin Democracy Campaign, League of Women Voters of Wisconsin and Fair Maps Wisconsin Coalition — were going into the Capitol to deliver the draft of their plan to legislators.
Under the plan, the state Department of Administration would be responsible for managing the selection of 18 independent redistricting commission members (15 acting members and three reserve members).
The membership would be divided evenly between representatives of the two major political parties and unaffiliated. Members would not be allowed to hold other public offices and could not be a family member of a public office holder. Lobbyists and anyone who has donated more than $2,000 to a candidate for office in a year over the previous five years wouldn’t be allowed to sit on the commission.
After the DOA selects a pool of 240 applicants, the majority and minority leaders of both legislative chambers would be allowed to strike down a certain number of candidates.
The IRC would be required to hold public hearings while it deliberates on the maps. Approval of final maps would have to come through a two-thirds majority vote that includes votes from members representing the interests of both major parties and the independents.
The plan includes a provision for members to rank proposed maps if such a “multi-partisan agreement” can’t be reached.
Any proposed maps from the commission would need to still be approved by the Legislature and governor within 30 days. If maps aren’t approved, the Legislature or governor must provide a written explanation to the commission and the commission would have 15 days to respond or provide new maps.
The Legislature and governor would have three attempts to approve maps before Aug. 15 of a redistricting year. If maps can’t be codified by then, anyone in the state would have the authority to file a lawsuit with the Wisconsin Supreme Court to adopt a commission-proposed map.
Democrats said at the rally that they want to make sure the commission is crafted in a way that prevents meddling after the fact from politicians. Redistricting commissions in states such as Iowa and Ohio have been undermined once their proposals were subjected to the political process.
Sen. Jeff Smith (D-Brunswick) said Republican legislators like the Iowa-style commission because if they vote down the commission’s proposals three times, the map-drawing authority returns to the Legislature.
“They figured out the flaw in that model,” he said. “That is why we need a Wisconsin model, a Wisconsin model that works for all of us.”
The Journey to Justice Bus at Madison Christian Community Church on Sunday, Oct. 12. | Photo by Frank Zufall/Wisconsin Examiner
The Wisconsin Examiner’s Criminal Justice Reporting Project shines a light on incarceration, law enforcement and criminal justice issues with support from the Public Welfare Foundation.
Solitary confinement, the practice of putting someone in isolation in a small cell, is not a topic you expect to hear discussed at church on Sunday.
But on Oct. 12, at the Madison Christian Community, was a stop of the 18-city, nationwide Journey to Justice Bus Tour, that included two panel discussions focused on the topic, one with four state legislators, including two candidates for governor.
Visiting the Journey to Justice bus, standing in a bathroom-sized solitary jail cell replica and hearing the real-life stories of those who had spent part of their lives confined in such spaces, visitors gained a visceral appreciation of the United Nations declaration that punishing people with more than 15 consecutive days in solitary is a form of torture.
The public was invited to step into a small cell reported to be the size many experienced in solitary confinement. | Frank Zufall/Wisconsin Examiner
In the Hollywood presentation, the practice is reserved for hardened criminals, a safeguard against violence that’s necessary to keep good order and discipline.
But the reality is that small procedural violations, medical conditions, mental health crises sometimes even pregnancy are reasons people inside our prisons end up isolated for multiple days at a time.
Those who have experienced solitary confinement, otherwise known as restrictive housing or segregation, say it is traumatizing and even years after they’ve been released from prison, they are still reliving dark memories.
The Solitary and Conditions of Confinement Legislation panel at the church included four Democratic state legislators, including gubernatorial hopefuls Sen. Kelda Roys and Rep. Francesca Hong, both of Madison. Roys, an attorney, has served on the Judiciary Public Safety Committee and worked on the Innocence Project when she was a law student at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
Milwaukee area Reps. Darrin Madison and Ryan Clancy also participated. Madison is a former organizer for Youth Justice Milwaukee and a member of the Correction Committee. Clancy sits on the Corrections Committee and has served on the Judiciary and Law Enforcement Committee.
The Solitary and Conditions of Confinement Panel included (from left) Rep. Francesca Hong, Rep. Darrin Madison, Sen. Kelda Roys, Rep. Ryan Clancy, Megan Hoffman Kolb, Talib Akbar and Tom Denk moderating. | Frank Zufall/Wisconsin Examiner
Jen Ann Bauer, who spent five and a half years in prison and is currently serving the remainder of her sentence on community supervision said she was put in solitary confinement at least four times, with the longest lasting 90 days.
“When people hear you’re in solitary confinement, they think discipline, and it is so much more to the detriment of human beings,” she said. “It is isolating. It is defeating. It is control and it is torture. We are often placed in solitary confinement for protection or safety measures, minor and major rule violations, or simply for struggling with trauma and mental health. And let’s be honest, most incarcerated people are already trauma survivors. So I ask, how is isolating a wounded person somehow equal to safety? Solitary doesn’t lock a body in a cell. It locks a person inside their own mind. Time stops and pain does not.”
In solitary, Bauer said, she paced the floor just to remind herself that she still existed.
Jen Ann Bauer recounted her experiences in solitary confinement. | Frank Zufall/Wisconsin Examiner
“Women survive through connection, through relationships, and so when you take away human contact, you take away the very thing that keeps us alive,” she said. “No one is built to handle 23 hours a day in a cell. That’s not discipline, that’s psychological torture.”
She added that in solitary there is no interaction with outside family members, weakening relationships with children.
Observing people who spent time in solitary, she said, she saw that they changed for the worse.
“People with dreams come out of solitary unable to make eye contact, unable to trust and unable to believe in themselves or the world around them,” she said. “Solitary doesn’t confine a body. It suffocates the heart. It doesn’t correct behavior. It destroys identity. Solitary confinement causes psychological and emotional distress, more harm, more trauma. Solitary confinement is not a tool. It is a wound, and it is a wound the system continues to inflict on people and then blame them for bleeding.”
Ventae Parrow |Photo by Frank Zufall
Ventae Parrow agreed with Bauer that solitary confinement had no redeeming impact on him in prison other than causing him to reflect on what he wanted for his life. He questioned who had the authority to determine whether one should be in solitary, and noted that many who experienced it came out angrier.
“And now you got angry humans coming out back to the community with the vengeance in their heart and their mind versus rehabilitation,” he said.
Tom Denk, an advocate with several WISDOM affiliates and a member of the Mental Health Action Partnership, moderated the panel. Denk, who had also spent time in solitary confinement, noted there is a high rate of mental illness among incarcerated residents, 45%, and the experience of being isolated exacerbates their conditions.
“The use of solitary confinement or restrictive housing is a correctional practice with significant ethical implications,” said Denk. “Prolonged isolation has been associated with severe psychological distress, including anxiety, depression and increased risk of self-harm. It also worsens existing mental health conditions and contributes to higher rates of recidivism.”
But Denk said solitary is often chosen as a method to address psychosis instead of treatment.
Talib Akbar, vice president of the non-profit advocacy group WISDOM, the organizer of the event, said any rule violation in prison could result in being sent to solitary. He said even being a couple of feet outside a cell door could result in being sent to solitary.
Documentary videos played on the bus about the danger of solitary confinement. | Frank Zufall/Wisconsin Examiner
The Wisconsin Examiner recently heard from a former resident of Oshkosh Correctional Institution who said he was put in segregation after calling the nearby fire department to report concerns over the prison’s fire safety protocols. He claims that when the fire department called the prison’s facility manager, the manager became upset that the resident didn’t follow the chain of command, and the resident was placed in segregation.
The panel also addressed the types of medical treatments residents receive in solitary.
Megan Hoffman Kolb whose father, Dean Hoffmann, died in solitary confinement at Waupun Correctional Institution in 2023, said her father, who suffered from mental illness for 30 years, didn’t consistently get the right medication for the first 80 days in Waupun and never received a psych intake exam, which he was supposed to have received.
She said when her father recorded a credible threat from his cellmate, the prison’s response was to place him in solitary.
Megan Hoffman Kolb
“In solitary, he was locked alone in a concrete cell, 24 hours a day, no books, no paper, no phone calls home, no medication,” she said. “The lights were left on constantly. Silence was deafening, broken only by the sounds of people crying out down the hallway. He told staff he was suicidal, hearing voices and couldn’t sleep. A correctional officer responded, ‘What do you want me to do about it?’”
She added, “Solitary confinement is not just isolation. It’s sensory deprivation. It’s a slow unraveling of a person’s mind in a small space. Days blur together, hope disappears for someone already struggling with mental illness, unbearable, and it’s not just emotional, it’s biological. Prolonged solitary confinement literally changes the brain.”
After nine days in solitary, Kolb said, her father took his own life by hanging himself from the cell door. She had viewed the video of his body being removed.
She said the cost of solitary is the trauma the family has experienced, along with the lawsuits, investigation and broken communities, and at the end of the day, taxpayers are being asked to pay for all of it.
“We are pouring millions into a system that tortures instead of treats,” she said, “and families like mine are left paying the ultimate price.”
Regarding the cost of operating solitary, Akbar noted that prisons have to assign more correctional officers (COs) for supervision there because they are considered more dangerous areas, which also raises the cost.
Rep. Clancy said he is against solitary and the ultimate goal should be to ban it outright, but a more attainable goal is proposed legislation that would restrict solitary to 10 days and require 15 hours a week of programming while in solitary to ensure there are visits by people.
Visitors on the bus were invited to lie down in an actual prison bed to see how small it is. | Frank Zufall/Wisconsin Examiner
“When you talk to people at the DOC and they say, ‘Well, we looked at your legislation, it is onerous. There’s no way we’re going to be able to do that.’ We’re like,‘Great, then don’t put people in solitary.’”
He added, “Please understand that the goal here is to end solitary, but it’s also to bring to people’s minds the real harm from it.”
Rep. Madison said he grew up with a friend who went to prison and was put in solitary, and when his friend got out he still struggled with isolation. One time, the friend wasn’t able to contact Madison and then attempted suicide but didn’t die.
“I was reminded that it is our correctional system that creates the conditions where folks, even when they are released into the community, feel locked up,” he said.
“We simply incarcerate too many people,” said Roys. She added the goal should be to ensure public safety, not incarcerate people who don’t pose a threat.
“If we actually want public safety, then we need to change the way we are thinking about that time when people are incarcerated, and it really should be that time that they are building their skills so that they are going to see that they can thrive, and that is why we need to be fostering relationships,” she said.
She also said there needs to be reform of the Truth-in-Sentencing law that is leading to longer prison stays without parole, resulting in more people in prison, and also reforming community supervision to change a “gotcha” attitude — finding technical violations of those on extended supervision that would send them back to prison, instead of focusing on helping people succeed in the community.
“If our parole officers, probation officers (POs) viewed their role as facilitating success, and they judged themselves not by how many people would get reincarcerated, but by how many people succeed and never have to be reincarcerated, that’s transformational, and you don’t necessarily need statutes to do that. You absolutely do need a strong will and strong leadership from the top director who says what we are doing.”
Hong said more could be done through executive orders and the governor’s clemency power to grant pardons. She also said she would like to invest more to hire social and mental health workers.
“The more helpers that we have in an institution, the fewer enforcers we need in that same institution,” Clancy said.
“We have to stop saying that our jails and prisons are understaffed,” he added. “They are not understaffed. They are overpopulated.”
Clancy also said the DOC should pay mental health staff as much, or more, as it does guards, to help hire and retain staff.
Women in solitary
During a panel discussion on women in solitary, Juli Bliefnick said that after she was assaulted inside a prison while eating lunch, she was placed in solitary for six days, and during that time she had her monthly period, but male guards didn’t allow her to shower or have clean clothes. She had a similar experience in a county jail.
Juli Bliefnick (center) speaks about her experience with solitary confinement in a women’s prison, joined by Yolanda Perkins (left), and Jessica Jacobs (right) | Frank Zufall/Wisconsin Examiner
“That’s some of the most dehumanizing experiences of my whole life,” she said.
In another jail, Bliefnick witnessed a friend who was eight months pregnant put in a cell and stripped naked to look for drugs as the friend screamed.
“You can even move from that environment for decades, and you can still dream about it,” she said. “You can still think about it like til this day, like I can hear jingling keys, and I’ll still get like, you know, like a fear of like a guard coming to, you know, harass me about something or another, and it’s a terrifying thing because I’m not there anymore. You know, your brain tricks you into thinking that you are. You carry it with you no matter how long you’ve been removed from it.”
Jessica Jacobs, who has not been incarcerated for eight years, still said she is traumatized by her time in solitary.
“Various times I’ve been incarcerated, being stuck in a room like that kind of did something different to me that maybe other people might not understand,” said Jacobs, “but so I had post traumatic stress disorder already, and then the amount of treatment that I had to suffer and go through while I was incarcerated has made it worse. And so I find myself today, sometimes where I get overwhelmed or stimulated, I know my nervous system is out of whack, where I feel like I have to close myself up into my room, and that’s kind of weird, you know, and I feel like I have to lock myself up, and I just don’t even try to figure out what it is. I know that it’s connected to that.”
Jacobs said she remembers being locked up with a 17-year-old girl who had been sex-trafficked by her father, and the girl was missing her babies and was distraught and wanted mental health services, but Jacobs cautioned against it, knowing that seeking those services often meant being sent to solitary or being restricted to a chair.
“And the next thing I know, they hauled her off and stuffed her in solitary confinement by herself,” said Jacobs. “And then came the big banging and the cries began.”
Yolanda Perkins said her mother was in prison for 17 years and spent time in solitary, and that time changed her mother permanently.
“My mother hasn’t been incarcerated in about 20 years, but she won’t go into a room by herself,” said Perkins, adding, “It affects how she grandparents her grandchildren. It affects her communication with them. It affects her communication with society. And so she still struggles.”
Bliefnick spoke about her work with the Ostara Initiative, working with doulas to end the practice of putting pregnant and postpartum women in solitary for protective custody.
“Punishing women who are in that condition is actually a common practice,” she said, “and I mean, can you think of anything worse than putting a woman who just had a baby and had it ripped away from [her getting] 24 hours in solitary confinement like that? That’s like a horrible practice to begin with. It’s like they treat them like cattle, and then to put them in solitary confinement for their protection is like the cruelest thing that you could possibly imagine.”
This story has been updated to fix the photo captions identifying Jen Ann Bauer and Megan Hoffman Kolb
A bill restricting referendum proposals comes as school districts continue to rely on funding raised from property taxes through referendum requests, requiring voter approval. A rally calling attention to schools' reliance on referendums in the Capitol in 2025. Photo by Baylor Spears/Wisconsin Examiner.
Wisconsin Republicans want to restrict school districts’ ability to seek referendums if they haven’t turned in financial reports to the Department of Public Instruction on time.
At a public hearing Thursday, the Assembly Education Committee Thursday heard testimony on a bill drafted in reaction to the historic referendum that voters approved for the Milwaukee Public Schools last year, and that was followed by the revelation that the district was months late in submitting financial documents to the state.
The school district’s tardiness has led to upheaval throughout the district, including the decision to replace the MPS superintendent and additional audits ordered by Gov. Tony Evers.
The education committee also took testimony on a bill that would allow education students to complete their student teacher requirements during the summer and a bill to change curriculum requirements for human development classes if districts offer them.
Rich Judge, assistant state superintendent in the Division of Government & Public Affairs for the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction (DPI), registered against each bill, but did not provide testimony. The agency has not yet responded to a request for comment from the Wisconsin Examiner about its opposition to the bills.
AB 457, coauthored by Rep. Amanda Nedweski (R-Pleasant Prairie) and Sen. Rob Hutton (R-Brookfield), would require DPI to certify schools are in compliance with all applicable requirements to submit financial information to DPI.
If a district is not in compliance, the school board would be prohibited from adopting a resolution to hold a referendum. A resolution adopted or a referendum passed without the certification would be void.
“If a district cannot even meet its minimal statutory reporting duties, how can voters trust them to be responsible?” Nedweski asked rhetorically during her testimony. “This bill places no additional cost or burdens on school districts. It simply reinforces accountability and transparency… Trust is the foundation of strong schools and strong communities, and AB 457 helps ensure that that trust is never taken for granted.”
MPS sought a $252 million recurring operating referendum in April 2024 to assist with staff pay and educational programming costs. The measure passed narrowly, and by the end of May 2024, DPI announced that the district was months late in submitting required financial reports.
Nedweski said she didn’t know how many other districts might be late in their financial reporting to DPI. School districts need to be in compliance before they seek a referendum so that voters have adequate information, she said
“If you’re going to pass a $252 million dollar recurring referendum, I think you should be able to make an informed decision,” Nedweski said.
The legislation comes as school districts continue to rely on funding raised from property taxes through referendum requests, requiring voter approval.
Democratic lawmakers on the committee expressed concern about the potential barrier the legislation could pose.
Rep. Angelina Cruz (D-Racine) noted that there have been a record number of referendum requests t in recent years and that the state Legislature opted not to provide any additional general aid in the 2025-27 state budget. School district leaders have said the lack of state aid will put them in tough positions when it comes to funding, even with the additional aid that the state is providing for special education costs.
“With the state Legislature putting zero dollars in state [general] aid forward in this last budget to local school districts, we’re going to see that pattern of referendum continuing,” Cruz said. “I’m just concerned that we are creating another barrier in terms of our local public school districts having access to choosing to… fill the gaps that the state is intentionally creating.”
This is not the only bill lawmakers have introduced that would place additional barriers and limitations on school districts seeking referendums. A bill introduced in March would eliminate the ability for school districts to seek recurring referendums, which are ongoing into the future, in part due to Milwaukee’s referendum.
“Are you saying that people shouldn’t have access to the financial data for school districts before they make a decision to raise their own taxes?” Nedweski replied.
“Absolutely not,” Cruz said. “I’m seeking clarity in terms of are we trying to create an additional barrier for public school districts, local communities to fund their schools? [The financial reports are] already a requirement by law.”
Changing human development requirements
The committee also took testimony on AB 405, also authored by Nedweski, which would change requirements for school districts that offer human development education.
Wisconsin doesn’t require public schools to teach human growth and development, or sex education. If they opt to do so, the state makes recommendations for the curriculum and state law imposes some requirements. Those include presenting abstinence from sex as the preferred choice of behavior for unmarried students, providing instruction in parental responsibility and the socioeconomic benefits of marriage for adults and their children, and explaining pregnancy, prenatal development and childbirth.
Nedweski’s bill would add to those requirements. If it is enacted, students would have to be shown a “high-definition ultrasound video that shows the development of the brain, heart, sex organs, and other vital organs in early fetal development” and a “high-quality, computer-generated rendering or animation that shows the process of fertilization and every stage of fetal development inside the uterus and that notes significant markers in cell growth and organ development for every week of pregnancy until birth.”
Nedweski said that allowing students to “actually see the real life process of fetal development in action will be more tangible to them than simply reading in a textbook or seeing it in the still diagram or drawing.”
“We have the resources at our disposal to bring this science into the classrooms, and we should use it to our advantage to give students a stronger educational experience,” she added.
Nedweski’s bill would also require schools to include a presentation on each trimester of pregnancy and the physical and emotional health of the mother if they opt into teaching on recommended topics. She said this would help address mental health concerns.
“This bill simply builds off of those existing requirements to incorporate more scientific resources, such as the ultrasound video as well as lessons pertaining to the mental and physical health of the mother,” Nedweski said. “This bill is not a mandate because school districts are not required by law to offer human growth and development instruction. It merely makes modern enhancements to the topics required of districts that choose to teach it.”
Nedweski was the sole person to testify on the bill.
Rep. Francesca Hong (D-Madison) asked Nedweski whether she consulted public health officials, noting that the Wisconsin Public Health Association and Wisconsin Association of Local Health Departments and Boards are registered against it, according to the Wisconsin Ethics Commission lobbying website.
Nedweski said she didn’t speak to any public health officials or either statewide group in the process of authoring the bill, but spoke to a member of one of the local health departments in her district.
Cruz asked about how much the curriculum would potentially cost.
“There are all kinds of free materials available to any school district that would be wanting to utilize the video portion or the high resolution animation,” Nedweski said. She added that the curriculum decisions would ultimately be made at the local level.
A Democratic state lawmaker who is promising to be a “wild card” joined Wisconsin’s open race for governor on Wednesday, saying she will focus on a progressive agenda to benefit the working class.
State Rep. Francesca Hong, who lives in the liberal capital city of Madison, is embracing her outsider status. In addition to serving in the state Assembly, Hong works as a bartender, dishwasher and line cook. As a single mother struggling with finding affordable housing, she said she is uniquely relatable as a candidate.
“I like considering myself the wild card,” Hong said. “Our campaign is going to look at strategies and movement building, making sure we are being creative when it comes to our digital strategies.”
Part of her goal will be to expand the electorate to include voters who haven’t been engaged in past elections, she said.
Hong, 36, joins a field that doesn’t have a clear front-runner. Other announced Democratic candidates including Lt. Gov. Sara Rodriguez, Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley and state Sen. Kelda Roys. Additional Democrats are considering getting in, including Attorney General Josh Kaul.
On the Republican side, Washington County Executive Josh Schoemann and suburban Milwaukee business owner Bill Berrien are the only announced candidates. Other Republicans, including U.S. Rep. Tom Tiffany and state Senate President Mary Felzkowski, are considering running.
The race to replace Gov. Tony Evers, who is retiring after two terms, is open with no incumbent running for the first time since 2010.
Hong is the most outspoken Democrat to join the field. She is known to use profanity when trying to make a point, especially on social media.
Hong is one of four Democrats in the Wisconsin Assembly who also are members of the Socialist Caucus.
“We’re meeting a moment that requires a movement and not an establishment candidate,” she said.
She promised to make working class people the center of her campaign while embracing progressive policies. That includes backing universal child care, paid leave, lower health care costs, improving wages for in-home health care workers and adequately funding public schools.
Like other Democrats in the race, Hong is highly critical of President Donald Trump’s administration and policies.
“It’s important to refer to the administration not as an administration but authoritarians who aim to increase mass suffering and harm working class families across the state,” Hong said. “A lot of communities are scared for their families, for their communities, how they’re going to continue to make ends meet when they’re worried about health care and salaries.”
Hong was elected to the state Assembly in 2020 and ran unopposed in both 2022 and 2024.
The Democratic primary is 11 months away in August 2026, and the general election will follow in November.
Wisconsin Watch is a nonprofit and nonpartisan newsroom. Subscribe to our newsletters to get our investigative stories and Friday news roundup.This story is published in partnership with The Associated Press.
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