In other words, Wisconsin voters won’t see Hong on the ballot until late summer.
A Marquette University Law School poll – published the same day as the misleading post – found 11% of Wisconsin voters said they plan to vote for Hong in the primary, compared to 10% for Mandela Barnes. A majority of voters, 65%, were undecided.
Polls do not determine election outcomes, and there is no guarantee that Hong will maintain that lead over the next six months.
This fact brief is responsive to conversations such as this one.
Attendees at a Feb. 12 protest called for a pause on data center construction in Wisconsin. (Henry Redman | Wisconsin Examiner)
A group of Democratic state lawmakers on Thursday announced a proposal to put a moratorium on data center construction in Wisconsin as communities across the state grapple with local resistance to the development of hyperscale AI data centers.
Debates around data centers have become increasingly tense in recent months as residents of communities including Mount Pleasant, Mount Horeb, Beaver Dam, Port Washington and Janesville have rallied opposition to the approval of data centers by local officials.
While officials in these communities are often tempted by the promise of increased property tax revenue from the facilities, residents have raised objections to their local representatives ceding local land to multibillion-dollar tech companies, the massive amounts of energy and water needed to operate the large data centers and the related effects on local utility rates and the environment to produce all the power.
Several pieces of legislation to regulate data center construction have already been proposed in the Legislature. In January, Assembly Republicans passed a bill that would establish some regulations, but Democrats said it didn’t do enough to prevent electricity costs from being passed on to regular consumers and included a provision that would stymie renewable energy development in the state.
With just days left before the Legislature ends its work for the session next week, a group of Democratic lawmakers rolled out a proposal that would pause data center construction until “all of the questions that you have, that you have been asking your local mayors, you have been asking your local legislators, you have been asking these data centers, that all of those are actually answered,” Sen. Chris Larson (D-Milwaukee) said at a press conference Thursday afternoon with local data center activists.
The bill defines a data center as “a facility having a primary purpose of storing, managing, and processing digital data and that has at least 5,000 servers, occupies at least 10,000 square feet, or has an electricity demand of at least 100 megawatts.”
The bill wouldn’t allow the construction of any data centers in the state until the state establishes a data center planning authority; prohibits energy and water costs from being shifted to residential utility customers; creates a “land and community funding mechanism”; eliminates state and local financial subsidies for data centers; mandates public reporting of data center energy and water use; creates data center-specific pollution regulations; requires that 100% of the energy produced for data centers be renewable; requires that data center construction projects pay prevailing or collectively bargained wages; restores planning authority to the Public Service Commission; prohibits non-disclosure agreements between data centers and government entities and creates an enforcement and penalty structure for data centers that violate regulations.
“The intent is not to permanently prohibit data centers, but to ensure that any future development is responsible, transparent, and does not impose additional financial burdens on Wisconsin households,” a co-sponsorship memo on the proposal states. “Wisconsinites should not be asked to shoulder higher utility costs while large new energy users operate without clear rules, accountability, or public oversight. This bill provides the Legislature with the time and authority necessary to establish a fair and comprehensive framework that protects ratepayers, workers, and local communities before large-scale data centers are allowed to move forward.”
On Thursday, a few dozen people gathered outside the state Capitol to protest against data center construction before meeting in a hearing room for a news conference and panel discussion. Rep. Francesca Hong (D-Madison), one of the several Democrats running in the primary for governor, said at the press conference that the data center proposals have galvanized anti-corporate views in communities of all political stripes.
“This is about community power and returning community control to folks all across the state,” Hong said. “I am so incredibly grateful because I have not seen this type of bipartisan opposition to corporate control. I have not seen this type of bipartisan support for ensuring that we protect our natural resources. Our natural resources are not for sale. Our health is not for sale. Our shared future depends on all of us fighting right now to ensure that we are holding AI data centers accountable.”
One City Schools founder and CEO Kaleem Caire, left, foreground, and state Rep. Shelia Stubbs (D-Madison), center, take part in a Jan. 28 hearing on a bill to boost funding for "demonstration" charter schools. (Photo by Baylor Spears/Wisconsin Examiner)
Update:
GOP members pass bill
The Assembly Committee on Colleges and Universities voted 6-5 Wednesday to recommend AB 818 for passage.
All committee Republicans voted in favor of the measure except for Rep. Amanda Nedweski (R-Pleasant Prairie), who joined the committee’s four Democrats in voting against the bill.
Wisconsin lawmakers are set to advance a bill that would create a “demonstration” charter school designation and boost state aid for that school by more than 50%.
During the Jan. 28 public hearing, Rep. Robert Wittke (R-Caledonia) and Sen. Rachael Cabral-Guevara (R-Appleton) said the bill would help create a mechanism in the state to try out innovative teaching methods and export them across the state.
“Right now, we are reinventing the wheel in isolation rather than sharing the blueprint for success,” Wittke said. “A teaching hospital receives higher funding to train research and innovate. Similarly, a demonstration school would be a K-12 education lab.”
Independent charter schools are different from traditional charter schools. They are not authorized by a public school district and do not answer to a public school board, but instead are authorized by one of a number of designated authorizers, including the Universities of Wisconsin’s Office of Educational Opportunity (OEO).
AB 818 would allow the Office of Educational Opportunity to designate a school that meets a certain set of criteria as a “demonstration” charter school. For a school to receive the designation, it would need to participate in a longitudinal study; provide professional development opportunities; share the best practices from its educational model to other schools and maintain partnerships with community organizations.
The school would receive an additional $6,863 per pupil — a 55% increase from its current funding. The bill is scheduled for a vote in the Assembly Colleges and Universities committee Tuesday.
Wittke said that any school authorized through the Office of Educational Opportunity could apply once the program is set up.
“Once this bill would get signed into law, they would have to make an application to be designated as this. Any other charter school that is under the OEO presence could make an application to do the same. There could be others that want to be chartered under OEO for the purpose of doing this. We would love to see that,” Wittke said. “This is an idea that was brought in front of me, so we looked at this framework. It wasn’t to preclude anyone, but this is what I believe is a step in the right direction so that others can follow, and we can start moving the needle up so that our children will realize opportunities that are in front of us.”
The UW Office of Educational Opportunity currently authorizes nine schools, though there is one that is seeking to serve as a model for what the bill proposes.
One City Schools, a Madison area independent charter school, operates One City Elementary and One City Preparatory Academy. The two schools serve kindergarten through 8th grade, in Monona. It also operates One City Preschool, which serves ages 2 through 4-year-old kindergarten, on Madison’s south side.
Kaleem Caire, One City Schools’ founder and CEO, told lawmakers that the organization is trying to serve students who have not been served by traditional schools, as well as to act as an incubator for innovation. But One City Schools is always in need of money to continue operating.
“If any of you have money that you don’t like, you can send it to One City Schools,” Caire quipped, adding, “Yes, we are always at risk of closing our doors” because of the needs of students.
He said the student population of One City Schools is 94% students of color, about 70% students in poverty and 17% special needs.
“We are the least funded public school,” he said.
The school has struggled with sustainable growth in the past. In 2023, the school sent 51 ninth- and tenth-graders back to Madison Metropolitan School District after one semester due to teacher shortages, pausing its high school aspirations for several years.
At the time, Caire said the school would reopen its high school in 2025, but as of last year, those plans have been delayed until 2026-27 due to its eighth grade enrollment numbers, facility readiness and funding uncertainties.
Caire said the independent charter school currently serves about 400 students and its preschool serves about 80. Practices that he said set the schools apart from traditional schools include providing breakfast and lunch to students each day and its partnership with Project Read AI, an artificial intelligence program meant to help teach literacy.
The bill has support of one Democratic lawmaker: Rep. Shelia Stubbs (D-Madison), whose district includes the schools.
Stubbs urged lawmakers to support the bill, calling the school a “pioneer in providing innovative, high quality education and wrap-around support services to some of Dane County’s and Wisconsin’s most vulnerable scholars.” She said the bill will “ensure that an operator with an innovative learning model is able to continue improving the educational outcome of hundreds of scholars in our community every year.”
Stubbs said the additional funding would come from the existing charter school payment appropriation.
“Why do we need to spend more if you’re really successful?” Rep. Dave Murphy (R-Hortonville) asked Caire, who said that the organization currently must raise about $5 million annually to meet the needs of its students.
According to written testimony provided by One City Schools, the organization’s long-term sustainability goal will rely on increased state funding, including by nearly doubling its student base and boosting state aid overall.
“Their goal is to reach 900 students, which they consider a funding tipping point where they’ll receive more predictable public funding and substantially reduce their need for private support,” the testimony stated. It also identified a plan for achieving financial sustainability including securing multi-year funding, growing enrollment, achieving “economies of scale” and increasing state aid.
Rep. Jerry O’Connor (R-Fond Du Lac) said he didn’t think the funding in the bill would provide a “phenomenal advantage” to the schools, but would instead give them, as independent charter schools, “equal funding.”
“These are poor lives and kids and people, so I don’t have a problem with the funding,” O’Connor said. “I like the fact that the rules are in place. There’s accountability. There are consequences.”
Democratic lawmakers expressed caution and concerns about the bill, saying they weren’t sure how it would help schools and students more broadly.
“It feels like you all are doing some amazing things at One City and I appreciate that. I think most schools would like to have the holistic approach that you are aiming for, but money is always the issue,” Rep. Jodi Emerson (D-Eau Claire), a member of the committee, said during the hearing.
Emerson noted that Democratic lawmakers have proposed legislation that would allow for free school meals at all public and voucher schools in the state. “That’s what I’d like to see our body advocating for more than picking winners and losers, and to be honest, sir, I feel like that’s what this bill is right now.”
Caire told lawmakers that there aren’t other schools that have volunteered to serve as a “demonstration” school for the state.
“That is why we’re coming here to you,” Caire said. “How many public schools in Wisconsin do you know of are germinating this level of opportunity for kids intentionally to scale across the country at an affordable price?… What we’re asking the state for is the average per-pupil revenue that the average public school system gets from the state of Wisconsin.”
The Wisconsin Education Association Council (WEAC), the state’s largest teachers union, opposes the bill, saying it would further drain resources from traditional public schools.
“This bill hands a single, unaccountable charter operator a funding windfall that educators in every comer of this state can only dream of for their own students,” WEAC said in written testimony.
The union said the bill comes as public schools continue to face difficulties, and as state funding has not kept pace with inflation.
In the most recent state budget cycle, Wisconsin’s traditional public schools did not receive any increase in its state per-pupil aid. The budget did provide additional funding for special education, but the available funds are not expected to meet the percentage promised by lawmakers and Gov. Tony Evers. School districts are instead turning to property tax increases to raise additional funds.
“Public school educators experience the consequences of state budget choices every day in crowded classrooms, growing student mental health needs, outdated materials, and painful cuts to electives that once kept kids engaged in school,” WEAC’s statement said. “AB 818 does nothing to address those real and urgent problems. Instead, it carves out a special lane for one favored type of charter operator and invites others to line up for the same bonus, further draining resources from the vast majority of students who attend public schools that are transparent, democratically governed, and open to all.”
Democratic lawmakers on the Assembly Education Committee, including Reps. Francesca Hong (D-Madison), Christian Phelps (D-Eau Claire), Angelina Cruz (D-Racine) and Joe Sheehan (D-Sheboygan), submitted testimony opposing the bill. They said they had concerns the legislation would divert resources from public schools and continue a pattern of “linking education privatization to segregation.”
“Policies that funnel public money toward select private and charter operators have repeatedly exacerbated segregation and disparities along lines of race, socioeconomic background, disability status, and more, leaving public schools with fewer resources to meet all students’ needs despite our constitutional obligation to help them do so,” the lawmakers stated. “AB 818 promises to continue that legacy.”
Madison small businesses and residents, protesting a federal immigration crackdown in Minnesota, are planning to show solidarity Friday by shutting down or donating proceeds to immigration and other advocacy organizations. On Friday, Jan. 9, people gathered outside the Wisconsin State Capitol to protest and mourn over the killing of Renee Good by ICE agent Jonathan Ross in Minneapolis. (Photo by Isiah Holmes/Wisconsin Examiner)
Madison small businesses and residents, protesting a federal immigration crackdown in Minnesota, are showing solidarity Friday by shutting down or donating proceeds to immigration and other advocacy organizations, with marches and rallies planned during the day.
The businesses are following a call for a “nationwide shutdown” — a day of no school, no work and no shopping. According to the Guardian, the call for the shutdown came from several student groups at the University of Minnesota.
“The people of the Twin Cities have shown the way for the whole country — to stop ICE’s reign of terror, we need to SHUT IT DOWN,” states a website about the effort.
Madison businesses shutting down
An array of small businesses in Wisconsin’s capital have announced plans to support the day of action.
There is also a student walkout planned for 2 p.m. by UW-Madison students who plan to meet at Library Mall on campus and march to the state Capitol at 2:45 p.m. A rally is planned at 3 p.m. at the Capitol. Another march is also planned in Milwaukee at 2 p.m. at Cathedral Square Park.
Lake City Books, located on N. Hamilton St. in downtown Madison, will be staying open to serve as a warming place for people protesting at the Capitol, according to the business’s Instagram account. The local bookstore plans to have free hand warmers and sign-making materials available.
The book store will kick off its February fundraiser with proceeds from its “Books Against Tyranny” display donated to the Minnesota ACLU chapter to “support those whose First Amendment rights have been violated.”
“We stand with MN. We support free speech and all peaceful protest. Please be kind to each other and continue to support small local businesses,” the book store said.
Bloom Bake Shop plans to close its two locations in Madison at 2 p.m. so its team members can attend the rally downtown. The local bakery said it will also be selling sugar cookies dedicated to Minnesota, and the profits from the cookies will go to the Immigrant Rapid Response Fund.
“At Bloom, we’ve been clear about where we stand: with Minnesota, and with all those living in fear or suffering during this American crisis. We stand with people peacefully exercising their rights, and with those working to protect the freedoms our communities depend on,” the bakery said in an Instagram post. “Life feels bitter right now. Our intention is to offer something sweet, along with sincere hope, during these very challenging times. We must resist. We must stay strong. Together.”
Madison Sourdough said it plans to donate 10% of its proceeds on Friday to Voces de la Frontera, though it plans to close its kitchen early at 1:30 p.m., so its staff can attend the march and rally protesting unconstitutional and immoral tactics in Minnesota and across the country.
Casetta Kitchen said it plans to donate 20% of its Friday sales to Community Aid Network Minnesota.
Forward Craft and Coffee on Atwood Avenue in Madison said it will be donating $1 of every drink it sells to the Minnesota Rapid Response Fund.
Other Madison businesses with plans to close or donate proceeds include:
A Room of One’s Own
Ailimentari
Ahan
Boulders Climbing Gym
Lola’s
Mansion Hill Inn
Origin Breads
Robin Room Bar
SevvenCycle
Teasider
The Bubbling Tea Pot
Wisconsin Democratic lawmakers also express solidarity
State Rep. Francesca (D-Madison) said in a video that the shutdown is “a way to show the world that we grow power. We fight back as a collective and stand together.” She encouraged small businesses to join the shutdown effort in whatever way they can.
On Thursday, a group of Wisconsin state lawmakers — all Democrats — took part in a solidarity event in support of Minnesota. Some traveled to Minneapolis to be in solidarity in person, including state Sens. Melissa Ratcliff (D-Cottage Grove) and Chris Larson (D-Milwaukee) as well as state Reps. Ryan Clancy (D-Milwaukee), Christian Phelps (D-Eau Claire), Maureen McCarville (D-DeForest).
Others joined from a Zoom call including state Reps. Deb Andraca (D-Whitefish Bay), Christine Sinicki (D-Milwaukee), Robyn Vining (D-Wauwatosa), Brienne Brown (D-Whitewater) and Darrin Madison (D-Milwaukee), who spoke on the call.
“We also continue to grieve and remember the loss of Alex Pretti and Renee Good. Their lives mattered. Their families alongside every single family impacted by the actions of ICE deserve truth, justice and full accountability, and we stand with them in that demand. Right now, our communities are being tested,” Madison said.
Madison said that “our communities are being tested” by an agency that “too often treats our neighbors like targets instead of human beings.”
“Here in Wisconsin, we, too, are pushing back,” Madison said. “Faith leaders, workers and neighbors are building rapid response networks and community defense efforts to protect families when the system refuses to. We stand in solidarity with Minnesota and communities who are saying ‘We will not be divided. We will not be intimidated and we will not stop organizing until every family can live without fear because we must keep families together.’”
U.S. Rep. Tom Tiffany who is running for governor, said he had not seen the video of the shooting at a Monday press conference, more than 48 hours after the shooting occurred and as video of the shooting has circulated on social media and in major news outlets. Tiffany at his campaign launch in September 2025. (Photo by Baylor Spears/Wisconsin Examiner)
Wisconsin politicians are responding to the shooting of Alex Pretti, the ICU nurse from Green Bay who was killed Saturday by U.S. Border Patrol agents. U.S. Rep. Tom Tiffany, the frontrunner in the Republican gubernatorial primary, said Monday he hadn’t seen widely circulated video of the shooting.
Pretti’s death prompted protests across the country including in Green Bay, his hometown. Gov. Tony Evers joined a lawsuit challenging the presence of federal immigration agents in the Twin Cities. Other Wisconsin politicians issued a variety of statements reacting to the shooting.
U.S. Rep. Tony Wied, whose district includes Green Bay, called the shooting in Minneapolis a “tragedy” in a statement Monday. Pretti was a graduate of Green Bay’s Preble High School.
“While we await a thorough investigation, I encourage my colleagues to tone down their rhetoric, which has put both law enforcement officers and the public at risk,” Wied said. “We can disagree on the issue but we must do so in a constructive and peaceful manner. Assaulting and impeding federal law enforcement is illegal and a recipe for disaster. As a country, we need to lower the temperature and allow law enforcement to do their jobs.”
Video of the moments leading up to the shooting, which shows Pretti being pinned down by a group of immigration agents before being shot in the back, does not support Trump administration claims that he tried to assault or impede the agents.
Republican U.S. Rep. Tom Tiffany, who is running for governor, said he had not seen the video of the shooting at a Monday press conference, more than 48 hours after the shooting occurred and as video of the shooting has circulated on social media and in major news outlets. Tiffany also called for “full investigation” of the shooting by the state and federal government.
According to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Tiffany also said people have the right to carry legally registered concealed guns but should consider potential consequences. Pretti was a licensed gun owner, who according to a CNN analysis of bystander video had his gun removed from him before officers shot him.
“The problem is not the Second Amendment. If I saw a quote accurately this morning… it sounds like (Pretti’s) father had some discussion with him recently, saying, ‘Be careful when you go to something like this, make sure that you don’t get caught up in the chaos,” he said. “And unfortunately, he did.”
Democrats, including some who are running for governor, criticized Tiffany.
Democratic Party of Wisconsin Chair Devin Remiker called Tiffany’s claim not to have seen the video “a pathetic excuse from a pathetic man.”
“Tom Tiffany is, at best, a clueless coward and at worst a liar. Either way, he’s unfit to serve as governor of Wisconsin,” Remiker said.
“You haven’t watched the video yet? Let me sum it up for you,” former Lt. Gov. Mandela Barnes said in a social media post. “Trump’s ICE needlessly killed a US citizen without justification.”
Other Democratic candidates had a variety of responses including calling for immigration agents to vacate Minnesota and calling for the elimination of the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. . ICE is responsible for enforcing immigration laws in the United States’s interior, while Border Patrol is supposed to do so near the country’s border, though according to USA Today, the two agencies have become increasingly hard to tell apart under the Trump administration.
State Sen. Kelda Roys (D-Madison) called for the abolishment of ICE after the shooting.
“ICE under Trump is incompatible with a free society. The Trump regime is making every single one of us less safe and less free. They are destroying public safety. They refuse to respect our constitution, our law, or our rights,” Roys said in a statement. “The organized, violent actions of ICE have left us with no other choice but to disarm, dismantle, and prosecute ICE.”
State Rep. Francesca Hong (D-Madison), who joined protests according to social media posts, said “Wisconsin stands with everyone resisting ICE in Minnesota” and called ICE an “enforcer of fascism that must be abolished and those responsible for the executions prosecuted.” Last week at a candidate forum with all of the Democratic gubernatorial hopefuls Hong said that “abolishing ICE is a meaningful policy.”
Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley said that the country needs to “stop pretending that large-scale immigration enforcement operations” in the Midwest are about public safety.
“People — regardless of immigration status or how federal authorities choose to define them — are in danger when ICE operates this way in our neighborhoods,” Crowley said. “At the same time, I echo Gov. Walz and Minnesota officials in urging people not to respond to violence with violence.”
Lt. Gov. Sara Rodriguez, who previously had proposed banning ICE from certain sites in Wisconsin, said that “a government that puts its own citizens in harm’s way has failed its most basic responsibility. And I will never look away when the government gets this wrong. We have a choice about who we are and what we stand for: safety without cruelty, accountability without fear, and dignity for every human being.”
Missy Hughes, the former Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation CEO, said that “the lawless and deadly ICE invasion of Minneapolis is unAmerican — and Donald Trump is responsible for it.”
Joel Brennan, the former Department of Administration secretary, said he “recoiled in horror” watching the video of the recent fatal shooting and mourns for Pretti. He called for the “occupation” to end in American cities.
U.S. Rep. Derrick Van Orden has repeatedly claimed that the protests against ICE in Minneapolis are equivalent to an “insurrection.” He said on Monday in a Facebook post that he does not “celebrate the death of any American citizen” and the “deaths are tragic, and they never should have happened.”
But Van Orden blamed Democrats for “fueling hostility toward federal law enforcement.”
“When elected leaders and their allies normalize interference with officers doing their jobs, the outcome is entirely predictable and tragic,” Van Orden said.
Van Orden went on to compare Democratic leaders who have demanded that ICE and Border Patrol agents leave Minneapolis to Civil War Confederates.
“History has seen this before. In 1861, Confederates in the South demanded that federal troops abandon Fort Sumter. They framed it as de-escalation and local control. In reality, it was a rejection of federal authority and the rule of law. What began as political rhetoric and demands to remove federal presence quickly turned into open conflict, with deadly consequences for the nation,” Van Orden said. “As with any officer-involved shooting, this incident is under investigation. I fully support that process and will be closely following its findings. My support for federal law enforcement, and the rule of law they uphold, remains unwavering.”
CNN reported Monday that Border Patrol commander Greg Bovino, who has been at the center of the Trump administration immigration enforcement across the country, is leaving Minneapolis and DHS has suspended his access to his social media accounts. Trump is sending border czar Tom Homan to Minnesota to take charge of immigration enforcement operations there.
Rebecca Cooke, who is challenging Van Orden in 2026, said in a social media post that Pretti’s killing represents “a federal agency out of control. ICE needs to vacate Minnesota and leave our neighbors alone. This is not a policy disagreement, this is a moral imperative.”
The Democratic gubernatorial field prepares to take the stage Wednesday. Left to Right: Joel Brennan, Kelda Roys, Francesca Hong, Sara Rodriguez, Missy Huges, Mandela Barnes and David Crowley. (Photo by Erik Gunn/Wisconsin Examiner)
In a music hall just east of Milwaukee’s trendy Walker’s Point neighborhood Wednesday evening, seven Democratic hopefuls in the 2026 race for governor fielded questions from an assortment of small business owners before a friendly crowd of more than 300 people.
Their answers showed only occasional differences on matters of policy. The greater contrasts were in style, tone, vocabulary and presentation.
Lt. Gov. Sara Rodriguez, who is seeking the Democratic nomination to run for governor, speaks at a forum Wednesday, June 21, 2026 in Milwaukee. David Crowley looks on. (Photo by Erik Gunn/Wisconsin Examiner)
Answering an audience member’s question about how each of the hopefuls would address Wisconsin’s teacher shortage, Lt. Gov. Sara Rodriguez drew attention to a new state program to create teacher apprenticeships — enabling working teaching assistants “to get a bachelor’s degree while they are teaching assistants with full-time wages, full-time benefits. They will graduate with no debt.”
It was modeled after a similar apprenticeship program to produce more nurses, noted Rodriguez, a nurse who entered politics in mid-career.
Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley said prospective teachers should be encouraged, but added that working teachers also need support after years of being demoralized by disrespect and inadequate funding from the Republican-led Legislature.
“We have to create a much better pipeline, making sure that we’re supporting those who are currently in the profession and utilizing them to be the trusted messengers to help recruit more young people into the field,” he said.
“Put a stake in Act 10, and repeal it, and ensure that it never happens again,” said state Rep. Francesca Hong — referring to the 2011 law that stripped most public employees of most union rights and that has been blamed for contributing to teacher shortages in Wisconsin. “Fully fund public education. Reimburse special education at 90% from the state, in parity with voucher schools,” she said, adding, end the voucher program “so we no longer siphon away resources from our public schools to private schools.”
State Sen. Kelda Roys, former Wisconsin Economic Development Corp. CEO Missy Hughes, former Department of Administration Secretary Joel Brennan and former Lt. Gov. Mandela Barnes also took part in the Wednesday night forum.
With Democratic Gov. Tony Evers’ decision this past July not to run for a third term, the 2026 governor’s race is the first in Wisconsin without an incumbent since 2010. It has drawn a broad field of potential successors in Evers’ own party.
Cletus Hasslinger, 78, of Milwaukee, attended a similar forum back in 2018, when Evers was one of 10 candidates seeking the Democratic nod to run for governor. He turned out for the Wednesday night event and was impressed.
“This is a much stronger group!” Hasslinger said. “It energizes me.”
Sponsored by small business advocates
The forum was held at The Cooperage, a venue in the shadow of Milwaukee’s iconic Hoan Bridge, and was organized by Main Street Action, the political arm of Main Street Alliance. MSA is a small-business organizing group with an agenda centered on economic fairness, contrasting many of its interests with those of large corporations.
The group has embraced the Affordable Care Act, Medicaid expansion and state and federal support for child care and paid leave for workers, among other policies. MSA also campaigns for tax policies that would require big business to pay more and stronger government action against corporate concentration.
“We elevate the testimony, the stories of small business owners,” said Richard Trent, MSA’s national executive director, who counts MSA’s national membership at 30,000 people and said Wisconsin is one of the organization’s hubs.
“So much of how we think about our economy, how we think about what’s best for our cities, our towns — that whole narrative is shaped by the largest corporations, the wealthiest Americans,” Trent told the Wisconsin Examiner. “It’s the small business owners who are driving most of the productivity in our economy, yet get almost none of the say in the policies that actually strengthen their communities.”
The eighth Democrat seeking the nomination, former state Rep. Brett Hulsey, was not invited to join Wednesday night’s forum, which qualified participants if they were polling at better than 0% or if they had raised at least $100,000 in donations.
U.S. Rep. Tom Tiffany and Washington County Executive Josh Schoemann are seeking the GOP nomination. Trent said there aren’t plans for a Republican forum before that party’s primary, also in August, but that MSA intends to bring the winners of both nomination contests together for a forum in the fall.
Questions draw out similar stances
Moderated by Dan Shafer, who publishes “The Recombobulation Area” political analysis and opinion column on Substack and who holds the title of political editor at Civic Media, the forum ran about 20 minutes over its original allotment of 90 minutes.
Shafer brought a half-dozen business owners and Main Street Alliance members to the stage, each posing a question to the gubernatorial hopefuls, then finished the session with a handful of questions submitted by audience members.
Many of the answers didn’t diverge wildly. Expanding BadgerCare to cover more people had broad support. So did the idea of a BadgerCare “public option,” enabling people to pay into the Medicaid-funded health plan if their incomes were not low enough to qualify them for the program.
Kelda Roys speaks during a forum for Democrats running for governor on Wednesday, Jan. 21, 2026. (Photo by Erik Gunn/Wisconsin Examiner)
Roys suggested another variation, allowing Wisconsin residents to buy into the health plan that is available to state employees.
Support for child care funding from the state was also widely endorsed, as was a paid leave program funded through a payroll deduction.
Rodriguez observed that a paid family leave program was in “the last budget that the governor and I put out” (it was cut by the Joint Finance Committee’s GOP majority). Crowley said after he took office as Milwaukee County executive, his administration created a paid family leave policy for county employees to help recruit workers.
Hong pointed to legislation she introduced in the Assembly in the previous session that would have created “one of the most comprehensive paid leave” programs. And Roys cited a paid leave bill she co-authored in 2011, during her previous time in the Legislature.
“Making this universal is going to help small businesses start,” Roys said. “It’s going to help them attract and retain employees and compete with the big businesses who can afford to offer more generous policies.”
Core themes and personal biographies
All seven participants largely stuck to the core themes they’ve sketched out in their campaigns and the biographical details that they hope will persuade primary voters in August why they’re the best choice to carry the party’s standard in November.
Rodriguez highlighted her current role as lieutenant governor — visiting “all 72 counties every year” since assuming that office. She led a health care workforce task force that Evers appointed in 2024.
Shawn Phetteplace of Main Street Alliance holds up a red card to alert a forum speaker that their time for talking is up. (Photo by Erik Gunn/Wisconsin Examiner)
Crowley emphasized ways in which, as a county executive, he has to deal with issues at the local level that the forum was putting on the agenda for the next governor: housing, health care costs, family leave policies and preparing for Immigrations and Customs Enforcement officers to descend on Milwaukee.
Hong stressed her experiences as a restaurateur and as a single mom, and her stark assessment that “as a worker and as an employer, the system is rigged against us where people value corporate power and greed more than anything else.”
Roys presented herself as a fierce challenger to the Republicans controlling the White House and Congress: “We need a governor with a spine of steel who will stand up to this Republican regime in all the ways that they are hurting Wisconsin, and especially our small businesses and our family farmers,” she said.
But Roys also declared herself to be experienced in the operations of state government, having had a state Assembly seat previously during the administration of Gov. Jim Doyle and the beginning of Gov. Scott Walker’s first term. And she cast herself as a visionary who sees “a window of opportunity to make real change” in Wisconsin in the coming years.
Hughes said that in her time at WEDC, “I have worked with small businesses all across the state, with Main Street businesses working to understand the challenges that they face,” including day-to-day operations, finding workers and supporting employees who need child care or other resources.
She called attention to an economic plan she released this week with provisions for education, labor-management partnerships and expanding affordable housing.
Brennan described himself as an experienced problem-solver and relationship builder, and a voice for calm in a time of turmoil.
“We live in times that are unlike any other. And we are angry. We’re angry at Donald Trump for what he has done to really do away with some of the values that we hold dear as Americans and as citizens,” Brennan said. “But when some people get angry, they want to get even. When I get angry, I want to roll up my sleeves and get something done.”
Pandemic relief roles
Hughes and Barnes both emphasized roles in Wisconsin’s Main Street Bounceback program, which provided $10,000 grants for businesses to upgrade their operations, including taking over vacant storefronts, in downtowns across the state. Barnes was lieutenant governor in Evers’ first term, forgoing reelection in 2022 in order to run for Senate against Republican Sen. Ron Johnson, a race he lost by about 26,000 votes.
Forme Lt. Gov. Mandela Barnes explains his reason for running for governor. (Photo by Erik Gunn/Wisconsin Examiner)
Barnes’ executive branch duties included helping to promote “our Main Street Bounceback program, which helped so many small businesses across the entire state that had been dealt a bad hand,” Barnes said. “We stepped up, we filled the gap, and we met a need. That’s exactly what I intend to do as governor.”
Hughes brought up the program when Chloe Longmire, a Milwaukee entrepreneur, asked the candidates how they would work with economic development agencies to help women-owned and minority-owned small businesses.
“Coming out of the pandemic, I saw across the state Main Streets where businesses had survived and businesses had not survived, and there were vacant spaces,” Hughes said. Main Street Bounceback was designed to enable businesses to occupy vacant spaces easily, with a one-page application and the support of a community member.
“And we trusted those business owners to invest that money in the ways that needed to happen,” Hughes said, with 9,500 businesses in each of Wisconsin’s 72 counties getting aid. “We saw Main Streets at 100% capacity — full, looking for more businesses, looking for more opportunities to move businesses into vacant spaces.”
Brennan, as secretary of the Department of Administration, tracked how the state’s $4.5 billion in pandemic relief was spent. A program focused on movie theaters made a particular impression, he said, with one memorable venue in central Wisconsin that passed through three generations to the granddaughter of the first owner.
“And the $30,000 that they were getting from the COVID relief money was going to pay for utilities, going to pay for their mortgage — it was going to be the light at the end of the tunnel,” Brennan said. “That’s the kind of thing you need to do in a crisis, but it’s also the way you need to be responsive when you’re operating day-to-day, and that’s what we’ll do in a brand new administration.”
After reiterating his involvement in Main Street Bounceback, Barnes pivoted to the original question’s emphasis on businesses owned by women and minorities.
“We should have to incorporate targeted investments in communities,” he said. From there he pivoted again, to a proposal he announced earlier Wednesday for the state to invest in grants for startup grocery stories in food deserts.
“People aren’t able to afford groceries, and we’re going to connect our family farms . . . to bring local food into communities because we can’t have a food desert in a state that produces as much food as we do in Wisconsin,” Barnes said.
A range of answers on taxing the rich
Questions about Wisconsin taxes drew a wider variety of responses.
Roys dismissed the manufacturing and agriculture tax credit, available primarily to larger businesses, as “a giveaway to the wealthiest individuals and corporations in the state” that fails to help economic development.
“We need to restore our progressive taxation system where the amount of money that you pay in to support the public services that all of us enjoy and all of us rely on is based on the money that you earn,” she said. “Right now, working people, the middle class are shouldering a disproportionate burden for paying those services.”
Hong was equally dismissive. “Our small businesses are paying a higher tax rate than some of the wealthiest corporations,” she said. “So, get rid of it. No major corporations should be paying no income tax.”
Crowley said tax credits should focus on small and mid-size companies. “Millionaires and billionaires, let’s face it, they don’t deserve a tax credit,” he said, adding that he would favor a blue ribbon commission to examine state taxes and spending comprehensively.
Rodriguez called for measurable job gains in return for the credit. “If we are going to get tax benefits, we need to tie it to actually increasing the number of people that they are hiring,” she said.
Hughes said that when she was at WEDC and met with business leaders looking to relocate to Wisconsin, they were much less interested in taxes than issues such as the strength of local schools and the university system and the availability of workers.
Missy Hughes speaks during a forum for Democrats running for governor on Wednesday evening, Jan. 21, 2026, as Joel Brennan listens. (Photo by Erik Gunn/Wisconsin Examiner)
She demurred on a question about raising taxes on the wealthiest to provide services for people in need and suggested that a sustainable economy is more important.
“My focus is going to be on growing the economy, because my fear is that if we simply increase taxes on the wealthy, the next team will get elected and come back in and take that away,” Hughes said.
“It could mean that we increase taxes on the most wealthy, but in addition to that, we need to be thinking about creating a system that works election after election and administration after administration,” she said. “Growing the economy and making sure that everyone is paying their fair share is the foundation of my candidacy.”
The last question of the night looked to the unease that has been gripping the country after federal immigration agents descended on Minneapolis earlier this month and an Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer shot and killed Minneapolis resident Renee Good as she sat at the wheel of her van near her home.
How would each of the Democratic hopefuls navigate “maintaining law and order and avoid being positioned by the right as being soft on crime, while ensuring the state citizens won’t be infringed upon by federal government overreach?” Shafer asked, reading from a written submission.
Rodriguez cited her recent statement calling on lawmakers to apply the same rules for ICE as for local law enforcement: ready identification, body cameras and no masks for agents, and forbidding them from going into “sensitive areas” such as schools without a judicial warrant.
“It is personal to me,” said Rodriguez, whose husband is a U.S. citizen born in Mexico.
Crowley said Milwaukee County is currently discussing how it will respond to an ICE influx. “Standing up for people’s constitutional rights, whether a citizen or not, is not soft on crime at all, he said. “We have to make sure that we continue to protect everybody and make sure that we are a safe community.”
Hong said she’s been in touch with mutual aid groups in Minneapolis, and that “ICE is a rogue agency…. Abolishing ICE is a meaningful policy.” Roys vowed to bring the weight of criminal as well as civil liability down on ICE and act against people who “break our laws and brutalize our people.”
Hughes said at meetings in Eau Claire, community leaders told her they are looking to members of the immigrant community “and understanding what they needed and what they were looking for.” Brennan urged learning from the civil rights work of Martin Luther King Jr., “locked in arms with his fellow man and with the people in his community.”
Barnes said he has spoken with people in Minneapolis, and said the next governor must be unafraid of retribution from the White House. “We need change and somebody who’s going to stand up and be strong in this moment,” he said.
State Rep. Francesca Hong speaks during a forum for Democrats seeking the party’s nomination to run for governor. (Photo by Erik Gunn/Wisconsin Examiner)
There are about 11 months until the primary, which is scheduled for August 11. Gubernatorial candidates at a November forum. (Photo by Baylor Spears/Wisconsin Examiner)
The first campaign finance reports of the year show that Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley is leading the Democratic primary field in fundraising, while U.S. Rep. Tom Tiffany is ahead in the Republican primary field. Tiffany has raised about $2 million, the most of any candidate. The reports cover the period from July 1 to Dec. 31, 2025.
There are about 11 months until the primary, which is scheduled for August 11.
Crowley leads Democratic field
Crowley, who launched his campaign in September, has raised $800,949, including $789,281 in donations and $11,666 in in-kind contributions. About $138,000 was transferred to his governor’s campaign from his county executive campaign committee account.
According to his campaign finance report, he spent $187,529 and finished the period with $602,181 cash on hand. Seven contributors gave the maximum $20,000 donation allowed in the governor’s race, including executive of the Milwaukee Bucks Alex Lasry.
“People across Wisconsin are feeling the financial squeeze, and they want a governor who knows how to get things done,” Crowley said in a statement. He said the support is providing him “the resources to build a serious, statewide operation focused on delivering results for working families.”
Lt. Gov. Sara Rodriguez, who launched her campaign in July becoming the first Democratic candidate in the race, raised $618,284 in donations and $2,034 in in-kind contributions. She spent $174,894 and ended the period with $603,075.
The Democratic Lt. Governors Association pledged in October to invest $2 million in independent expenditures in 2026 to support Rodriguez’s campaign. She listed a $86,000 contribution from the PAC.
Former Department of Administration Sec. Joel Brennan, the latest candidate to launch a campaign, reported raising $566,212 in donations and $1,610 in in-kind contributions. He spent $13,873 and reported having $552,339 on hand at the end of the period.
Former Lt. Gov. Mandela Barnes raised $555,647 since launching his campaign on Dec. 2 from 3,790 donations. He spent $88,265 and ended the period with $471,471. Shortly after launching his campaign, Barnes said his fundraising goal is $50 million over the course of his campaign.
According to his campaign finance report, he received donations of the maximum $20,000 from megadonors George and Alexander Soros.
Former Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation CEO Missy Hughes reported raising $465,403 and $13,681 in in-kind donations. She spent $63,059 and ended the period with $402,344 on hand.
State Rep. Francesca Hong (D-Madison), a Democratic socialist, raised $368,685 in donations and $1,188 from in-kind contributions, though she also spent a majority of the funds during the period. According to her report, Hong spent $234,782 during the period and ended it with $134,588 on hand.
Hong’s fundraising came from over 7,300 donors. According to her campaign, the average donation was $49.96 and about 75% of the total dollars raised came from donors in Wisconsin.
State Sen. Kelda Roys (D-Madison) raised $355,455 in donations and $23,132 from in-kind contributions during the period. According to her report, she spent $84,930 and reported having $334,032 on hand.
Roys reported four donations of the maximum $20,000, including from her husband and Peter Gunder, a former executive at American Family Insurance, and his wife.
In a statement, Roys’ campaign said that about 82% of the donations to her campaign came from Wisconsin residents and that she isn’t accepting corporate donations.
“Kelda’s campaign is funded by grassroots donors from every corner of the state. With our disciplined financial management and a committed Wisconsin donor base that is growing every day, Kelda will have the resources necessary to win the primary on August 11,” Roys’ campaign manager Jasper Bernstein said in a statement.
Tiffany leads Schoemann in fundraising
Tiffany, who launched his campaign in September, led the field of GOP candidates, reported over $2 million raised — raising the most of any candidate in the Democratic or Republican field. The Republican primary field is much smaller than the Democratic field with only two candidates.
According to his campaign finance report, Tiffany raised $2,122,489 in donations and also received $3,808 in in-kind contributions. He spent $438,160 and ended the period with $1,695,038 on-hand.
Tiffany also received $20,000 each from Republican megadonors Diane Hendricks, Dick Uihlein and Liz Uihlein.
The largest donation Tiffany reported was $86,000 from the Wisconsin Federation of College Republicans. Wisconsin state law allows for unlimited donations from political parties to candidates.The College Republicans, who boasted raising over $1 million, had received $500,000 from the Uihleins.
Washington County Executive Josh Schoemann, who launched his campaign in early May, reported raising nearly $1 million over the course of the year.
During the reporting period from July to December, he brought in $535,650 in donations and $3,649 in in-kind donations. He spent $381,394 during the period and ended it with $492,495 in-hand.
Interior of a modern data center. (Stock photo by Imaginima/Getty Images)
Dozens of data centers have been built in communities across Wisconsin, with more planned or in process. In many of these communities, the proposed data centers have sparked significant local opposition.
Both Democrats and Republicans in the Legislature have proposed bills to regulate the growth of data centers as community leaders across the state have asked for more direction from the state government on the approval of what are often massive facilities.
So far, the state has had little input on data center construction outside of a provision in the 2023-25 state budget which exempted data center construction projects from paying sales taxes.
The Democratic bill, introduced last year by Sen. Jodi Habush Sinykin (D-Whitefish Bay) and Rep. Angela Stroud (D-Ashland), would require data centers to report the level of energy and water they’re using, fund the development of renewable energy projects and ensure the cost of increased energy demands aren’t passed on to regular consumers.
The Republican bill, introduced this month, also requires the Public Service Commission to prevent energy use and infrastructure costs from being passed on to consumers, requires the data center to use a closed-loop water cooling system to limit the amount of water needed and includes provisions that would require the data center company to cover the cost of restoring the land it’s built on if the data center is closed or unfinished. The bill also includes a provision that requires any renewable energy created to power the data center be sourced on site.
Last year, the issue of data centers was a common theme on the campaign trail in Virginia’s gubernatorial race, as voters respond to the effects of hosting more of the centers than any other state.
Here in Wisconsin, communities are grappling with how to make agreements with the big tech companies hoping to build the data centers, how to avoid the broken promises at the top of mind of many Wisconsinites after the Foxconn development in Mount Pleasant failed to live up to its lofty initial projections and how to manage the often huge demands the data centers make on local water supplies and energy.
Despite those challenges, the construction of a data center can offer benefits to local governments — mostly by boosting property tax revenue from a development that won’t consume many local government services.
Unlike many other issues, the question of data center development has not become politically polarized, with a range of positions among candidates of both parties.
“Data centers are a new issue that has not taken on a partisan edge in the public mind,” Barry Burden, a political science professor at UW-Madison, said. “This is likely to change because among politicians Democrats are more skeptical about data centers and Republicans are more enthusiastic about them. If this partisan divide continues or even becomes sharper, the public is likely to begin mimicking the positions taken by party leaders. But at least for a while the issue is likely to cut across party lines.”
In Wisconsin’s crowded open race for governor, most of the candidates told the Wisconsin Examiner they were supportive of some level of statewide regulation on data centers.
Democrat Missy Hughes’ campaign did not respond to a request for comment for this article. Her public comments on the issue are included below.
Mandela Barnes
The former lieutenant governor said in a statement to the Examiner that it’s important that data center construction not increase utility rates, not damage the environment and use Wisconsin union labor. He also said the companies developing the centers need to meaningfully work with the communities they’re trying to build in.
“A lot of communities feel left out of conversations about what is going on in their own backyard and that is not fair,” Barnes said. “Any development of this scale must meaningfully engage local communities and address their concerns and input throughout their proposal. We must also ensure that data center projects do not drive up utility rates for Wisconsinites or contribute to harmful pollution, and that they invest in training and hiring Wisconsin workers to staff these facilities.”
Joel Brennan
The former secretary of the Department of Administration said in a statement from his campaign that the desire of tech companies to move fast is in opposition to the government’s need to engage the public transparently.
“Wisconsinites shouldn’t have to foot the bill for AI or data center projects, period. At a time when affordability is a challenge in every community, taxpayers shouldn’t be on the hook for construction, operations, or higher utility costs. No one should have to worry about affording their heating bill because a data center has driven up energy prices,” he said. “It’s reasonable for people to have concerns about AI, and I share those concerns. The technology is moving fast, and companies often prioritize speed. Government’s responsibility is different: transparency, accountability, community engagement, and coordination with local communities who stand to be impacted by these projects. Data centers can create jobs and support local economies, but only if they’re done right — protecting taxpayers and our natural resources, and ensuring that the benefits truly serve Wisconsin communities.”
David Crowley
At a gubernatorial candidate forum in November, Crowley was mostly supportive of data center development, saying the government shouldn’t be picking “winners and losers” and instead “make sure that this is fertile ground for entrepreneurs and businesses to either stay or move right here to the state of Wisconsin.”
In a statement to the Examiner, a campaign spokesperson said Crowley wants to encourage investment in Wisconsin’s economy while enforcing stringent environmental regulations, making sure companies pay the cost of increased energy use and giving local governments the power to say no to a data center project.
“Growth that drives up rates or drains local resources is not innovation. It’s a bad deal,” the spokesperson said. “Communities will have clear authority to condition or deny projects based on energy and water use, demand transparency, and community benefit agreements, because the people who live with these projects deserve the final say. Crowley’s approach is simple: Wisconsin will lead in technology and economic growth without raising utility bills, without sacrificing our natural resources, and without letting Big Tech write the rules. Development will be transparent, accountable, and judged by whether or not it delivers real benefits to the people who live in Wisconsin.”
Francesca Hong
In a policy framework released last week, the Madison-area representative to the state Assembly called for a moratorium on the construction of new data centers while the state works out how to responsibly manage their effects. Hong also wants to end sales tax and use tax exemptions for data centers, require the construction of more renewable energy sources and increase environmental protections on data centers. She is also a co-sponsor on the Democrats’ data center bill in the Legislature.
In an interview with the Examiner, Hong said Wisconsin’s political leaders have a responsibility to listen to local opposition to data centers.
“Our communities deserve long-term investments and contributions to their local communities,” she said. “The bipartisan opposition that is building coalitions against AI data centers means that elected officials have a responsibility to get more data on data centers, which is what informed our decision to support a moratorium on the construction of new data centers.”
Hong said that on the campaign trail she has heard from voters who want Wisconsin to be “a hostile environment for AI data centers.” She added that it’s a bipartisan issue, which presents an opportunity to her as a Democratic socialist running for governor.
“I think there’s an opportunity here, not only for us to engage the left and bring them into electoral politics here in Wisconsin, but actually build that coalition amongst voters who are across the political spectrum and recognizing that as working class people, they’re getting screwed and they’re stressed, and they’re right to demand that their government do more to hold corporate power accountable,” she said.
Missy Hughes
At the November forum hosted by the Wisconsin Technology Council, Hughes, who as the former head of the Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation was involved in efforts to build the Microsoft data center at the former Foxconn site, promoted their positive potential for the state.
“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, adding that a data center isn’t right for every community and local pushback should be considered.
Sara Rodriguez
A spokesperson for the current lieutenant governor said that she would issue an executive order to freeze utility rates while state officials develop a long-term data center plan.
That long-term plan would include ways to prevent energy costs from increasing while making sure local residents get a say.
“Sara strongly believes data center projects should be developed collaboratively with local communities. That means early community input, clear communication, and transparent planning to reduce misinformation and ensure projects make sense locally,” the spokesperson said. “Data centers aren’t the right fit for every community, but when done right they can bring real benefits — including jobs, redevelopment of otherwise unusable land, and new revenue that can help local governments lower taxes for residents, as we’ve seen in places like Janesville.”
The campaign added that agreements with local governments must include provisions to prevent developers from bailing out and abandoning communities.
“Sara also believes all details must be negotiated up front in binding agreements. If utilities make grid investments or communities commit resources, developers must be on the hook if a project is delayed or canceled,” the spokesperson said. “Families and local governments shouldn’t be left holding the bag. Wisconsin can support growth and innovation, but only if it’s fair, transparent, and doesn’t raise costs for working families.”
Kelda Roys
The Madison-area state senator is a co-sponsor of the Democrats’ data center bill and in an interview with the Examiner, said that as governor she’d support regulation that follows a similar framework to the legislation.
“I think there needs to be a statewide strategy with guardrails that protect our workers, our environment and our consumers from massive price increases,” she said. “I’m very skeptical of this idea that the biggest and richest and most powerful companies in the world should get to just come in and pick off local communities and local elected leaders one by one and make these sweetheart deals in the dark that screw over the public. And I think in the absence of statewide standards and transparency, that is what is happening.”
She said the state should use its sway to insert itself as a negotiating party in agreements with data center developers in an effort to keep energy costs low, reduce environmental impact and protect Wisconsin workers.
She also said that the state government doing something to ease the budget crunch facing local governments will put those local officials in a better position when deciding whether or not to allow a data center to be constructed.
“Part of the reason that we’re having this problem is that we have put local governments in an impossible situation because of the fiscal mismanagement and the harm of Republican politicians,” she said. “Communities will have more bargaining power when they don’t feel like, ‘Gosh, we’re desperate for more revenue, and our hands are really tied by the state. This is the only option,’ right? They will be in a stronger negotiating position if this is a nice to have, but not a necessary to have. And that’s the position that we want communities to be in. I want Wisconsinites to be able to have a say in our communities’ future, to be able to have an open and transparent process where we can say, ‘actually, we don’t think that this site is an appropriate one for a data center.’”
Josh Schoemann
The Washington County executive said at the November candidate forum there is an “abundance of opportunity” with data centers but that the state needs to be “very, very strategic and smart about where” data centers are built. In a statement from his campaign, he said the state needs to prioritize developing nuclear power to provide enough energy for data centers and everyday Wisconsinites.
“I have great optimism about the potential for data centers and AI for Wisconsin, but it must be people focused,” he said. “Our lack of sufficient energy supply and distribution is a real threat to strategic growth and personal property rights. Growing up in Kewaunee, we had clean and efficient nuclear power right in our community. We need to get back to nuclear energy as a large part of a diverse energy portfolio — not just for data centers, but for the multitude of new homes we need for people, as well as more innovation and industry.”
Tom Tiffany
The Republican congressman and frontrunner in the party’s primary has often opposed the development of large solar farms in and around his northern Wisconsin district, arguing they’ve taken too much of the region’s farmland out of commission.
In a statement from his campaign, Tiffany said the development of data centers should be handled “responsibly.”
“As demand for internet infrastructure continues to grow, data centers present new opportunities for economic development, but like any innovation, they must be developed responsibly,” he said. “Wisconsin families and small businesses should not be left footing the bill for increased electricity demand, local residents deserve a seat at the table when decisions are made about these projects, and taxpayer subsidies should not be used to build data centers on productive farmland. Growth should be responsible and transparent, without shifting costs onto existing ratepayers.”
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