Neubauer said in an interview that Republicans have continued to “ignore” the core challenges facing Wisconsinites, which for the most part center on costs. (Photo by Baylor Spears/Wisconsin Examiner)

Assembly Minority Leader Greta Neubauer (D-Racine) told the Wisconsin Examiner in a year-end interview that Democrats have spent the past year preparing to lead and she is optimistic about the chances for flipping the Assembly. Neubauer reflected on the current session and previewed what’s ahead.

The effect of smaller margins and the remainder of session

This session has been different from previous ones, said Neubauer, who was first elected to the state Assembly in 2018 and has led Assembly Democrats since 2022. 

“Closer numbers in the state Assembly and state Senate have yielded some more bipartisan work,” Neubauer said. Republicans hold a 54 to 45 majority in the Assembly, and a 18 to 15 majority in the state Senate. 

She felt the difference this year  from her first seven years in the body, she said, when Democrats were “in a position where we really were on defense and having to spend a huge amount of time just trying to prevent the worst policy ideas from going through.”

That work across the aisle, she said, was evident in the state budget, when Senate Democrats had a seat at the negotiating table and were able to secure more money for public schools. She also sees a difference in some of the housing bills that recently passed the Legislature. Neubauer said that Assembly task forces focused on children’s social media use and elder care also allowed for discussion across the aisle and she is hopeful they will yield some bipartisan legislation.

Still, she said, the session hasn’t yielded everything she had hoped for. 

“We have not seen the kind of movement that I would have hoped, especially given that we’re  all up for election next year, and everyone’s going to have to go home and answer to their constituents for what was and was not accomplished.”

Neubauer said Republicans have continued to “ignore” the core challenges facing Wisconsinites, which for the most part center on costs. 

“That’s what we hear over and over from the people that we represent,” Neubauer said, noting several issues where Democratic lawmakers have introduced proposals or advocated for action. “There’s been no interest from our Republican colleagues on addressing the cost of prescription drugs and health care, especially in light of the [Affordable Care Act] premiums going up in a significant way. We have had a bill out for the entire session on Healthy School Meals. This would save the average family with two kids $1,800 a year. People would really appreciate that money right now, especially going into the holiday season, but we’ve had no interest from our Republican colleagues in addressing that issue…. and we do need to see more movement on housing and on child care.” 

Neubauer also noted that a bill to extend postpartum Medicaid remains stuck in the state Assembly due to opposition from Assembly Speaker Robin Vos (R-Rochester). Democratic lawmakers tried to force a vote on the issue during their last scheduled floor session this year, but failed. 

Neubauer said she still hopes that measure could advance next year in the time remaining in the session. 

“We know that people across the state believe that new moms should have access to health care. It’s essential for mom and baby… You do have to ask why [Rep.] Pat Snyder and [Rep.] Jessie Rodriguez, authors on that bill, are not able to get it done when they are governing,” Neubauer said. “They’re in the majority, and they have been for a long time.”

Despite the gridlock on certain issues, Neubauer said Democratic lawmakers have been able to think differently this year. 

“We are able to think about what bills are we going to pass when we’re governing. How can we work across the aisle and use our numbers to get things done and put pressure on Republicans to make the bills better if they need our support,” Neubauer said. “I do think that we are preparing to govern in that way, and we’re really working over the next several months to get more input from our constituents on the things that are important to them to make sure that our agenda and our plan for the first hundred days is really tuned to the particular challenges that people are facing.” 

Democratic lawmakers have spent the session introducing and advocating for bills on a number of issues including K-12 education, higher education, local government and elections. Most haven’t advanced or received a public hearing, but they are laying the groundwork for the future. 

“The bills that we’ve rolled out this fall would be things we would absolutely do when we come into the majority,” Neubauer said. “We also know there are some pretty essential rights and freedoms that we would want, things like enshrining access to abortion in state law, in case there are further court cases that would put that at risk.” 

Neubauer said Democratic lawmakers will have additional bills coming out in the next few weeks and in 2026, addressing public safety, housing and health care. She declined to provide details on what those proposals might do.

Neubauer said her caucus will continue to push for additional education funding in the fall, including general aid. This year the state budget included additional funding for special education, but Republican lawmakers refused to provide an increase in general aid — something that public school leaders and advocates have said will strain their budgets and put pressure on property taxpayers. 

“We have failed to adequately fund our local public schools and what we see from Republicans is [a plan to] consolidate districts and close local schools. No one’s asking us for that,” Neubauer said. “They’re asking us to maintain that essential funding that will allow their kids to attend a grade school where they get a good reading and math education, they’re safe, and they’re prepared for their future career.”

Neubauer also commented on a handful of other issues that the Legislature is grappling with.

• Neubauer called WisconsinEye, the independent, nonprofit service that provides coverage of Wisconsin state government similar to C-Span, “essential.” WisconsinEye has announced it will have to cease operations Dec. 15 if it does not receive more funds. She said she thinks there is a bipartisan understanding of the service the network  provides and is hopeful lawmakers will be able to make changes to the law to allow WisconsinEye to access state funds that were set aside for it. She said Wisconsinites deserved to know what’s going on in the state Capitol. “They deserve to be able to watch testimony on a bill that’s really important to them or their family and to know how their representative is responding on a certain issue or voting on the floor of the Assembly,” she said. “We should have structured their funding a little differently in the state budget, but we have an opportunity to do so now to make sure that they can provide that service.” The state initially set aside $10 million for the nonprofit in the 2023-25 state budget that it could only access if it raised the same amount, but it failed to do so. The opportunity to access the funds for an endowment was extended in the 2025-27 state budget, but the organization has struggled to raise funds for both the endowment and its operational costs.
• Lawmakers have also been discussing, once again, legalizing medical marijuana, though Neubauer said she isn’t sure if Republicans, who are standing in the way, will budge this session. “The reality here is that THC products are available in Wisconsin because of the Farm Bill… so I do think that that’s shifted the conversation. People of Wisconsin have been very clear that they want access to both medical and recreational marijuana, and we should be regulating this market and taxing it, making sure that kids don’t have access to these products,” Neubauer said. “I do think it will be difficult for Republicans to go home and explain why they still have not done anything when we’re an island of prohibition here.” 
• On funds that have not been released to combat PFAS contamination in drinking water, Neubauer said she hopes the Legislature can finally get something done. “There have been some productive conversations on this issue. The central conflict really remains that Democrats believe that polluters should pay for the damage that they have done, and I’m not really sure my Republican colleagues would agree with that, and so that’s been a challenge for us to move through, but we just have to do something,” Neubauer said. “We have communities in Wisconsin that cannot drink the water coming out of their tap, and that’s unacceptable.” 

2026 elections and a potential majority

Neubauer, who confirmed she will be running for another term in the Assembly, said she is optimistic about Democrats’ chances of winning the Assembly majority next year. The 2026 elections will serve as Assembly Democrats’ second opportunity under new legislative maps adopted in 2024 to try to flip the chamber for the first time in 16 years. 

In 2024, Democrats won 10 additional seats. For Democrats to win control in 2026, they’ll need to hold all of their current seats and win five more. 

The seats that they’ll be competing for are very close, Neubauer said, including some that former Vice President Kamala Harris won in 2024, even as she lost the state as a whole.

“There are people who like the vision that we’re putting forward in these districts, so the path is there. We are recruiting great candidates who are very connected to their local community and who are ready to go out and speak directly to the voters of their district from now until election day,” Neubauer said. “That’s how we win. We win by talking about the failures of Republicans and pointing out that they have been in control here for coming up on 15 years, and they have really failed to provide the essential services that people deserve.” 

Neubauer said it helps that Democrats have fewer seats that they need to flip in 2026, so they’ll be able to better focus on tough districts. 

Neubauer said Democrats have candidates from a diverse array of backgrounds including teachers, coaches, small business owners, farmers, public safety employees and union members, who she said are representative of the state.  

“We know that people want to see folks in office that remind them of themselves and of their neighbors and who understand the challenges that they’re going through. We’ve got folks running who get what it’s like to be looking at the budget and worried about how they’re going to make it to the next month or how they’re going to afford those Christmas gifts or special meals for the holidays,” she said. 

She said to look out for more candidate announcements early next year.

Neubauer also said the election results from across the country bode well for Democrats in Wisconsin. She said the results in  New Jersey and Virginia were a “really strong overperformance for Democrats.” She said it’s a sign that people are unhappy with Republican leadership and the direction of the country.

“[President] Donald Trump said that he was going to focus on the economy and making life a little easier for folks, and he has engaged in reckless trade wars, and taking other steps that have made it harder for people to get by — not easier,” Neubauer said. She also said it is “shocking” that Trump would “completely fail” to recognize how cutting SNAP funding would hurt people, and said his comments about running for a third term are “unsettling” and it is “incumbent on all of us who believe in democracy and who believe in fair elections” to push back.

“I think you’re seeing the effects of that on people across the country. Not only the federal Republicans, but their state level Republicans are just not following through on the promises that they made so I think people are looking for something different and that gives us an opportunity here.”

Wisconsinites will also make a choice next year in a high-profile open race for governor, and Neubauer said she’ll do everything she can to elect a Democratic governor. 

“I am looking for someone who understands the necessity of winning in Wisconsin next year and is focused on communicating with the people of this state a vision for how life would be better with Democrats running the state Capitol,” Neubauer said. “It’s really important that we put out a vision, and that we connect directly with the people of Wisconsin and push through the frustration that folks have with politics right now by being really clear about what we’ll do and then winning and then getting those things done.”

Neubauer said she is happy with the field of Democrats running for governor, especially given how many have legislative experience, but won’t be making an endorsement. She noted that Democratic U.S. Sen. Tammy Baldwin, U.S. Rep. Mark Pocan and U.S. Rep. Gwen Moore all spent time serving in the Wisconsin Legislature. 

Two current lawmakers, state Rep. Francesca Hong (D-Madison), and state Sen. Kelda Roys (D-Madison), are running along with former lawmakers Lt. Gov. Sara Rodriguez, Milwaukee Co. Executive David Crowley and former Lt. Gov. Mandela Barnes.

“We’re excited that so many folks understand what it’s like to be a legislator and who will work well, I think, with our caucus in a governing trifecta,” Neubauer said. 

Former Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation CEO Missy Hughes, another Democratic gubernatorial hopeful, has no legislative experience.

In the event a Republican wins, Neubauer said Democrats in the Legislature will “work with them to the best of our ability to deliver.” 

U.S. Rep. Tom Tiffany, who is considered the frontrunner in the primary race, and Washington County Executive Josh Schoemann, are the current Republican hopefuls.

“We show up every day remembering that our constituents sent us here to get things done and that has to be our first priority, so we will work with anybody who wants to work with us and that would include a Republican governor if that’s the situation that we’re in,” Neubauer said. “People are struggling, and it is our responsibility to respond to that and to do what we can to help.”

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Former Lt. Gov. Mandela Barnes in his launch video for his 2026 gubernatorial campaign. | Photo courtesy Mandela Barnes for Wisconsin campaign

Former Lt. Gov. and Senate candidate Mandela Barnes launched his campaign for governor on Tuesday — pledging to stand up to the Trump administration and work to make Wisconsin more affordable.

The 2026 gubernatorial election is the first open race for governor since 2010 and Barnes joins a crowded field of Democratic hopefuls. Some of those candidates include Lt. Gov. Sara Rodriguez, state Sen. Kelda Roys (D-Madison), state Rep. Francesca Hong (D-Madison), Milwaukee County Exec. David Crowley and former Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation CEO Missy Hughes.

There are about 10 months until the August primary. 

In his announcement video, Barnes accuses President Donald Trump and the federal government of looking the other way as working people struggle to keep up with costs. He says the state needs to reject the “Washington Way” and get things done the “Wisconsin Way.”

The video kicks off with Barnes highlighting his family ties to unions, grabbing a jacket with the insignia of UAW, Local 1866, which is the Oak Creek chapter of the United Auto Workers union. He says it belongs to his dad who “wore it everywhere because being part of a union wasn’t just a job.” In the video, construction workers walk behind Barnes while he speaks. 

“It meant you looked out for each other. It meant you had each other’s backs,” Barnes continues, adding that union jobs helped people afford a home, support their families and save for retirement. “That’s not the case anymore. Seems like the harder you work, the more Washington looks the other way. Lower taxes for billionaires, higher prices for working people.” 

“Under Trump, the name of the game has been distraction and chaos to avoid accountability,” Barnes says.  “It’s not about the real world. It’s a show. Outrage. Performances. Everybody trying to go viral. Meanwhile, families doing everything right are still falling behind.” 

Barnes also announced Tuesday that he plans to kick off his campaign with a tour across the state, with stops in Madison, Milwaukee and Green Bay this week. He said he plans to meet voters to hear about their concerns about rising costs and to share his vision to improve affordability. According to a press release from his campaign, Barnes as governor would seek to expand BadgerCare — Wisconsin’s Medicaid program — and “close tax loopholes for the ultra-rich so we can cut taxes for middle-class families.” 

“It isn’t about left or right. It’s not about who can yell the loudest,” Barnes says in his ad. “It’s about whether people can afford to live in the state they call home. A state where you can afford your health care, where your kids can learn a skill and stay close to home, where a good day’s work earns a good day’s pay and where families can not only get by, but thrive.”

Barnes will need to overcome concerns about his prior statewide loss to U.S. Senator Ron Johnson as he campaigns to win the Democratic nomination.

In the 2022 Senate race, Barnes won the Democratic nomination after the crowded field thinned and when some high-profile Democrats dropped out in the weeks before the primary date. He lost his general election challenge to Johnson, who had been considered one of the most beatable Republican incumbents in the country for Democrats, by a narrow margin. 

Before launching his campaign, Barnes had already faced pushback to his run for governor due to that 2022 loss.

The New York Times reported in October that some Wisconsin Democrats were uneasy about Barnes running statewide in 2026. A few days later the Milwaukee Courier, the city’s longest-running Black-owned newspaper, published an opinion piece urging Barnes not to run, saying the state couldn’t risk another loss. The Courier noted that Barnes ran 50,000 votes behind Gov. Tony Evers in 2022, with Evers winning a second term that year. Barnes lost the Senate race by a little over 26,000 votes.

“We need a candidate who can unite this state — and win. Mandela Barnes already showed us he can’t,” the Milwaukee Courier oped stated.

Barnes is pushing back on that narrative. In his campaign ad, he says he knows how to “bring people together” and “how to get things done.” 

“I’m running for governor because this jacket wasn’t just something my dad wore. It was a promise,” Barnes says. “We show up. We look out for each other.”

Barnes served in the Wisconsin State Assembly for two terms from 2013 to 2017 before he was elected as the state’s first Black lieutenant governor. He won the lieutenant governor nomination in 2018 in a two-person race, going on to win on the same ticket as Evers.

Since losing the Senate race in 2022, Barnes has served as president of Power to the Polls Wisconsin, a community-based organizing project focused on getting people out to vote. According to his campaign, he led a team that helped knock on over a million doors to engage infrequent voters and improve turnout and get people out to vote for Supreme Court Justice Janet Protasiewicz and Justice Susan Crawford in their successive winning campaigns. 

The primary election is scheduled for Aug. 11, 2026. The Republican field is less crowded with U.S. Rep. Tom Tiffany, considered the front runner, and Washington County Executive Josh Schoemann the only announced candidates.

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Ryan Strnad, who promoted recycling when he announced earlier this summer that he would seek the Democratic nomination to run for governor, ended his campaign Tuesday. (Photo by Isiah Holmes/Wisconsin Examiner)

Democratic hopeful Ryan Strnad, an American Family Field beer vendor from Mukwonago, announced Tuesday he is ending his campaign for governor. 

“I want to thank every person who supported this campaign,” Strnad said in a statement. “I ran to give working class families a voice and to deliver results for communities that have long been overlooked.”

Strnad launched his campaign for the Democratic nomination in August, acknowledging  he was polarizing and a longshot for the position. He told the Examiner at the start of his campaign that his mother thought he should “run for something smaller.”

He launched his campaign saying that he would seek to improve conditions for workers by repealing Act 10 and getting rid of “right to work” — the law that lets workers who are represented by unions decline to pay union dues without giving up their right to the union’s representation. He said he supported police and allowing access to abortion in Wisconsin. 

Strnad said he is endorsing Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley in the crowded race and encouraged his supporters to support him as well. He said Crowley “is the candidate who can hit the ground running, fight for families, and begin delivering those results for Wisconsin starting on day one.”

Other Democratic hopefuls include Lt. Gov. Sarah Rodriguez, state Sen. Kelda Roys (D-Madison), state Rep. Francesca Hong (D-Madison) and former Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation CEO Missy Hughes.

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Wisconsin State Capitol (Wisconsin Examiner photo)

Former state Rep. Brett Hulsey, known for controversial behavior in the Wisconsin Assembly, has joined the crowded Democratic field for governor in 2026.

“I am running for governor to make Wisconsin better for my family and yours. My grandkids and yours deserve the best schools, roads and clean lakes and beaches,” Hulsey said in his campaign announcement last week.

Hulsey represented Middleton in the state Legislature from 2011 to 2015. Prior to that, he served on the Dane County Board for 14 years, including chairing the Dane County Personnel and Finance Committee.

While in the Assembly, Hulsey was cited for disorderly conduct after police accused him of flipping a 9-year-old boy off his inner tube and taking pictures of him at a Madison beach. He also used $1,200 in campaign funds in 2013 to buy himself a 1987 Volkswagen Cabriolet, which he said he was going to use for parades and campaigning.

Hulsey decided not to run for reelection in the Assembly in 2014 so he could run for governor in 2014. He came in a distant second in the Democratic primary to Mary Burke. 

During his last campaign, Hulsey made national headlines for his plan to go to the 2014 Wisconsin Republican Convention in Milwaukee, dress up as a confederate soldier and hand out Ku Klux Klan hoods as a way of highlighting the policies of then-Gov. Scott Walker, which he said were racist.

Hulsey, a former teacher, cited his outspoken opposition to Act 10, a Walker-era law that stripped teachers and other public employees of collective bargaining rights, as a  reason he decided to run. 

“Attacks on teachers and cuts to school investment are coming home to roost with lower school performance. I will invest in our kids, schools, teachers, and support staff,” Hulsey said. 

Since his time in office, Hulsey has run the housing, energy and environmental consulting business Better Environmental Solutions LLC. 

Hulsey joins a growing group of Democratic gubernatorial hopefuls.

Candidates who have announced so far include Lt. Gov. Sarah Rodriguez, Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley, state Sen. Kelda Roys, state Rep. Francesca Hong, former Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation CEO Missy Hughes and Mukwonago beer vendor Ryan Strnad. 

The primary for governor is scheduled for August 2026.

Republicans in the race include U.S. Rep. Tom Tiffany and Washington County Executive Josh Schoemann.

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