Evers wrestled with decision to retire until day before formal announcement

Gov. Tony Evers says he wrestled with his decision over whether to retire until shortly before he announced Thursday he wouldn’t seek a third term.

“I thought about it a lot, and didn’t make up my mind until, I’d say, the day before I made the announcement,” Evers told reporters after a stop in Milwaukee yesterday. “It was, it was just difficult. I mean, I have a family and my great spouse, Kathy, that it’s hard to, to be part of that family if you’re governor.”

He noted he’s been working for state and local governments for 50 years. “It’s a long time,” he said. Before becoming governor, Evers was elected three times as state schools superintendent. The former educator served eight years as the deputy superintendent at DPI before winning the office in 2009.

It was the first time Evers has laid out the timeline of his decision since formally announcing last week that he had decided against running again.

Evers’ campaign reported July 15 that he had raised $757,215 over the first six months of 2025, a fraction of what he pulled in during the same period four years ago ahead of his successful reelection bid. That ramped up speculation about his future, with some reports days after the fundraising numbers were filed that he had already decided against a run and an announcement was imminent.

The guv’s comments yesterday conflict with those suggestions.

Lt. Gov. Sara Rodriguez’s campaign launch for guv also played into speculation on when Evers had made a decision when her original rollout video was dated July 17, a week before Evers’s formal announcement. 

A Rodriguez spokesperson told WisPolitics the campaign shot and uploaded two videos — one announcing a bid for governor if Evers decided against seeking a third term and one for reelection as lieutenant governor in case he ran again.

Rodriguez told WISN’s “UpFront” the governor gave her “a heads up” he was going to retire, but didn’t specify when that conversation happened. Evers told reporters when asked about the timing of the video today that he informed her at the same time he told his cabinet — the day of his public announcement. 

“It was just at the same time I let my cabinet members know — the day of,” he said. “So the idea that there was, from what you said, something already done the day before or whatever, you’ll have to ask her why that happened.”

The video has since been updated to be dated yesterday.

“Governors are supposed to be prepared for anything,” the Rodriguez spokesperson said. “Sara was ready to hit the ground running if Governor Evers decided not to seek re-election. The video was uploaded in advance because she and her team were prepared. Sara was informed of the governor’s decision the day of his announcement.”

Evers said he has no plans at this time to endorse in the Dem primary, but wouldn’t rule it out. 

“I tend to try to avoid that. So no … I’ll never say never,” he said. “But I want to make sure who the rest of the candidates are before I even make that decision. That’s the important thing. I tend to not get involved with primaries in general, and so that’s probably where I hope to be again.”

But he noted if there is someone he really supports and wants to win, “I might get in.”

Evers said he was confident he would have won if he decided to run again. 

“I know I would have won,” he said. “I mean, it would have been close. Wisconsin is a purple state, but having done it twice, I felt confident.”

Evers spoke with reporters after a town hall with leaders of community organizations and others at Purple Door Ice Cream in Milwaukee’s Third Ward. 

During the meeting, he briefly discussed child care funding in the budget and fielded comments and questions on education, labor, immigration, child care, the environment, diversity and other issues. 

He had an additional “Ice Cream Town Hall” planned just after noon in Appleton.