CONTACT: press@wisenatedems.org

MADISON, WI – On Wednesday, reporting in Up North News challenged Co-Chair of the Joint Finance Committee Senator Howard Marklein’s narrative of bipartisanship. Senator Marklein, running in the 17th against Representative Jenna Jacobson, has described himself as a bipartisan problem solver; his record exposes that as a falsehood. Over the past four budgets that he has served on the Joint Finance Committee as a member and co-chair, he has voted down more than 1,600 of Evers’ proposals and changed the committee’s rules to solidify Republican power.

Senator Marklein has tried to have it both ways, serving as the primary roadblock to Democratic legislation such as funding for childcare, school meals, and paid family leave, while also claiming to be a bipartisan champion.

Read More on Senator Howard Marklein’s budget record and the gap between his bipartisan messaging and votes:

Up North News: Sen. Howard Marklein is running as a bipartisan problem solver. His budget record says otherwise

  • “If you’re a parent trying to keep childcare affordable, a family waiting for BadgerCare expansion, or a community member worried about PFAS in your water, the lawmaker who has had the most power over those decisions isn’t Democratic Gov. Tony Evers. It’s actually been Republican state Sen. Howard Marklein (R-Spring Green), who is running for reelection to represent the 17th Senate District this November.”
  • “Marklein has used his positions as committee member and co-chair on the Legislature’s budget-writing committee to vote out more than 1,600 of Evers’ proposals, including funding for childcare, school meals, clean water, and paid family leave.”
  • “…under Marklein’s leadership, the committee’s first major move each cycle has been to vote on a huge “delete” motion that wipes out hundreds of of the governor’s ideas in one pass, and to operate under rules that make it almost impossible to bring those items back later.”
  • “In 2019, when Evers submitted his first budget, the committee’s opening move was a motion to delete 131 provisions. Marklein supported it. That vote removed Evers’ plan to expand BadgerCare, which would have covered more low-income adults and brought in additional federal dollars.”
  • “During this time, Marklein and his colleagues also changed how the budget was built. Instead of treating Evers’ bill as the starting point, they began from what was essentially the previous cycle’s budget with a few technical updates.”
  • “In 2023, the pattern repeated with bigger numbers. The first substantive vote on Evers’ new budget removed 545 provisions, again under a motion authored by Marklein and the Assembly co-chair.”
  • “That one vote eliminated Evers’ proposals for paid family leave, caps on insulin co-pays, another push for BadgerCare expansion, a $235 million school mental health initiative, legalizing marijuana, and restoring public-sector union rights lost under Act 10, with the same no-reconsideration rule in place.”
  • “On May 8, 2025, the committee took up a motion from Marklein and the Assembly co-chair to delete 612 of Evers’ provisions from the 2025-27 budget bill. Marklein voted yes.”
  • “If you’ve wondered why BadgerCare still hasn’t been expanded, why paid family leave keeps stalling, why childcare, school mental health, and PFAS funding haven’t matched the governor’s proposals, UpNorthNews has found that a key reason has been Marklein using his position to take those ideas off the table, well out of sight of the folks who will see his bipartisan campaign ads.”