Milwaukee, WI – As opposition research dumps and political attacks become fixtures of the final weeks of the 2026 Democratic primary, Joel Brennan today released his own self-research file and offered it up for viewing on his website at www.brennanforwi.com/book.

Like other candidates, Brennan paid a third party to conduct research into his personal and professional relationships and accomplishments, and the document released today contains the completed research project. The document runs 99 pages, with a nine-page executive summary at the front end.

Along with the release of his research, Joel Brennan released the following statement:

“Wisconsin voters deserve to know what they’re getting before they vote. Many candidates say, ‘Don’t just listen to what I say; look at what I have done.’ Well, every voter has a chance to review what I have done – the good and the bad – before they cast their vote in the Democratic Primary in 5 weeks. The stakes of this election are too high to hand Tom Tiffany and the Republicans a weapon they can use against us all fall. My life has pretty much been an open book – and here are 99 pages of data that demonstrate it. I’m not afraid of the scrutiny – and every candidate in this race should be able to say the same.

“I doubt that others in this race — Democrats or Republicans — will be willing to release their own self-research. I might even be the only gubernatorial candidate in the country willing to take this step – but more should. And voters would be better off if we did. They wouldn’t get the ‘gotcha’ moments in the press or more ‘October surprises’ — they would see us for who we really are.

“I may not make many headlines for my social media posts or my personal life. No viral moments, no daily drama. But that’s not a weakness, it’s a strength. It means I can stay focused on the work, win in November, and actually deliver for Wisconsin families. Wisconsin doesn’t need a reality show right now — it needs a governor who will show up, roll up their sleeves, and make people’s lives better. That’s who I am and who I have been throughout my career.”

A few highlights of the research:

  • Brennan once faced eviction from a Milwaukee apartment (he stopped paying rent due to substandard conditions and was unaware of his tenant rights, like so many other Wisconsin residents).
  • Brennan has been praised by the likes of Republicans Scott Fitzgerald and Robin Vos (who also found opportunities to criticize Brennan as well); he also helped push to land the 2024 Republican National Convention in Milwaukee.
  • Brennan has been criticized by the Milwaukee Teachers Union, though he has also raised hundreds of thousands of dollars for the Milwaukee Public Schools.
  • Brennan, along with Governor Tony Evers, stood up to extremists in the legislature and distributed hundreds of millions of COVID relief dollars to farmers, small businesses, and renters.

Governor Evers has said it himself: sometimes boring is a good thing. However, no one should ever mistake boring for timid. Here are five bold actions Joel Brennan will take as governor:

  1. Set 3% mortgages for first-time home buyers — make homeownership achievable again for Wisconsin families who have been priced out of the market
  2. Create portable retirement savings for every Wisconsin worker — create retirement accounts for private-sector workers who don’t have access to a pension or 401(k), so nobody gets left behind
  3. Provide real child care relief — fight immediately to restore funding for Wisconsin’s child care providers so families can afford care and providers can keep their doors open, and then create a long-term solution that bolsters the workforce and gets kids the start they need
  4. Fund the kid, not the zip code — scrap the broken school funding formula and create a system that stops pitting property taxpayers against Wisconsin kids and ensures every child gets a quality education no matter where they grow up
  5. Safeguard Wisconsin’s elections and stand up to Trump — defend our democracy, protect election workers, and make sure Wisconsin voters — not Washington politicians — decide the outcome of our elections