TOP STORIES Wisconsin Democratic leader who revitalized state party in swing state is leaving… [a week after shepherding Crawford to victory] … two months after [losing DNC chair race] to Ken Martin … WisDems chair Wikler … party chair since
From WisPolitics … — Glendale Mayor Bryan Kennedy tells WisPolitics he will make a formal announcement in the next few days that he’s running for state Dem chair. He will join former party Executive Director Devin Remiker as candidates formally
From WisPolitics … — Outgoing state Dem Chair Ben Wikler told WisPolitics he’s interested in running for public office some day, but has no immediate political plans as he decides what’s next in his career. “I think it really matters
TOP STORIES Crime-related TV ads consumed $27M, 34% of TV ads, in WI Supreme Court race… Crawford neutralized … Schimel’s perceived advantage on crime by aggressively attacking his record. … record-breaking $79.5M spent on TV ads [Dems $44.55M, GOP $34,93M]
From WisPolitics … — An Assembly committee today will hear testimony on legislation to require the Department of Health Services to check every six months to make sure those on Medicaid programs are still eligible for benefits. AB 163 also
From WisPolitics … — The Natural Resources Board voted today to let the agency start a new rulemaking effort to establish PFAS groundwater standards. The action comes after a previous groundwater rule stalled in the GOP-led Legislature. The Department of
TOP STORIES National Democrats target 2 Republican-held CD1, CD3 seats for 2026… “From tanking the economy, gutting Medicaid, abandoning our veterans, to making everything more expensive, they’ve broken their promises to Wisconsinites, and it’s going to cost them their seats,”
From WisPolitics … — An Assembly Committee today will exec legislation that would require most state employees to return to their agency offices by July 1. The bill before the State Affairs Committee would exempt telehealth services and duties performed
From WisPolitics … — Assembly Republicans today unveiled a new version of a heavily lobbied transmission bill opposed by some conservatives, adding provisions addressing farmland preservation and touting nuclear energy to win over previous GOP holdouts. Lawmakers dubbed the new
TOP STORIES Gableman might temporarily lose law license after deal with Wisconsin regulation board… [OLR complaint] in November alleged Gableman [as Special Counsel] violated state code for professional conduct in 10 instances, including lying and disrespecting a judge. … In
From WisPolitics … — UW-Madison says the federal government has revoked the visas of 13 current or past international students. The school said such a move generally means an affected person should leave the U.S. immediately. The campus was the
From WisPolitics … — Former conservative Justice Michael Gableman’s law license would be suspended for three years under a deal he reached with state regulators to settle the discipline case over his conduct during a taxpayer-financed review of the 2020
TOP STORIES Justice Rebecca Bradley announces she’ll seek another 10-year term… “I’m concerned for what an extremely radical court is going to do over the next three years, and I will be spending the next several weeks assessing what happened
From WisPolitics … — DNC Chair Ken Martin says Susan Crawford’s victory is “a huge shot in the arm” for the Dem Party nationally. Crawford, the liberal candidate, defeated conservative Brad Schimel 55% to 45% in Wisconsin’s Supreme Court race.
Quotes of the Week I’ve called Judge Crawford and conceded. No, you got to accept the results. Yeah, right I’m not up here making any joke. The numbers aren’t gonna turn around, they’re too bad and we’re not gonna pull
TOP STORIES Kaul, 18 Dem AGs sue over Trump executive order on elections… an “unconstitutional attempt to seize control of elections” that could disenfranchise millions of voters. … argued the order would “effectively preclude Plaintiff States from administering vote-by-mail systems
From WisPolitics … — A Columbia County judge accused Dem AG Josh Kaul of abusing Wisconsin’s judicial system with his last-minute attempt to prevent Elon Musk from handing out $1 million checks to those who have voted in the spring
From WisPolitics … — An attorney for GOP lawmakers today urged the state Supreme Court to overturn Dem Gov. Tony Evers’ partial veto of legislation in a literacy bill, saying it “makes no sense” to allow him that authority on
TOP STORIES Supreme Court to tackle abortion, unions and redistricting after a liberal’s win… in record-high turnout of over 50% of the voting age population … Last year, the court declined to take up a Democratic-backed challenge to the state’s
From WisPolitics … — The Senate Agriculture and Revenue Committee will hold a public hearing this morning on a bipartisan bill to create incentives for farmers to use grass-based managed grazing practices. Managed grazing involves regularly moving livestock between separated
TOP STORIES Wisconsin Democratic leader who revitalized state party in swing state is leaving… [a week after shepherding Crawford to victory] … two months after [losing DNC chair race] to Ken Martin … WisDems chair Wikler … party chair since 2019 … announced Thursday he will be leaving his position
From WisPolitics … — Glendale Mayor Bryan Kennedy tells WisPolitics he will make a formal announcement in the next few days that he’s running for state Dem chair. He will join former party Executive Director Devin Remiker as candidates formally in the race to succeed Ben Wikler, who announced yesterday
From WisPolitics … — Outgoing state Dem Chair Ben Wikler told WisPolitics he’s interested in running for public office some day, but has no immediate political plans as he decides what’s next in his career. “I think it really matters who serves in public office,” Wikler said in a phone
TOP STORIES Crime-related TV ads consumed $27M, 34% of TV ads, in WI Supreme Court race… Crawford neutralized … Schimel’s perceived advantage on crime by aggressively attacking his record. … record-breaking $79.5M spent on TV ads [Dems $44.55M, GOP $34,93M] raises concerns about the influence of money in judicial elections.
From WisPolitics … — An Assembly committee today will hear testimony on legislation to require the Department of Health Services to check every six months to make sure those on Medicaid programs are still eligible for benefits. AB 163 also would require DHS to complete by Jan. 1 a review
From WisPolitics … — The Natural Resources Board voted today to let the agency start a new rulemaking effort to establish PFAS groundwater standards. The action comes after a previous groundwater rule stalled in the GOP-led Legislature. The Department of Natural Resources paused work on the rule after it was
TOP STORIES National Democrats target 2 Republican-held CD1, CD3 seats for 2026… “From tanking the economy, gutting Medicaid, abandoning our veterans, to making everything more expensive, they’ve broken their promises to Wisconsinites, and it’s going to cost them their seats,” [chair] DelBene said. “The DCCC is already working to recruit
From WisPolitics … — An Assembly Committee today will exec legislation that would require most state employees to return to their agency offices by July 1. The bill before the State Affairs Committee would exempt telehealth services and duties performed off site prior to March 1, 2020. — Following the
From WisPolitics … — Assembly Republicans today unveiled a new version of a heavily lobbied transmission bill opposed by some conservatives, adding provisions addressing farmland preservation and touting nuclear energy to win over previous GOP holdouts. Lawmakers dubbed the new bill the “Wisconsin Energy Reform Act” and said the previous
TOP STORIES Gableman might temporarily lose law license after deal with Wisconsin regulation board… [OLR complaint] in November alleged Gableman [as Special Counsel] violated state code for professional conduct in 10 instances, including lying and disrespecting a judge. … In March, Gableman declined to testify before the OLR, citing the
From WisPolitics … — UW-Madison says the federal government has revoked the visas of 13 current or past international students. The school said such a move generally means an affected person should leave the U.S. immediately. The campus was the site of pro-Palestinian protests that included a clash with police
From WisPolitics … — Former conservative Justice Michael Gableman’s law license would be suspended for three years under a deal he reached with state regulators to settle the discipline case over his conduct during a taxpayer-financed review of the 2020 election. Ultimately, it will be up to the state Supreme
TOP STORIES Justice Rebecca Bradley announces she’ll seek another 10-year term… “I’m concerned for what an extremely radical court is going to do over the next three years, and I will be spending the next several weeks assessing what happened on Tuesday and figuring out a path to achieving a
From WisPolitics … — DNC Chair Ken Martin says Susan Crawford’s victory is “a huge shot in the arm” for the Dem Party nationally. Crawford, the liberal candidate, defeated conservative Brad Schimel 55% to 45% in Wisconsin’s Supreme Court race. “Most importantly, it’s what it means for Wisconsin, which we
Quotes of the Week I’ve called Judge Crawford and conceded. No, you got to accept the results. Yeah, right I’m not up here making any joke. The numbers aren’t gonna turn around, they’re too bad and we’re not gonna pull this off.- Waukesha County Judge and conservative state Supreme Court
TOP STORIES Kaul, 18 Dem AGs sue over Trump executive order on elections… an “unconstitutional attempt to seize control of elections” that could disenfranchise millions of voters. … argued the order would “effectively preclude Plaintiff States from administering vote-by-mail systems that permit voters to make their choices by Election Day,
From WisPolitics … — A Columbia County judge accused Dem AG Josh Kaul of abusing Wisconsin’s judicial system with his last-minute attempt to prevent Elon Musk from handing out $1 million checks to those who have voted in the spring election. In a formal order dismissing the suit Kaul originally
From WisPolitics … — An attorney for GOP lawmakers today urged the state Supreme Court to overturn Dem Gov. Tony Evers’ partial veto of legislation in a literacy bill, saying it “makes no sense” to allow him that authority on a bill that didn’t actually spend any money. But Assistant
TOP STORIES Supreme Court to tackle abortion, unions and redistricting after a liberal’s win… in record-high turnout of over 50% of the voting age population … Last year, the court declined to take up a Democratic-backed challenge to the state’s congressional lines. … drew criticism from Rep. Pocan, who said
From WisPolitics … — The Senate Agriculture and Revenue Committee will hold a public hearing this morning on a bipartisan bill to create incentives for farmers to use grass-based managed grazing practices. Managed grazing involves regularly moving livestock between separated areas of pasture to feed. The method helps prevent soil