Exclusively for WisPolitics Subscribers From WisPolitics.com … — U.S. Sens. Tammy Baldwin and Ron Johnson are seeking new applicants to fill a vacancy on the federal court in Milwaukee after the president’s first pick ran into opposition over past comments, including criticism over legalizing gay marriage. Baldwin, D-Madison, originally agreed

Exclusively for WisPolitics Subscribers From WisPolitics.com … — State Dem Party Chair Ben Wikler said the 5th and 7th CDs are “gerrymandered, tough seats” but believes the race to replace U.S. Rep. Sean Duffy, R-Weston, will “come down to maybe a percentage point.” But state GOP Chair Andrew Hitt —

Exclusively for WisPolitics Subscribers From WisPolitics.com … — Dem AG Josh Kaul today declined to join a proposal to settle suits multiple states filed against the manufacturer of Oxycontin, calling the terms inadequate. And DOJ acknowledged for the first time today the Purdue Pharma suit was what Kaul wanted to

Exclusively for WisPolitics Subscribers From WisPolitics.com … — AG Josh Kaul today warned that an impasse between his office and GOP lawmakers over legislation passed during December’s lame-duck session could endanger “hundreds of millions” of dollars in lawsuit settlements. But Senate Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald, R-Juneau, blamed Kaul for the

Exclusively for WisPolitics Subscribers From WisPolitics.com … — With GOP state Sen. Tom Tiffany poised to formally enter the race tomorrow, Jason Church, an Army vet and aide to U.S. Sen. Ron Johnson, has emerged as another possible candidate for the 7th CD. A GOP source said Church is seriously

Exclusively for WisPolitics Subscribers From WisPolitics.com … — With a number of possible GOP candidates considering a bid following his surprise announcement, U.S. Rep. Jim Sensenbrenner, R-Menomonee Falls, says he will be “strictly neutral” in the Republican primary to find his possible successor. Sensenbrenner, who announced late yesterday he won’t

Exclusively for WisPolitics Subscribers From WisPolitics.com … — The latest Marquette University Law School Poll again finds President Trump’s job approval numbers underwater, Joe Biden in the strongest position of any Dem challenger and voters more pessimistic about the economy’s future than at any point in the survey’s history. Biden

Exclusively for WisPolitics Subscribers From WisPolitics.com … — One week after failing to secure Joint Finance’s approval of an undisclosed, multi-state settlement, the Department of Justice is going back before the committee tomorrow seeking members’ sign off in seven cases. The notice of tomorrow’s hearing didn’t include details on the

Exclusively for WisPolitics Subscribers From WisPolitics.com … — GOP leaders of the Joint Finance Committee hired a private attorney to review any proposed settlements reached by the AG with the clock ticking for state action on one deal. Co-chairs Alberta Darling, R-River Hills, and John Nygren, R-Marinette, say the step

Exclusively for WisPolitics Subscribers From WisPolitics.com … — U.S. Rep. Mark Pocan questioned Dems’ chances of winning the 7th CD in an upcoming special election, saying the northern Wisconsin district has been gerrymandered to the GOP’s benefit. Pocan told the Madison Rotary Club the 7th CD had become a “tougher

Exclusively for WisPolitics Subscribers From WisPolitics.com … — The GOP co-chairs of the Joint Finance Committee accused Dem AG Josh Kaul of seeking to undermine a lame-duck session law that requires legislative approval to settle a lawsuit by demanding lawmakers sign confidentiality agreements before sharing details on the action. Kaul,

Exclusively for WisPolitics Subscribers From WisPolitics.com … — Potential candidates for 7th CD quickly began to consider their options after U.S. Rep. Sean Duffy, R-Weston, announced he will resign next month. Meanwhile, Gov. Tony Evers was weighing when to call a special election to fill the northern Wisconsin seat with

Exclusively for WisPolitics Subscribers From WisPolitics.com … — A federal three-judge panel today rejected a request from GOP lawmakers to reimburse some of the tab they charged to taxpayers for outside counsel to defend the Assembly map Republicans drew in 2011. The decision leaves taxpayers on the hook for all

Exclusively for WisPolitics Subscribers From WisPolitics.com … — Health Services Secretary Andrea Palm won bipartisan backing from a Senate committee today despite concerns from Sen. Andre Jacque about “conflicts of interest” within the agency. Jacque, R-DePere, again said he was concerned about Palm’s decision to hire Nicole Safar, who formerly

Exclusively for WisPolitics Subscribers From WisPolitics.com … — All three PSC commissioners today gave preliminary OK for a high-voltage transmission line from near Dubuque to Middleton for wind-generated electricity. A coalition of clean energy advocates — including the Clean Grid Alliance, RENEW Wisconsin, Fresh Energy, the Minnesota Center for Environmental

Exclusively for WisPolitics Subscribers From WisPolitics.com … — State Sen. Pat Testin was the “named Republican candidate” who was neck-and-neck with Dem U.S. Rep. Ron Kind in an NRCC poll released last month, but the lawmaker says he is focused on re-election to the state Senate in 2020. The National

Exclusively for WisPolitics Subscribers From WisPolitics.com … — Gov. Tony Evers joined Dem lawmakers and AG Josh Kaul to introduce a bill to expand background checks covering a vast majority of firearms purchases in the state. But Assembly Majority Leader Jim Steineke, R-Kaukauna, said in a statement that is was

Exclusively for WisPolitics Subscribers From WisPolitics.com … — A trio of Republican lawmakers today pushed a GOP backed-bill that would expand access to contraception by allowing pharmacists to prescribe birth control pills. Reps. Joel Kitchens of Sturgeon Bay and Mary Felzkowski of Irma and Sen. Kathy Bernier of Chippewa Falls

Exclusively for WisPolitics Subscribers From WisPolitics.com … — A divided Wisconsin Elections Commission today settled on a scaled-back proposal to provide temporary replacement computers to clerks to tighten security of the state’s voter database ahead of the 2020 elections. Ahead of today’s special meeting, WEC staff raised concerns about clerks

Exclusively for WisPolitics Subscribers From WisPolitics.com … — Gov. Tony Evers today sent a letter to Donald Trump urging him to “stop this unnecessary trade war” with China, writing the president’s “never-ending tariffs” have hit Wisconsin hard, particularly the agriculture industry. The letter comes the same day the state Dem