A new political era begins in Wisconsin

QUOTE OF THE WEEK

“We do have a big list, and we are going to be ambitious. We recognize this is a huge opportunity. Wisconsin on a new course; we are going to be busy. We’re going to be busy for two years getting all these things done.”

– Assembly Democratic Leader Greta Neubauer (D-Racine), on Democratic priorities with trifecta control of state government

Blue Wave

Democrats in Wisconsin and across the country were swept into power on Tuesday on the back of a massive rebuke of President Donald Trump’s administration. Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley defeated Republican U.S. Rep. Tom Tiffany to become Wisconsin’s first ever Black governor, Isiah Holmes reports.

After eight years of Gov. Tony Evers clashing with Republican majorities in the Legislature, Crowley will be leading the state with Democrats in trifecta control of the governor's office and both houses of the Legislature after the party flipped control of both the Assembly and Senate, Baylor Spears reports.

Democrats in Congress are set to have their largest majorities in the U.S. House and Senate since 2008. Part of that shift came in Wisconsin’s 1st and 3rd Congressional Districts. In the 1st, former Veterans Affairs hospital nurse Mitchell Berman ousted three-term Republican Rep. Bryan Steil to flip control of the southern Wisconsin district for the first time in three decades, Heather Asiyanbi and Erik Gunn report. In the 3rd, Democrat Rebecca Cooke ousted Republican Rep. Derrick Van Orden — finally defeating an incumbent who had become a controversial and divisive figure in the western Wisconsin swing district, Henry Redman reports.

Elsewhere on the ballot, Wisconsin voters approved two of the three proposed constitutional amendments, Democrat Yee Xiong flipped the state Treasurer’s office and JoCasta Zamarripa won the race for Secretary of State.

In a commentary, Editor-in-Chief Ruth Conniff writes about what Tuesday’s blue wave means for the politics of our state and nation after voters loudly rejected a government based on fear and deference to billionaires.

On to governing

By Wednesday morning, Democrats were starting to plan for how to hit the ground running when they take office in January and Republicans were pointing fingers.

Spears and Holmes report on what Crowley and legislative leaders say their priorities will be on day one after a campaign in which Democrats promised to address rising costs. In his appearance in Milwaukee on Wednesday, Governor-elect Crowley appeared to show deference to the Legislature and the fact that his agenda can’t go anywhere without first moving through both chambers.

Wisconsin Republicans, locked out of power for the first time in 16 years, grappled with that reality by blaming Trump and warning that the Crowley administration is “gonna go so far left,” Spears reports.

In something of a surprise, state Senate Republicans elected Sen. Julian Bradley (R-New Berlin) to be the next Minority Leader. Bradley, the first Black Republican in the Senate, had not been expected to be in the running but after winning the job said that he’ll be focused on “protecting taxpayers and expanding opportunity for every Wisconsinite,” Spears reports.

Tuesday’s election was held without any major hiccups, but election officials, experts and policymakers say that the risk of future Republican election meddling isn’t gone. Redman reports on the list of pro-democracy reforms, including both straightforward fixes and bold proposals, that could be on the legislative agenda next year.

Measles death

A Wisconsin infant has died of measles — the first death from the illness in the state since 1990, the state health department reported Thursday. DHS officials have not released other information about the death, citing the privacy of the family involved, but Gunn reports that the 2026 has seen the most measles cases in Wisconsin in 35 years.

Criminal justice diversion program

Nearly a dozen counties in Wisconsin have set up deflection programs meant to keep “at-risk” people facing struggles with mental health or drug addiction from coming into contact with the state’s criminal justice system. Frank Zufall of our Criminal Justice Project reports on the programs, which aim to connect people with the services they need.

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