Friday, July 10: Brennan leans into his relationships and experience, Elections Commission orders investigation of Green Bay clerk, Crowley endorses Rodriguez, Milwaukee pushes back on ICE, special breifing on Medicaid changes
QUOTE OF THE DAY
“I want to make sure that people have a personal relationship with me. And I think that also enables us to not make this the kind of blood sport that we oftentimes see.”
– Joel Brennan, on why his ability to work with everyone in a closely divided state makes him the best candidate in the Democratic primary for governor
Joel Brennan listens as Rosemary Verheyen of Shebogyan tells him about her concerns at the Sheboygan County Dairy Breakfast on June 20, 2026. (Photo by Erik Gunn/Wisconsin Examiner)
Among the five remaining hopefuls in the Democratic primary for governor, Joel Brennan is something of an outlier — the only one who is not either a current or former elected official. Erik Gunn catches up with Brennan on the campaign trail, where he has been introducing himself to voters, hoping to build statewide momentum for a candidate many people are just hearing about for the first time.
The Wisconsin Elections Commission on Thursday ordered an investigation into Green Bay’s city clerk for accidentally sending some voters more than one absentee ballot during April’s spring election and for the upcoming August primary. Commissioner Ann Jacobs called the clerk’s actions “unconscionable.” Henry Redman reports.
In his announcement dropping his bid for governor, Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley said Democrats will need to coalesce around a candidate who can defeat Republican U.S. Rep. Tom Tiffany in November. He provided his answer Thursday for who he thinks can win in the general election: Lt. Gov. Sara Rodriguez. Baylor Spears reports on Crowley’s decision and the response from other campaigns.
Elected leaders and civil rights groups gathered in Milwaukee Thursday to denounce the recent surge of arrests by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents in Wisconsin, who have ignored local ordinances as they make targeted arrests, using violence as they detain people who have no criminal record. Isiah Holmes reports.
PLUS:
More from Washington:
ICYMI
Commentary: The Trump administration’s ‘fraud’ theme for the midterms could backfire in Wisconsin | Ruth Conniff
More Wisconsinites are behind bars for intoxicated driving | Andrew Kennard
A Special Public Policy Briefing from States Newsroom and KFF
Medicaid and the Road Ahead : Spending Cuts, Work Requirements and What's Next for States, Providers and Families
July 23, 2026 at 11 a.m. CST
Featuring:
Robin Rudowitz - Director of KFF’s Program on Medicaid and the Uninsured; Jen Tolbert - Deputy director of KFF’s Program on Medicaid and the Uninsured and director of State Health Policy and Data; Kyle Pfannenstiel - Idaho Capital Sun reporter; Anna Claire Vollers - Stateline staff writer; David DeWitt - Ohio Capital Journal editor in chief
Significant changes to Medicaid – the publicly-funded health insurance for people with low incomes – are expected to put new pressures on states, healthcare providers and those who depend on the coverage. Families and individuals are already feeling caught up in unpredictable and confusing changes, at times when they’re dealing with health crises.
Join healthcare policy experts from KFF and journalists from States Newsroom who cover these issues at the state and national level for an in-depth discussion on the impacts that federal funding cuts, work requirements and state policy are having on healthcare in the U.S. They’ll explain the latest developments and discuss the political debate around these changes. Audience Q&A to follow. REGISTER HERE
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