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In this update:
- Legislative Updates
- Election Updates
- Committee Schedule
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Vos at WisPolitics luncheon | |
Assembly Speaker Robin Vos (R) spoke at a luncheon hosted by WisPolitics this week, where he spoke about the state budget, tax cuts, the closure of the Green Bay correctional facility, and more. At the event, Speaker Vos said that the Governor’s Budget proposal he released last week will lead to a net increase in the average tax burden for Wisconsinites. The Speaker added that legislative Republicans plan to send Governor Evers (D) a plan which will use the surplus to reduce taxes for Wisconsinites. Speaker Vos said that this will be a tax cut that “people can actually feel,” and did not rule out exempting retirement income from taxes or a tax rebate. Following the luncheon, Speaker Vos told reporters that he was meeting with legislative leaders to discuss a plan, and that the plan will not raise taxes for anyone, which he pointed out was a contrast to the Governor’s proposed hike on the top tax bracket.
Speaker Vos also called out the Governor for his corrections proposal, saying that the plan was released without a conversation with Republican lawmakers. The plan released by Governor Evers allocated $535.5 million to expand earned early release, revamp Waupun’s prison to focus on job training, and most notably a closure of Green Bay’s correctional facility by 2029. During the event, Speaker Vos stated that many Republicans are in support of closing the Green Bay facility, are supportive of job training for prisioners and acknowledge that Wisconsin prisions are overcrowded, but that they do not like the early release or “vocational village” components of the Governor’s plan.
Other topics discussed included:
- The Speaker’s relationship with President Donald Trump, where he says despite their strained past, they are now “tight” and that he is a “team player” because it is “good for Wisconsin to have Republicans who have relationships with [the President].”
- The expansion of Medicaid in Wisconsin, where the Speaker said “Thank goodness Wisconsin never expanded Medicaid.”
- Legislation to expand Medicaid coverage to 12 months for postpartum women, which the Speaker said was not needed when it is helping a category of people who already maintain coverage.
- The state Superintendent’s race, where the Speaker said Brittany Kinser is “the best candidate on the ballot.”
- The state Supreme Court race, where the Speaker stated that his hope is “that people in Wisconsin see that putting all the power in the hands of the executive is bad for our state.”
- Universities of Wisconsin funding, which the Speaker said there is still “room for compromise on.”
- Vos said right of first refusal would help Wisconsinites avoid a roughly $1 billion increase in electricity costs.
Ahead of his budget, Evers called for a $535.5 million plan that would expand earned early release, revamp Waupun’s prison to focus on job training and close Green Bay’s facility by 2029. The plan calls for adding more positions to increase the number of prisoners who can access an existing earned release program for those who have substance abuse problems. The guv also wants to expand earned early release to include job training, patterning the proposal after a plan the Assembly approved last session.
While introducing his plan, Evers stressed it would be for non-violent offenders within 48 months of being released. His proposal would increase the capacity of the program from 2,600 to 6,000 over the biennium.
Watch the full luncheon here.
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State leaders at WCA conference | |
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The Wisconsin Counties Association hosted their 2025 legislative two-day conference featuring legislative leadership, Governor Tony Evers (D), and the state Supreme Court candidates. The conference featured a roundtable of legislative leadership to discuss tax increases in Governor Evers’ budget proposal. Assembly Minority Leader Greta Neubauer (D) defended the increases and the 20% spending increase in his budget. Rep. Neubauer said, “The increases in taxes that he’s proposed are really for the wealthiest Wisconsinites. They’re making sure that everyone is paying their fair share and helping those who are having a difficult time making ends meet, or struggling to save for retirement or to send their kids to school, a little extra breathing room.” Senate Majority Leader Devin LeMahieu (R) disagreed, saying they can help Wisconsinites but letting them “have more money left in their paychecks at the end of the month.”
Assembly Speaker Robin Vos (R) said at the roundtable that Wisconsin should spend at least $2 billion on updating the prison system. In Gov. Evers’ budget, he allocated $535.5 million to expand earned early release. Speaker Vos said, “We do agree that there needs to be a new prison built in Green Bay. The one that’s there is outdated, it’s not safe for the guards or the folks who work there.” Rep. Neubauer said Gov. Evers’ plan is responsible and will move Wisconsin in the right direction. “We know that there are people who are sitting in our prisons, who are ready to return to our communities, who are non-violent offenders, and who have rehabilitated,” Rep. Neubauer said.
Governor Tony Evers attended the conference and said Republican lawmakers need to start compromising otherwise they will lose re-elections in two years. He said the narrow GOP majorities would likely make compromise harder initially but will get easier. He said, “We should be operating from the middle. We should have legislators from the Republican and the Democratic side working together to get a good compromise.”
State Supreme Court candidates spoke at the conference on separate days. Judge Susan Crawford attended day one and said her opponent Judge Brad Schmiel is the “most extreme candidate to ever run for this office.” She pointed to his support for the 1849 ban on abortion and suing to overturn the Affordable Care Act while Attorney General as his extreme agenda that he would bring to the Supreme Court. The following day, Judge Schimel commented on Judge Crawford receiving $1 million “directly” from George Soros and said, “I think he has very dangerous ideas for America.”
Watch day one here.
Watch day two here.
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Liberal state Supreme Court candidate Susan Crawford launched two new ads this week. Her first new TV ad features Jim who says nothing is more important than keeping his family safe, adding Judge Schimel has given violent criminals light sentences and let 6,000 rape kits sit untested for two years. The man says at the end of the ad, “He even blamed an underage girl for being sexually assaulted. That’s disgusting, and it’s too extreme for the Supreme Court.”
Watch the ad here.
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The other ad she released criticizes the “false ads trying to tell you who I am.” She says she ensured rapists, murderers and child predators were behind bars as a judge and prosecutor, and she says she believes in protecting “you, your family, and your right to privacy when corporations or the government try to pry into our personal lives. Because to me, that’s just common sense and that’s why I’m running for Supreme Court.”
Watch the ad here.
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Conservative Supreme Court candidate Brad Schimel released a new TV ad. It features Dodge County District Attorney Andrea Will who said Judge Schimel “always focused on getting justice for victims of sexual assault.” She says he cleared the backlog of rape test kits, but his opponents “want to focus on a completely false attack on him.”
Watch the ad here.
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The Republican State Leadership Committee (RSLC) announced this week that it plans to spend $2 million on Wisconsin’s state Supreme Court race and also launched a new ad. In the ad, the group looks to link liberal candidate Susan Crawford to illegal immigration. The narrator in the ad says that “Susan Crawford is wrong for Wisconsin.”
Watch the ad here.
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A Better Wisconsin Together releases new ads | |
A Better Wisconsin Together Political Fund released three new digital ads this week against Judge Brad Schimel. The ads are a part of an additional $550,000 the group is reporting to spend. | |
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The first ad is a 30-second spot and says that Judge Schimel wanted Roe v. Wade overturned and supports the 1849 law banning abortion with no exceptions for rape or incest. The ad ends with the narrator saying, “Wisconsin women deserve better.”
Watch the ad here.
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The second ad is a 15-second spot that says Judge Schimel “cut deals” when children were preyed upon and rape kits were not tested when women were assaulted. The spot ends by saying “Schimel doesn’t care about justice, and he’s too extreme for” Wisconsin.
Watch the ad here.
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The third ad is a 15-second spot and in the ad, the narrator praises Judge Crawford as “the common sense judge we need on the Wisconsin Supreme Court.”
Watch the ad here.
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Fair Courts America launches first TV ad | |
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Fair Courts America, a conservative group largely funded by Dick Uihlein, launched its first TV ad in the state Supreme Court race. The ad knocks Judge Crawford for being “soft on crime.” In the ad, the narrator says a predator faced up to 60 years in prisioner after violating a 5-year-old girl, but Judge Crawford “sided with him.”
Watch the ad here.
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Americans for Prosperity-Wisconsin releases two new ads | |
Americans for Prosperity released two new ads this week in the state Supreme Court race as a part of a seven-figure effort by the group. | |
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In the first ad, the narrator discusses how Judge Schimel has stood up for Wisconsin families for 20 years, and defended our rights as attorney general and kept communities safe as district attorney and judge.
Watch the ad here.
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In the second ad, the narrator says that Judge Crawford “put politics first, not the rule of law” and her rulings will “threaten public safety and drive up costs.”
Watch the ad here.
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Joint Legislative Audit Committee
March 4, 2025, at 1:30pm
Assembly Committee on Energy and Utilities
March 4, 2025, at 2:00pm
Senate Committee on Financial Institutions and Sporting Heritage
March 4, 2025, at 2:00pm
Senate Committee on Utilities and Tourism
March 4, 2025, at 2:00pm
Assembly Committee on Colleges and Universities
March 6, 2025, at 10:00am
Assembly Committee on Small Business Development
March 6, 2025, at 10:00am
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If you would like any additional information about the above topic, or if you would like to find time to discuss the above matter in more detail, please do not hesitate to contact your Michael Best Strategies contact.
Have a great day,
Wisconsin GR Team
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One South Pickney Street, Suite 700
Madison, WI 53703
Phone: 608-257-3501
Fax: 608-283-2275
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