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In this update:
- Election Updates
- Administrative Updates
- Legislative Updates
- Committee Schedule
- Upcoming Events
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Next Tuesday is a statewide election with the state Supreme Court election and state Superintendent of DPI at the top of the ticket.
View Michael Best Strategies’ Election Preview memo here: 2025 Spring Election Preview.pdf
| | SCOWIS candidates file finance reports | | |
State Supreme Court candidates Susan Crawford and Brad Schimel filed their finance reports for the pre-election period, which covers activity between February 4 and March 17, 2025. Judge Crawford reported receiving $17.3 million in contributions, outraising Judge Schimel more than 2-to-1. Of her fundraising, $10.5 million were from individual donors and the state Democratic Party transferred $5.5 million. Judge Schimel reported $7.3 million with $2.3 million coming from individuals and $5.1 from the state Republican Party.
Amounts raised and spent in the Pre-Election Reporting Period:
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Susan Crawford
Raised: $17,283,584.68
Spent: $17,775,725.44
Cash on hand: $2,574,459.11
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Brad Schimel
Raised: $7,299,475.28
Spent: $7,400,709.53
Cash on hand: $2,290,428.21
| | Crawford launches new ads | | |
Supreme Court candidate Susan Crawford released three new ads targeting her opponent Brad Schimel. The narrator of the first ad says Judge Schimel let a man off easy after he sexually assaulted a 10-year-old girl and gave a plea deal to a man caught with child porn after receiving $5,000 from his lawyer. The narrator ends the ad, “Brad Schimel won’t protect your kids, but you can with your vote.”
Watch the ad here.
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Another ad has former Dane County Assistant District Attorney Bob Kaiser saying Elon Musk is “is trying to buy this election with ads that lie about judge Susan Crawford because he knows Brad Schimel always helps his campaign donors.”
Watch the ad here.
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The last ad released centers on abortion. The narrator says he would ban abortion with no exceptions for rape, incest or the mother’s health and jail doctors that perform them. "You have the right to make your own health care decisions. Don’t let Brad Schimel take that right away,” the narrator says.
Watch the ad here.
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Supreme Court candidate Brad Schimel released two new TV ads. The first ad touts his endorsement from President Donald Trump. A woman in the ad says if Judge Susan Crawford is elected, “none of the good that he's trying to do nationally will trickle down to Wisconsin.” The narrator closes the ad, “That's Trump's message to Wisconsin. This election is so important. Please get out and vote for Wisconsin's Brad Schimel.” The ad will run in media markets across the state.
Watch the ad here.
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His second ad will run in the Madison market and highlights his 25 years as a prosecutor. Judge Schimel says in the ad he saw “some of the worst things people do to each other” while a prosecutor. He ends the ad, “When you walk out of the courtroom after a guilty verdict, they had the communities say, ‘We believe you, and you deserve justice,’ and there’s no better feeling.”
Watch the ad here.
| | A Better Wisconsin Together releases new ads | | |
A Better Wisconsin Together launched two TV ads and eight digital ads. The narrator of the first ad says Elon Musk is “trying to buy his way into our Supreme Court” with candidate Brad Schimel. The ad will run in the Milwaukee and Madison markets on cable.
Watch the ad here.
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The group is also running a new ad in the Green Bay market. The narrator says Judge Schimel gave a plea deal to a pedophile after his defense attorney gave him $5,000 in donations. “Brad Schimel, a sweet bargain for criminals, but a bad deal for Wisconsin families and too extreme for the Wisconsin Supreme Court,” the narrator said to end the spot.
Watch the ad here.
A Better Wisconsin Together also released eight digital ads. Below are the ads:
| | Fair Courts America releases new ad | | |
Fair Courts America released a new TV ad linking the federal court case on deportation to Wisconsin’s Supreme Court race. The narrator of the ad says President Donald Trump is “fighting back, but a liberal judge ordered deportation flights to be turned around.” The narrator says Wisconsin does not need “another liberal judge,” and urges voters to vote for Brad Schimel.
Watch the ad here.
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State Superintendent candidate Brittany Kinser was on “UpFront” to discuss the main issues she is focusing on in her campaign. “UpFront” invited both candidates for a debate, but incumbent Dr. Jill Underly declined the invitation while Ms. Kinser accepted. When Ms. Kinser was asked how far she would expand the school choice program, she did not provide details, but said she got into the race because of the reading crisis. She said, "I support that all children, families should have a choice on where they send their child."
Other topics discussed:
- U.S. Department of Education
- Working across the aisle
- Restoring standards
Watch the interview here.
| | Superintendent candidates file finance reports | | |
State Superintendent candidates Brittany Kinser and incumbent Jill Underly filed their finance report for the pre-election period, which covers activity between February 4 and March 17, 2025. Ms. Kinser raised almost $1.9 million, including $1.65 million from the Republican Party of Wisconsin. She also filed a late contribution report with a $250,000 transfer from RPW. Dr. Underly reported $1.1 million raised, including $850,000 from the state Democratic Party.
Amounts raised and spent in the Pre-Election Reporting Period:
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Brittany Kinser
Raised: $1,859,360.12
Spent: $1,121,648.49
Cash on Hand: $890,482.47
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Jill Underly
Raised: $1,063,866.84
Spent: $1,043,566.85
Cash on Hand: $99,424.49
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State Superintendent candidate Brittany Kinser launched a new radio ad today with former Milwaukee Public Schools Superintendent Howard Fuller giving his support. He says, “I believe that Brittany will restore high academic standards, I believe that she will truly work to make parents a partner in the education of their children, I believe that she will be very transparent with the citizens of the state about what it is that’s happening to our children.” The ad started airing in the Milwaukee market this week.
Listen to the ad here.
| | Cooke announces 3rd CD bid | |
Democratic candidate Rebecca Cooke announced her third bid for Wisconsin’s 3rd Congressional District. Ms. Cooke ran for the seat in November, losing to incumbent U.S. Rep. Derrick Van Orden (R) by less than 3 percentage points. She also ran in the 2022 election but lost to state Sen. Brad Pfaff in the Democratic primary.
“We need one of us in Congress – working-class folks who know what our families are going through, how to balance a budget, and spend within their means,” Ms Cooke said. “I will take on the monopolies that have robbed our families of their farming heritage and decimated our rural economies. I’m focused on results and don’t care who gets the credit, as long as things get done.”
| | Evers takes action on six bills | | |
Governor Tony Evers (D) took action on six bills; signing five and vetoing one. This is the first action on bills he has taken action on this session. 2025 Wisconsin Act 1, 2025 Wisconsin Act 2, and 2025 Wisconsin Act 3 provide wage increases for certain public employees in the building trades. 2025 Wisconsin Act 4 creates parity for records management for Tribal Nations in Wisconsin, and 2025 Wisconsin Act 5 continues the electronic Prescription Drug Monitoring Program (ePDMP) to help combat the opioid epidemic and prescription drug misuse.
Gov. Evers vetoed Assembly Bill 1 in its entirety. The bill would have changed the Department of Public Instruction’s testing score standards. In his veto message, he says, “While I have been critical of processes for recent changes to school scoring and standards, I am nevertheless vetoing this bill in its entirety because I object to the Legislature’s attempts to undermine the constitutional authority and independence of the state superintendent of public instruction.”
Reactions:
State Superintendent Dr. Jill Underly: “I commend the governor for vetoing Assembly Bill 1. The proposal was deeply flawed as it relied on the NAEP – a federal assessment that is currently being cut by the federal government and is not aligned to Wisconsin’s rigorous standards – to influence local school policies. Most importantly, it undermined the authority of the state superintendent as outlined in Wisconsin’s Constitution."
Senate President Mary Felzkowski (R): “Every single Wisconsinite should be floored that Governor Evers just vetoed a proposal to return Wisconsin to the very same standards that he himself implemented. It’s a shocking, disappointing, and highly partisan decision that proves once again that the success of our students is not the goal of the “education governor.”
Representative Bob Wittke (R): Governor Evers took a dramatic stand against a common-sense bill that simply allows for legislative oversight of school standards. He wasn’t in favor of changes the state superintendent made, but now claims the legislature is “encroaching on the state superintendent’s constitutional authority - injects partisan politics into setting metrics for student and school success…” Give me a break! Who’s “injecting partisan politics” now?“
View Governor Evers’ press release here.
| | The Legislative Fiscal Bureau (LFB) released its memo on the condition of the state’s general fund for the 2025-27 and 2027-29 biennia. According to the memo, the governor’s proposed budget would reduce the state’s current $4.2 billion general fund surplus to $522 million by the end of the 2027 fiscal year. Meanwhile, LFB projects the state’s general fund would have a structural deficit of $2.5 billion by the end of the 2027-29 biennium if current spending levels are maintained and the governor’s 2025-27 budget recommendations are adopted by the legislature. The memo also notes the state is expected to have a $1.99 million surplus in its “rainy day” fund by the end of FY 2025. | |
LFB memo on state tax modifications
in Gov’s budget
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LFB memo on one-time funding
in Gov’s budget
| | Building Commission deadlocks on Gov’s capital budget | The State Building Commission deadlocked 4-4 on Governor Evers’ proposed capital budget. The four Republican legislators on the commission voted against recommending the roughly $4 billion in proposed projects over the next biennium with Senate President Mary Felzkowski saying that “There’s a lot of really worthy projects in this capital budget, but this is $3.85 billion in new bonding. I think to get a more appropriate level, further discussion is needed... and that just hasn’t happened.” The proposal now heads to the Joint Finance Committee without the commission’s recommendation. | | |
The following meetings have been noticed as of 1:00 pm Friday. Committee and Agency meeting notices are frequently updated and can be found here (for the Legislature) and here (for the Administration).
Monday, March 31st
- No meetings currently scheduled
Tuesday, April 1
Public Hearing at 10:00am
Agency Budget Briefing (UW System/Corrections) at 12:00 PM
Public Hearing at 1:00 PM
Wednesday, April 2
Public Hearing on the Budget (Kaukauna) at 10:00am
Thursday, April 3
Executive Session at 9:30am
Public Hearing at 1:30 pm
Friday, April 4
Public Hearing on the Budget (West Allis) at 10:00 am
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April 4th at 8:30am - Capitol Chats with Senator Dora Drake (virtual)
April 11th at 8:30am - Capitol Chats with Representative Rob Brooks (virtual)
April 18th at 8:30am - Capitol Chats with Representative Deb Andraca (virtual)
Please reach out to Lauren Lubenow (lauren.lubenow@michaelbest.com) to RSVP or for more information on these events.
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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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