In this update:

• Redistricting Updates
• Election Updates
• Administration Updates
• Legislative Updates

Redistricting Updates

The legislature passed Governor Tony Evers’ (D) proposed legislative maps without any changes. Assembly Speaker Robin Vos (R) said on the floor that Republicans can still win on what he called gerrymandered maps. He also said passing the maps would be a win for Democrats because they get to have maps proposed by the governor, and a win for Republicans since it will end litigation paid for by taxpayers. In the Assembly, the bill passed 63-33 with Rep. Sylvia Ortiz-Velez (D) joining all Republicans in support of the proposal. The Senate passed the bill 18-14 with Sen. Bob Wirch (D) voting alongside 17 Republicans in favor of the measure. Republican Senators who voted against the bill included Sen. Joan Ballweg, Sen. Julian Bradley, Sen. Andre Jacque, Sen. Chris Kapenga, and Sen. Eric Wimberger.

The Democratic lawmakers who opposed the bill said they believed Republicans could not be trusted based on previous years of redistricting. During floor debate, Sen. Jeff Smith (D) claimed Republicans were using Gov. Evers’ maps to protect themselves rather than allowing the state Supreme Court to have the final say. Some Democrats were concerned GOP legislators were using Gov. Evers’ map to challenge the districts in federal court. However, Speaker Vos said before the vote, “once we pass the maps, more or less the lawsuits stop,” including the redistricting suit before the state Supreme Court.

If signed by the governor, the Legislative Reference Bureau (LRB) said the maps would first apply to the 2024 general election as well as to special or recall elections held concurrently with those races. The LRB called the language its “standard practice” on redistricting bills. Before the release of the memo, some Democratic legislators voiced concern over the language due to the potential Speaker Vos recall and the special election in the 4th SD.

Gov. Evers maps would create opportunities for Democrats to pick up seats this fall in the legislature. However, Democrats would likely be unable to achieve a majority in the Senate in 2024 because only half of the seats are up in the fall. The maps would create two open, liberal-leaning Senate seats: the 14th and 18th. Sen. Wimberger’s current 30th SD seat would change into a liberal leaning seat that would pair him with Sen. Robert Cowles (R) and Sen. Jacque. In the Assembly, the map would create 15 seats with pairs with only one of them being a pair of Democratic representatives.

The proposal was sent the governor’s office after it cleared the Assembly which gives Gov. Evers until Tuesday to act on the bill. Gov. Evers has previously said he would sign the maps.

Other Redistricting News

In other news on the legislative maps front, Republicans want to subpoena two redistricting consultants who said the GOP-proposed legislative maps were partisan gerrymanders. In a motion filed last week with the state Supreme Court, attorneys representing Republican lawmakers and voters claimed the consultants had filed what amounted to an expert report, which should therefore be subject to cross-examination. Should the subpoena not be permitted, the GOP attorneys called on the court to throw out the report.

Reaction to maps passed by legislature:

Assembly Minority Leader Greta Neubauer (D): “Legislative Republicans have shown time and time again that they cannot be trusted with legislative redistricting. We fear that Republicans are again up to their usual tricks.”

Senate Minority Leader Dianne Hesselbein (D): “The Wisconsin Supreme Court ruled Wisconsin’s current maps are unconstitutional. Republicans hold an illegitimate majority and should not influence the state’s new maps. Their motives today, like their actions of the past decade, are ill-intentioned and self-serving.”

Sen. Van Wanggaard (R): “It was a matter of choosing to be stabbed, shot, poisoned or led to the guillotine. We chose to be stabbed, so we can live to fight another day.”

Fair Maps Coalition: “The Governor’s maps are fair. They provide an opportunity for voters to elect responsive representatives, and satisfy the requirements of the Wisconsin Constitution. The voices of Wisconsin voters will no longer be silenced by gerrymandering. They will be heard on the issues they care about. This will make our democracy stronger and more inclusive.”

Election Updates

Gallagher not running for reelection

U.S. Rep. Mike Gallagher (R) announced last Saturday that he will not run for reelection to the 8th Congressional District seat in November 2024. The surprise announcement came after blowback from his vote against impeaching Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas. Rep. Gallagher did not mention the impeachment vote in his statement, instead saying when he first ran for the office eight years ago, he “promised to treat my time in office as a high-intensity deployment” and that “electoral politics was never supposed to be a career.”

Former Republican state Sen. Roger Roth announced his bid for the seat shortly after Rep. Gallagher’s announcement. Mr. Roth served in the state legislature for 16 years and unsuccessfully ran for lieutenant governor in 2022. Mr. Roth previously ran for the 8th CD seat in 2010 and finished second to Reid Ribble in a three-way GOP primary. “Wisconsin is ready for a proven conservative fighter in Washington, D.C., and I am ready to deliver,” Mr. Roth posted on X. Alex Bruesewitz, a Donald Trump supporter living in Florida who previously attended Ripon High School, posted on X that he is also seriously considering running for Rep. Gallagher’s seat. State Sen. Andre Jacque (R) also said he’s been encouraged to look at a bid. Democratic Party of Wisconsin spokesperson Joe Oslund said the party looks forward to competing for the seat and “bringing some stability and competence back to the House.”

The Green Bay district has been red for more than a decade. Rep. Gallagher received at least 60 percent of the vote in each of his four elections for the 8th CD. In his 2022 reelection, he ran unopposed in the general election and received 72 percent of the vote. The district continues to have a marked Republican lean. Using the current district’s boundaries, former President Donald Trump would have won the district with 57% of the vote in 2020. Meanwhile, in the matchup for governor in 2022, GOP nominee Tim Michels captured 56% of the vote in the district and in the U.S. Senate race, Sen. Ron Johnson (R) received 59% of the vote.

Hovde campaign announcement coming next week

A spokesperson for Eric Hovde confirmed that the Republican will officially launch his campaign for the U.S. Senate race against Sen. Tammy Baldwin (D) next week. David Rexrode is expected to be the Hovde campaign’s general consultant. Lexi Ardis is expected to serve as campaign manager. Ms. Ardis was U.S. Sen. Ron Johnson’s deputy operations director and finance coordinator for his 2016 reelection bid. Eric Hovde ran for the U.S. Senate in 2012 and lost in a four-way GOP primary to Tommy Thompson, who subsequently lost to Sen. Baldwin in the general election.

Scott Mayer is also reportedly “seriously considering” running against Sen. Baldwin. Scott Mayer is a Franklin businessman and announced earlier this week that he was halfway to his goal of hiring 40 staff. He walked back his statement later in the day saying none of those people are on payroll yet. Sen. Baldwin won her last Senate election by eleven points in 2018.

Dora Drake announces bid for 4th state SD

Representative Dora Drake (D) announced she is running for the 4th state Senate District along with Rep. LaKeshia Myers (D). The seat is up in a special election because former state Sen. Lena Taylor (D) was appointed to the Milwaukee County Circuit Court. Gov. Evers is holding off on calling a special election until the new legislative maps have been resolved. Rep. Drake was elected to the Assembly in 2020 and said she has delivered “tangible, effective results that build and uplift our families and communities.”

“I’ve decided to announce my candidacy to be the next Senator of the 4th District because it is time for the next generation of servant leadership who will build bridges and advocate for innovative solutions for the issues we face today,” Rep. Drake said. “Due to my background in social work and track record of delivering results, I am committed to progress and serving people first.”

Jill Biden coming to Green Bay Friday

First Lady Jill Biden will be visiting Green Bay this Friday afternoon to discuss how the administration’s policies are helping students around the country. The visit is part of the White House’s effort to tout President Joe Biden’s economic policies. The President, Vice President Kamala Harris, second gentleman Douglas Emhoff, and others are also included in the effort. First Lady Jill Biden will be stopping at the Rail Yard Innovation District to participate in a roundtable on efforts to expand career-connected learning in high school and college.

Shankland’s campaign releases poll

State Rep. Katrina Shankland’s (D) campaign for the third Congressional District released poll results that revealed she is faring better against U.S. Rep. Derrick Van Orden (R) than her primary opponent Rebecca Cooke. The poll found Rep. Van Orden at 48.7% and Shankland at 46.5% after the respondents were read bios on the two candidates, while Rep. Van Orden was at 50.4% compared to 44.5% when paired with Ms. Cooke. After receiving a series of critical messages about Rep. Van Orden, 47.8% backed state Rep. Shankland to 46.3% who favored Rep. Van Orden, while 46.9% supported Rep. Van Orden compared to 46% for Ms. Cooke.

Blueprint Polling surveyed 326 likely general election voters Feb. 2-4. The margin of error is +/- 5.43 percentage points. The poll was conducted using automated calls to landlines and text messages to cell phones and was weighted by age, ethnicity and gender. FiveThirtyEight rates Blueprint Polling 2.3 stars out of 3 stars.

Administration Updates

Evers on ‘UpFront’

Governor Tony Evers (D) was on ‘Upfront’ to discuss new legislative maps, among other topics. During the interview, Gov. Evers said unequivocally he would sign his maps if the legislature passed them. He said while he was doubtful Republicans would actually pass his maps, that if they did, “Of course, I’d sign them.”

Other topics discussed include:

• Hard Rock hotel in Kenosha
• State of Green Bay and Waupun prisons
• Dean Phillips on the ballot
• Migrant influx
• Proposed bills
• President Joe Biden

To watch the full interview, click here.

Legislative Updates

Floor Recap

The Assembly and Senate were on the floor this week. Here are some notable bills from the session:

• A proposed tax cut package passed in the Assembly. Rep. LaKeshia Myers (D) and Rep. Katrina Shankland (D) joined Republicans to vote in favor of the retirement tax breaks.
  • AB 1020: an expansion of the second tax bracket to up to $150,000 for married couples filing jointly, $112,500 for single, and head-of-household and $75,000 for married-separate filers.
  • AB 1021: an exemption of the first $75,000 of retirement income from taxes for those 65 and older.
  • AB 1022: an expansion of the maximum married couple tax credit from $480 to $870.
  • AB 1023: an expansion of the child and dependent care tax credit to align with the federal credit and increase maximum credits to $10,000 per child or dependent and $20,000 for two or more children or dependents.
• The legislature passed a bill to support a regional tech hub designation in the state by providing $7.5 million to fulfill the ten percent local match requirement of the phase two application that is due February 29. SB 894 provides the grant to BioForward, which leads the 15-member Wisconsin Biohealth Tech Hub Consortium. If the consortium’s phase two application is selected for an award, it will qualify for up to $75 million in federal funding to help position Wisconsin as a global leader in personalized medicine.

• The Assembly passed two bills related to AI; one would promote the use of artificial intelligence by state agencies while the other creates a requirement to disclose when AI is used in political ads. AB 1068 requires state agencies to submit budget proposals in 2026 that identify full-time positions that AI could be used to increase efficiency. Then in 2030, agencies would submit proposals to reduce positions. Meanwhile, AB 664 would impose a $1,000 fine on those who do not identify when AI is used in political ads.

• The Assembly approved by voice vote a bill that give utilities already doing business in Wisconsin the right of first refusal to construct, own and maintain a new transmission line that connects to one of their existing lines. AB 470 was drafted in anticipation of billions of dollars in new transmission line work in the state. The bill now moves to the Senate.