In this update:

• Election Updates
• Redistricting Updates
• Administration Updates
• Legislative Updates
• Upcoming Floor Session

Election Updates

Lawmaker election announcements

Following Governor Tony Evers (D) signing his maps into law last month, more lawmakers have been making plans on how to adjust to the new legislative maps. Listed below are the latest announcements from legislators.

• Rep. Tod Ohnstad (D) announced he will not seek reelection this fall to the state Assembly. Rep. Ohnstad was elected to the Assembly in 2012 after working at AMC for 30 years. He also served six years on the Kenosha Common Council. His seat under the new maps now has a 55.9% Democratic lean after previously having a 60% Democratic lean. Rep. Ohnstad is now the fourth Democratic Assembly member to announce retirement. He said he is “eager to explore different opportunities and adventures crossing some of the things off my neglected bucket list. I look forward to more time with my wife, dogs, and Kenosha friends and neighbors.”

• Rep. Ellen Schutt (R) announced her reelection for the 31st Assembly District. Rep. Schutt was elected to her first term to the 31st and remains in the district without a pair under the new maps. The seat has now a 63.2% GOP lean.

• Rep. Karen Hurd (R) announced her bid for the 69th AD. Rep. Hurd was elected to the 68th Assembly district in 2022. Under the new maps, she is now drawn into the 91st, a Democratic leaning district, with Rep. Jodi Emerson (D). Rep. Hurd plans to move into the 69th seat that remains open and has a GOP lean of 72%.

• Rep. Shae Sortwell (R) announced his bid for the 2nd AD. Rep. Sortwell currently represents the 2nd AD, but the district will be losing De Pere and Two Rivers under the new maps. However, the district is gaining Ledgeview, Denmark, New Denmark, Rockland, Francis Creek, Kossuth, Kellnersville and Franklin which he represented from 2019 to 2023 but lost in the previous redistricting. The new map pairs Rep. Sortwell with Rep. John Macco (R) in the 2nd, and the district has a 62.8% GOP lean using the data from the 2022 elections.

• Sen. Joan Ballweg (R) announced her reelection to represent the 14th Senate District. Sen. Joan Ballweg was elected to the state Senate in 2020 following eight terms in the Assembly. She was an elementary school teacher and has been in business with her husband for 47 years owning and operating Ballweg Implement. Under the new maps, Sen. Ballweg was drawn into the 13th SD and paired with Sen. John Jagler (R). She is running for the 14th that has incumbent Sen. Howard Marklein (D) drawn into and has a 53.3% Democratic lean based on the results of the 2022 election at the top of the ticket.

Non-incumbent election announcements

• Former law enforcement officer and co-founder of Wisconsin Right Now Jim Piwowarczyk (R) announced he is running for the 98th AD. The district has no incumbent living in its boundaries. Current 98th AD Rep. Adam Neylon (R) was drawn into the 15th AD under the new maps. The new 98th has a 71% GOP lean based on the results of the 2022 election at the top of the ticket. Former state Rep. Don Pridemore (R) is also running for the 98th AD.

• Fitchburg City Council member and Dane County supervisor-elect Randy Udell (D) announced his bid for the 47th AD. Mr. Udell’s campaign said he will focus on broadband access, abortion rights, affordable childcare, education, Medicaid expansion, and climate change, among others. The district’s current Rep. Jimmy Anderson (D) has announced plans to run for the 16th AD after Sen. Melissa Agard (D) said she would not be seeking reelection. The new 47th has a 73% Democratic lean based on the results of the 2022 election at the top of the ticket. The primary will be held on August 13th.

• Green Bay small business owner Jamie Wall (D) announced his bid for the 30th SD. Mr. Wall serves in leadership roles on the Green Bay Water Commission and his local neighborhood association. Sen. Wimberger (R) currently represents the 30th SD, but under the new maps , Sen. Wimberger, Sen. Cowles (R), and Sen. Jacque (R) are paired together. However, Sen. Wimberger is the only incumbent who has said he would run for reelection in the 30th SD. The district has a 52.6% Democratic lean based on the results of the 2022 election at the top of the ticket.

• Kyle Kunicki (D) announced his candidacy for the 40th AD. He is a mechanical engineer by profession and his press release said he is “deeply committed to innovative problem-solving and inclusive policy making.” The 40th AD is currently held by Rep. Petersen (R), but he was drawn into the 57th AD. Rep. Dave Considine (D) was drawn into the 40th but announced his retirement earlier this year. The new 40th AD has a 55.3% Democratic lean based on the results of the 2022 election at the top of the ticket.

• Dane County Board member Chuck Erickson (D) announced his bid for the 77th AD. He has served on the Dane County Board since 2002 and has spearheaded Dane County initiatives to recognize domestic partnerships and gay marriage, as well as championed affordable housing and voting rights. The 77th AD is currently held by Rep. Shelia Stubbs who was drawn into the 78th, leaving the 77th open. The district has an 86.8% Democratic lean according to the results of the 2022 election at the top of the ticket. The primary will be on August 13th.

• Tara Johnson (D) announced she is running for the 96th AD. She is a former La Crosse County Board Chair and recently dropped out of the Democratic primary for Wisconsin’s 3rd Congressional District. Rep. Loren Oldenburg (R) currently represents the 96th and is the only incumbent drawn into the new 96th. However, the partisan makeup of the seat will undergo a nearly 10-point partisan swing that favors Democrats, going from a 58.3% GOP lean to a 56.7% Democratic lean based on the results of the 2022 election at the top of the ticket.

Jacque announces bid for 8th CD

State Senator Andre Jacque (R) announced he will run for the 8th Congressional District in northeastern Wisconsin. Last month, current 8th CD incumbent U.S. Rep. Mike Gallagher (R) announced that he will not seek reelection in November. Sen. Jacque was first elected to the state Assembly in 2010 and the state Senate in 2018. His state Senate seat would be vacated in January 2025 if he were to win the congressional race. Sen. Jacque is the second Republican to enter the 8th CD race, following former state Sen. Roger Roth who announced his candidacy in February.

In his press release, Sen, Jacque said, “I’m excited to launch my campaign to fight for the people of Wisconsin’s 8th Congressional District. Living in and representing the Northeast portion of the state has afforded me the opportunity to meet many neighbors who have become friends. I’ve worked tirelessly in the Senate to serve them and make the lives of their families, and mine, better. I’m proud of my record delivering conservative wins and fighting back against liberal policies that would harm our state. I’d be honored to earn your vote and bring our Wisconsin conservative values and common sense to Washington.”

VP Harris and First Lady visit Wisconsin

Vice President Kamala Harris was in Madison this week to tout federal-local apprenticeship programs and infrastructure projects. VP Harris was with Madison Mayor Satya Rhodes-Conway at the city’s new electric bus rapid transit facility to highlight Madison as an example of the Biden administration’s priorities to build collaboration between unions, the federal and local governments, and the private sector. “It is also an example of the fact that when we invest in the American people, including the American worker, everyone benefits,” VP Harris said. She also announced President Joe Biden signed an executive order for federal agencies to identify what federal jobs can be filled by those trained through apprenticeship programs, “and not just giving these jobs to people with a four-year college degree.”

Prior to VP Harris’ visit, several prominent Wisconsin Republicans including U.S. Rep. Bryan Steil held a press conference in which they claimed that despite the vice president trying to appeal to apprentices and union workers, the Biden administration made those who didn’t attend college pay for student loan debt cancellation and also eliminated union jobs by canceling the Keystone XL pipeline. Rep. Steil said the Biden administration’s policies have increased prices for everything in Wisconsin. “If she came to any grocery store in the state of Wisconsin and talked to anyone who’s checking out, she’d have learned firsthand that it’s harder and harder for families to afford what they need,” Rep. Steil said.

First Lady Jill Biden was also in Wisconsin this week visiting Waukesha on Sunday to tout her husband’s position on reproductive rights, saying another Donald Trump presidency would be “dangerous for women.” She spoke to around 100 people at the Waukesha Expo Center, and the stop was a part of her “Women for Biden-Harris” tour. She went on to say, “Donald Trump is dangerous to women and to our families. We simply cannot let him win. We must re-elect Joe Biden and Kamala Harris.”

Baldwin launches first ad

U.S. Senator Tammy Baldwin (D) launched her first ad of this election cycle, touting legislation she authored that requires American-made materials to be used in federal infrastructure projects. The campaign is putting seven figures into its initial buy for the next several weeks. It will be launched on TV, cable, and digital platforms across Wisconsin. The ad features a series of people saying they forage steel parts, but China lowballing their prices have been making it difficult to compete. Sen. Baldwin says, “We can’t let China steal Wisconsin jobs. So I wrote a law to require American infrastructure projects use American iron and steel.”

Hovde launches new TV ad

U.S. Senate candidate Eric Hovde launched a new statewide ad on TV, cable, and satellite. This campaign is another $700,000 ad after last week’s seven-figure ad launch. The ad features his wife, Sharon Hovde, who opens the ad saying her husband is a fourth generation Wisconsinite who graduated from Madison East High School and “then became a proud Badger.” She continues about his business accomplishments, his foundation, and ends with calling him a man of integrity who’s principled, honest and straightforward.

WinSenate launches at least $2 million in ads

WinSenate, a PAC that supports Democratic candidates, launched $2 million in ads in Wisconsin, making it the first significant outside spending in the race. The buy aired a week after GOP candidate Eric Hovde launched his first paid media in the race to take on U.S. Senator Tammy Baldwin (D). The ad is critical of Mr. Hovde for his connections to California. WinSenate is a Senate Majority PAC affiliate and has placed ads in other top Republican target states, like Ohio, Pennsylvania, Nevada, and Montana.

Redistricting Updates

SCOWIS rejects redrawing the congressional maps

The state Supreme Court unanimously rejected a request to redraw Wisconsin’s congressional lines. The court did not provide an explanation for their decision despite recently overturning the state’s legislative maps that were used in the 2022 elections. Legal observers of the case said the petition not alleging a constitutional violation with the congressional lines and not filing until mid-January made it difficult for the justices to take up the case.

Washington D.C. based Elias Law firm filed the brief in January with three Democratic voters asking the state Supreme Court to redraw the congressional districts in Wisconsin before the 2024 elections, based off the court’s ruling in December over the state’s legislative lines. The petition argues some of the lines in place are from the court’s 2021 decision to take a “least change approach” to the maps that were drawn by Republicans a decade before. With that standard removed from the state legislative maps, the brief argues there is no justification to maintain the current congressional lines based on the same principle.

Administration Updates

Evers signs childcare tax credit

Governor Tony Evers (D) signed a bipartisan bill that expands the current child and dependent care tax credit from 50 percent to 100 percent of the federal credit. Gov. Evers signed AB 1023, now 2023 Wisconsin Act 101, at La Casa de Esperanza in Waukesha. “The cost of childcare is too darn high—making quality childcare more affordable across Wisconsin is not just about doing what’s best for our kids, it’s also critical for keeping more folks and parents in our state’s workforce. Signing this bill today will go a long way toward defraying yearly family expenses on childcare, giving Wisconsinites some breathing room in their household budgets and making sure our kids have the early support and care they need,” said Gov. Evers. Last week, Gov. Evers’ vetoed the rest of the tax cut package that AB 1023 was included in, saying it would leave the “state unable to meet its basic duties to provide adequate funding for programs and services provided by the state, including education, healthcare, childcare, public safety, and aid to local governments in the 2025-27 biennium and beyond.”

Evers approves UW projects

Governor Tony Evers (D) signed three bills to enumerate critical capital project investments for the UW-System for system-wide capital improvements as well as renovations to UW-Whitewater and the UW-Madison new engineering building project. “Investing in Wisconsin’s world-class higher education institutions, including our UW System, is critical for doing what’s best for our kids and helping us recruit, train, and retain talented students to help address the workforce challenges that have plagued our state for generations,” said Gov. Evers. “If we want to build a strong workforce and economy that are prepared to meet the needs of the 21st Century, then investing in public education—from early childhood to our higher education institutions—must be a top priority.”

Below are the bills signed:

• SB 161, now 2023 Wisconsin Act 104, authorizes the UW System to enter into and administer with the state of Minnesota a tuition reciprocity agreement.
• SB 896, now 2023 Wisconsin Act 103, allows UW System institutions to keep the net revenue they earned by attracting students from Minnesota and provides the UW System the opportunity to negotiate on behalf of its institutions to ensure that the tuition reciprocity agreement effectively serves Wisconsin students.
• SB 895, now 2023 Wisconsin Act 102, amends the 2023-25 Authorized State Building Program to include additional enumerations for the UW System and requires the UW System Board of Regents to submit to the Board of Veterans Affairs a plan to honor the veterans of the state.

Gov’s AI Task Force

The Governor’s Task Force on Workforce and Artificial Intelligence held its fourth meeting on March 4^th. Updates were provided by Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development Secretary Amy Pechacek, Department of Administration Secretary Kathy Blumenfeld, and Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation Secretary and CEO Missy Hughes. Guest speakers included Anupam Khare – Senior Vice President and Chief Information Officer for Oshkosh Corporation, and Amanda Ballantyne – Chief Executive Director of the AFL-CIO Technology Institute. Mr. Khare provided commentary on how artificial intelligence is automation’s next frontier, as well as Oshkosh Corp.’s current use of and plans for AI. Ms. Ballantyne spoke about AFL-CIO’s work on artificial intelligence from an organized labor perspective. The meeting concluded with presentations from the task force’s working groups on education, government, workforce development, and economic development and their guiding principles and broad policy areas being assessed.

Read the full memo from Michael Best: click here

Legislative Updates

Democratic Assembly members will caucus to elect new secretary March 12th

Democratic members of the Assembly will caucus on March 12 to elect a new secretary after Rep. Katrina Shelton (D) announced she is stepping down from her leadership role. Last week, Rep. Shelton announced she will not seek reelection in the fall. “It has been an honor to serve as your Democratic Caucus Secretary for the last two years,” Rep. Shelton wrote. “Thank you for trusting me to be a part of our incredible leadership team that has shaped our caucus’s path over this biennium!”

Members interested in the position have a deadline of March 11 to express interest to run and to be included on the ballot.

Upcoming Floor Session

• Senate floor session on March 12th.