Liberal Wisconsin judge launches state Supreme Court bid
'Justices on the Wisconsin Supreme Court must be fair, independent, and impartial. Justice Rebecca Bradley has proven that she's more interested in pushing her own right-wing political agenda than protecting Wisconsinites' rights and freedoms,' Taylor said in a statement.
'Extremism and partisanship have no place on our state's highest court,' she continued. 'Everyone who comes before the court deserves to be heard, respected, and treated equally – that's exactly what I'll do as a Wisconsin Supreme Court Justice.'
Taylor has served on the Wisconsin Court of Appeals since 2023, and previously served as a judge in the Dane County Circuit Court. She served in the Wisconsin state Legislature from 2011-20 as a Democrat, and was a vocal supporter of abortion access, including testifying before the U.S. Senate about the Women's Health Protection Act.
Taylor also spent time as a public policy director at Planned Parenthood of Wisconsin.
In an interview with the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel published Tuesday, the liberal judge did not make a commitment around recusing herself on cases pertaining to Planned Parenthood in the event she won the seat next year.
'I would not categorically say because I worked for Planned Parenthood 15 years ago that I can't hear a case on reproductive health care,' Taylor told the Wisconsin news outlet. 'That would be like a judge who worked for a law firm 15 years ago who would say, 'Well I can never take a case from that law firm.''
The announcement comes more than a month after liberal Justice Susan Crawford won an open seat on the state Supreme Court, keeping the 4-3 liberal majority of the high court intact.
Next year's race will not flip the Wisconsin court but provides an opportunity for liberals to expand their majority to a 5-2 edge.
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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Yahoo
21 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Des Moines School Board Chair Jackie Norris running for Joni Ernst's US Senate seat
Des Moines School Board Chair Jackie Norris is running for the U.S. Senate in 2026, becoming the latest Democrat seeking to take on Republican U.S. Sen. Joni Ernst. "Look, I think it's time for an educator in the Senate," she told the Des Moines Register. "Former teacher, school board member. I have seen firsthand the invisible burdens that are on the shoulders of families right now." Norris, 54, has a lengthy political resume. She worked on campaigns for former Iowa Gov. Tom Vilsack and former President Barack Obama and was chief of staff to former First Lady Michelle Obama. She is the president and owner of Horizon Group, a research and consulting firm, and previously served as CEO of Goodwill of Central Iowa. She is married to John Norris, a former Iowa Democratic Party chair, gubernatorial candidate and Polk County administrator. They have three sons. Jackie Norris says she's 'very proud' of Des Moines Public Schools' policy limiting cell phones Norris, who worked as a high school government teacher in Perry, Ames and Johnston, said "families are in crisis" and are struggling to afford child care, health care and housing while young people also struggle with anxiety and depression. She pointed to her efforts as a school board member to pass a district-wide policy limiting cell phone use during class time. The district's Hoover High School previously adopted a similar policy in an effort to improve students' grades and their mental health. "We heard loud and clear that we needed to improve the conditions where students can learn and teachers can teach," she said. "And so cell phone addiction was becoming an issue. Kids were struggling with mental health challenges, they weren't hitting their mark on academic outcomes, and so moving forward and passing a cell phone policy for 30,000 students is something I'm very proud of." Norris' school board seat will be on the ballot this fall. She said she does not plan to run for reelection as she mounts a Senate campaign. 'I'm going to bring my whole self to this campaign' Norris is the fourth Democrat to formally enter the race. State Sen. Zach Wahls of Coralville, state Rep. J.D. Scholten of Sioux City and former Knoxville Chamber of Commerce Director Nathan Sage of Indianola have all announced campaigns. State Rep. Josh Turek of Council Bluffs is preparing to launch a campaign this month. Norris said, "I'm going to bring my whole self to this campaign." "I'm going to work hard," she said. "I'm going to use the network that I have all across this country to raise the funds necessary to be competitive and also remind people that Joni Ernst is not what we want in the Senate and we have an opportunity to flip the seat and we need the best candidate to do it. And I'm that candidate." Jackie Norris criticizes Joni Ernst for Medicaid comments, support for Pete Hegseth Sen. Joni Ernst, R-Iowa, has been scrutinized this year for comments she made at a May 30 town hall, saying, "Well, we all are going to die" after a constituent shouted that people would die due to Medicaid cuts in President Donald Trump's budget bill. The next day, Ernst shared a sarcastic apology video that she filmed while walking through a cemetery. Ernst ultimately voted for the bill, which extends and deepens tax cuts signed by Trump in 2017 while cutting Medicaid spending by nearly $1 trillion over a decade. The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office says 10 million people are expected to become uninsured over a decade as a result of the bill. Norris characterized Ernst's remarks as "some pretty flippant comments about people who are going to face real harm." "Those types of callous remarks make it really clear that she is not in touch with how Iowans are feeling and how serious it is," she said. Norris also said that she is a military mom and respects Ernst's military service, but was disappointed by her support for Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth. Ernst, the first female combat veteran to serve in the U.S. Senate, had expressed concerns about Hegseth, who previously said he didn't believe women should serve in combat roles. She questioned Hegseth about the topic during his confirmation hearing before ultimately voting to confirm him after he affirmed women would continue to be able to serve in combat roles, "given the standards remain high." "She is a woman who served in the military, and yet she seems pretty comfortable letting women be disrespected by the secretary of defense," Norris said. "I think she's lost her way. I think she's lost her integrity." Still, Norris said her approach to governing is to solve problems regardless of party. She pointed to her work for Points of Light, a nonprofit Republican former President George H.W. Bush founded. "My approach is always going to be to find the best win for Iowa," she said. "And if that means working with people who are strange bedfellows so be it, because we should all want to work for the betterment of our state. And quite honestly I think Americans are going to believe in government if they actually see us putting them ahead of our own party loyalties." Ernst has hired a campaign manager but has not formally announced that she will seek a third term in 2026, prompting speculation about her plans. Two Republicans have said they intend to challenge Ernst for the GOP nomination: former state Sen. Jim Carlin and Joshua Smith. Stephen Gruber-Miller covers the Iowa Statehouse and politics for the Register. He can be reached by email at sgrubermil@ or by phone at 515-284-8169. Follow him on X at @sgrubermiller. This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Des Moines School Board Chair Jackie Norris running for US Senate
Atlantic
24 minutes ago
- Atlantic
Why the White House Backed Down From Its First Big Education Cuts
The email arrived at 10:55 p.m. on Friday, July 25, with an upbeat subject line: 'Big News: Key Federal Title Funds Set to Release Next Week.' It was sent by North Dakota's schools superintendent, Kirsten Baesler, who is awaiting confirmation to become an assistant secretary at the U.S. Department of Education, the very agency that had been holding back the funds in question—more than $5 billion—from school districts for weeks. 'Thank you for your advocacy, patience, professionalism, and persistence as we've waited for these essential funds to flow,' Baesler wrote to local school leaders. Like their peers across the country, North Dakota educators had grown dismayed as the congressionally approved money, one of the largest federal-grant programs for K–12 students, had been held up. Some had spent the summer pondering layoffs and sweating over spreadsheets. 'Hopefully, this development will provide greater clarity as you move forward with budget planning for the upcoming year,' Baesler reassured them. She signed the message, 'With relief and gratitude.' That an incoming official of the Department of Education was touting the importance of federal dollars for a heavily Republican state underscores the conundrum that President Donald Trump faces in his attempt to dismantle the agency. On the campaign trail, Trump's promise to 'send education back to the states' was often greeted with applause, and the Supreme Court has allowed the president to go ahead with his plans to gut the Education Department. But the four-week funding freeze—and the backlash it sparked—showed that cutting popular programs for schoolkids can be as unwelcome in Trump country as it is in coastal cities. Quinta Jurecic: The Supreme Court won't explain itself 'After months of being told to 'wait it out,' districts are now supposed to pick up the pieces and act like everything's fine,' Steven Johnson, the superintendent of Fort Ransom School District, in southeastern North Dakota, told me. 'I've got to be honest—this doesn't sit well out here. You can't freeze money that was already allocated, leave schools hanging through hiring season and budget planning, and then expect us to just be grateful when it finally shows up. Rural folks don't like being jerked around.' While the funds were frozen, an informal alliance emerged between rural and big-city educators who pushed back against the president. Lawmakers from some of the reddest parts of the country opposed the funding pause too, an early warning signal to the White House as it weighs plans that might further disrupt the public-education system. If the Trump administration's decision to abruptly cut off the funding began as a trial balloon, it ended as a cautionary tale. In arguing for the dismantling of the Education Department, Trump has asserted that America's schoolchildren have fallen further behind their global peers since the department's creation, in 1979. This is correct, but his proposed solution of sending education 'back to the states' has always been a bit misleading. The federal government accounts for only about 10 percent of K–12 funding; states and localities cover the bulk of the cost. Still, the money that the administration withheld last month—which initially totaled about $6.8 billion—is significant. It represents more than 7.5 percent of the Education Department's current budget. The funds pay for after-school programs, teacher training, English-learner services, migrant-education grants, and STEM activities. Many schools rely on the money to pay educators and run summer programs. Educators across the country first learned on June 30 that the money was being frozen, just hours before it was supposed to be released. In a three-sentence email, the Department of Education told states that it was withholding the funds to conduct a review, 'given the change in Administrations.' The unsigned message came from [email protected] and offered no details on what the review entailed, how long it would take, or whether the money would ultimately be released. The closest thing to an explanation came from the Office of Management and Budget, which asserted in a statement that the funds had previously been used to 'subsidize a radical left-wing agenda,' support LGBTQ programming, and 'promote illegal immigrant advocacy.' Schools immediately began to feel the impact of the missing funds. In Cincinnati, administrators were forced to cancel orders for new curriculum materials and pause some services for students learning English. Some teachers in Fargo, North Dakota, learned that their annual $500 bonus was abruptly being cut. Officials in California, which had been expecting almost $1 billion from the federal funds, abruptly paused operations for a teacher-training program. Back-to-school planning was affected too. In the nation's second-largest school district, Los Angeles, officials braced for 'impossible choices' such as potentially having to shut down after-school tutoring or lay off school counselors, the district's superintendent, Alberto Carvalho, told me. 'For us to organize and budget and prepare for a school year impacting 540,000 students—in addition to 70,000 adult learners—we need to know what our recurring revenues are,' he said. Johnson, whose hometown of Fort Ransom, North Dakota, has a population of 2,200 and is 70 miles from the nearest Walmart, made the same case when he spoke with me from his cattle ranch. 'If we don't hire staff between such-and-such a date, we're not going to get them,' he told me. 'So the delay tactics already have hurt.' In a survey conducted last month by the School Superintendents Association, a group that advocates for more federal support for K–12 education, hundreds of school-district leaders from across the country similarly reported that they were planning to lay off teachers and cut classroom programs if the hold on funds persisted into August. David A. Graham: What does the Department of Education actually do? In Washington, lawmakers from both parties began to relay these concerns to the White House. In a July 16 letter to OMB Director Russell Vought, Senator Shelley Moore Capito of West Virginia joined nine other Republican senators—including lawmakers from six of the 10 states Trump carried by the largest margins in November—to urge the administration to release the money immediately. The senators noted that Congress had already approved the funding as part of a spending law and called on the administration to 'faithfully implement' that legislation. 'Withholding these funds will harm students, families and local economies,' the senators wrote. Senator Tommy Tuberville of Alabama did not sign the letter but told reporters on July 17 that he planned to talk with Trump about the funds during a dinner that was planned for the following day. (I asked Tuberville's office if the senator had gone through with the conversation but didn't get a response.) Meanwhile, local and state officials from across the demographic and political spectrum banded together to advocate for the funding's release. On July 21, a group that included school districts and teachers' unions filed a joint lawsuit challenging the halt in funding. Among the plaintiffs were the Kuspuk School District, in remote Alaska, which has about 300 students spread out over 12,000 square miles, as well as Cincinnati Public Schools, which has 35,000 students in about 80 square miles. 'They do not want to spend their time suing the federal government,' the lawsuit said of the schools. 'They want to do their jobs serving students and communities.' (The case is pending.) That same day, the Department of Education released part of the funding—$1.4 billion for '21st Century Community Learning Centers' grants, which high-poverty states such as West Virginia disproportionately rely on for after-school and summer-school programs. A few days later, on July 25, the department said it would release the more than $5 billion in remaining funds. Federal officials offered no public accounting of what their review had turned up, but they threatened further scrutiny of school districts that ran afoul of federal civil-rights laws and presidential directives. The Trump administration has used civil-rights legislation to go after schools for policies regarding transgender athletes and diversity, equity, and inclusion. The White House and the Education Department did not respond to requests for comment about the funds. Speaking at a National Governors Association meeting on the day the funds were released, Education Secretary Linda McMahon said the federal government was 'well satisfied' after evaluating the grant programs under review and that she expected dollars to flow more seamlessly in the future. Although OMB officials had initially attempted to cast the review as part of Trump's effort to root out liberal ideology from schools, Jon Valant, who researches K–12 policy at the Brookings Institution, told me that the White House was never likely to find much evidence to back up those claims. 'When you have a country with millions of public-school teachers across about 100,000 public schools, if you look, sure, you're going to find someone somewhere who's doing something objectionable,' he said. 'But the vast majority of these funds are used in ways that hardly any American would object to.' Ed Hermes, a school-board member in Phoenix, echoed this. 'This is going to Girl Scouts. This is going to softball. I know because my kids are in these programs,' Hermes, a former schoolteacher himself, told me. 'This is going to fund kids getting help with their math homework after school.' The decision to hold back the congressionally mandated funding came as the Education Department has lost nearly half its workforce under Trump, who is proposing additional budget cuts for the agency. The White House has asked Congress to slash grants for migrant education, English-language acquisition, and other programs funded by the money that was recently frozen, as part of next year's budget. If she is confirmed by the Senate, Baesler, the North Dakota superintendent, could soon join that effort as the next assistant secretary for elementary and secondary education. Whether she will use her new perch to contribute to the Trump administration's goal of shutting down the department or advocate on behalf of schools that rely on federal funds is a question of great concern to educators in her home state. Wayne Trottier, who retired in June as superintendent of the school district in Sawyer, North Dakota (population 307), told me that he'd recently confronted Baesler about the funding freeze. Trottier said that he'd asked her whether she would fight from the inside against the Trump administration's cuts. 'This is why the Department of Education needs me on staff now and not later,' he recalled her saying. Baesler did not respond to my requests for comment. In an email to superintendents yesterday, she said she was 'pleased' to announce that the dollars were now available, and thanked McMahon, North Dakota lawmakers, and local educators 'who advocated for the release of these funds.' Kevin Carey: Scammers are coming for college students She could have a tough time in Washington making the case for Trump's proposed cuts. On Thursday, a bipartisan group of lawmakers on the Senate Appropriations Committee passed a spending bill that rejected Trump's plan to scale down the Education Department. The bill also included language essentially banning the Trump administration from pursuing another funding freeze for K–12 schools next year. It passed by a 26–3 margin and now heads to the full Senate for a vote. The Trump administration could also continue to face resistance from around the country. In my conversations with school officials from both urban and rural districts, I frequently heard them making the case for each other. Johnson, who serves on the board of the National Rural Education Association, which advocates for schools in remote areas, stressed the crucial role the department plays in defending the civil rights of minority students and immigrants—of which there are few in his town. 'Why are they picking on the Hispanics?' he said at one point. Luisa Santos, who serves on the school board in Florida's large and very diverse Miami-Dade County, told me that without the Education Department, smaller districts would struggle the most. 'The federal government is able to support extremely rural areas—areas that, frankly, I don't think could generate that funding on their own if they needed to,' she said. This urban-rural alliance could be tested, however, as Trump aims to move forward with his broader education agenda, which includes advancing school-choice vouchers, filing lawsuits against schools over transgender policies, and promoting what the White House has called 'patriotic education.' Some educators I spoke with feared that long-standing cultural divides over immigration, race, gender, sexuality, and how to teach American history could create fissures among school districts that have found common cause in advocating for broadly popular programs such as summer school. The administration's decision to end the funding freeze, these sources said, could ultimately be a tactical retreat ahead of a more aggressive push to demolish the Department of Education. 'It's a half-sigh of relief,' Santos said about the release of federal funds, adding that a 'roller coaster of unknowns' still awaits educators as the new school year begins. 'I don't think this is the end at all.'
Politico
an hour ago
- Politico
Jerry Demings floats trial balloon
Good morning and welcome to Tuesday. Orange County Mayor JERRY DEMINGS — one of Florida's most prominent Democrats — is ready to talk about his future. 'Yes, I am going to consider running for higher office,' Demings, who'll be term-limited after the 2026 election, said in an interview. 'I haven't decided what that office is, but I have come to grips with the idea that my public service is not over.' Demings said he'd consider statewide and federal office. No major Democratic candidate is running for Senate to try to topple Gov. RON DESANTIS-appointed Republican Sen. ASHLEY MOODY ever since Democrat JOSH WEIL dropped out last week. Demings said he wouldn't challenge any sitting House Democrat but would consider running if a seat were to open up. If Demings enters the governor's race, then he would be challenging DAVID JOLLY, a former GOP representative who left the party in 2018 and registered as a Democrat this year. The former Orlando police chief said he was praying about what to do and in the coming weeks would be meeting with mentors, friends and constituents about where they see him headed. 'My trajectory has been one of advancement, greater territory and greater responsibility,' he said. 'I didn't choose it but God chose it for me.' He also cast himself as a problem solver and noted his office was technically nonpartisan. He added that he had centrist Republican friends who were frustrated by political polarization, too. 'We have gotten a little too far away,' he said. 'The divide is too great — it's not healthy.' Chatter about Demings came to a head over the weekend, when he quietly released a self-published memoir and leadership guide called 'Believe: Faith, Truth and the Courage to Lead.' It contains details about Demings' family and mentors, and spans his career as a top cop and his accomplishments as mayor. It reads like a Christian devotional with questions after each chapter prompting readers to reflect on topics such as: 'How has prayer shaped your journey?' and 'How can you use your influence to serve a greater purpose?' It contains admonitions of people who try to whitewash history or publicly say they're Christians while 'privately promoting agendas that dishonor Christ.' Demings' admission comes as former Rep. AL LAWSON JR. has been emailing allies to consider running for Florida governor, as NBC News' Matt Dixon posted on X over the weekend. Lawson said that Black voters, in particular, were displeased with Jolly's candidacy. He told Jim Rosica of USA Today Network — Florida that he would make a decision by the end of November after speaking to Democratic leadership and reviewing polling. State Rep. ANGIE NIXON, a progressive from Jacksonville, also said she is weighing a wide array of next steps, from city council to governor. Demings got statewide attention last week when he stood up to DeSantis over a transportation agreement with ICE, saying staff was already stretched thin. But DeSantis threatened to remove him and others from office, so by Friday Demings caved, saying he was doing so under 'protest and extreme duress.' The base has chafed at the decision, with protests erupting in Orlando on Monday night, according to numerous outlets. Demings told Playbook he couldn't risk having the governor appoint unelected officers, which would also lead to staff losing their jobs. The six-member commission will be taking up the matter today. Though the primary for governor is over a year away, the longer interested parties wait to announce, the harder it'll be for them to galvanize support. Jolly is out this morning with a fresh round of endorsements from 60 current and former elected officials, including state Sen. TINA POLSKY, former gubernatorial candidate and state party chair ROD SMITH and former Rep. 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He'll replace U.S. Attorney HAYDEN O'BYRNE, who was in the spot on an interim basis, reports Devoun Cetoute and Jay Weaver of the Miami Herald. TRANSITION TIME CFO HIRE — Florida Chief Financial Officer BLAISE INGOGLIA is bringing on KATIE STRICKLAND as chief of staff, his office announced this morning. 'I know she will be an asset across the board, and I welcome her expertise on my team,' Ingoglia said in a statement. Strickland heads to her new role from the governor's office, where she had been deputy chief of staff since 2021. She previously worked at the Agency for Health Care Administration, the Department of Financial Services, the Agency for Persons with Disabilities and the Florida House. Florida first lady CASEY DESANTIS praised Strickland as someone who 'helped drive smart, results-oriented policy that's truly made a difference in the lives of Floridians' and DeSantis chief of staff JASON WEIDA praised her 'deep knowledge of health and human services, tireless work ethic, and unwavering commitment to improving the lives of Floridians.' CHANGING OF THE GUARD — Florida Attorney General JAMES UTHMEIER announced Monday that he's picked BRAD MCVAY, a top official at the Department of State who has been involved in countless election law disputes, to become the next statewide prosecutor. The job of statewide prosecutor, which has a four-year term, is one of the top spots in the Department of Legal Affairs. The statewide prosecutor has constitutional authority to investigate crimes that occur in two or more judicial circuits. McVay, who was an assistant state attorney at the start of his legal career, has been deputy secretary of state since 2023 and was general counsel for four and a half years before then. McVay succeeds Nick Cox, who left earlier this year to join Hillsborough County State Attorney SUZY LOPEZ. Cox had been statewide prosecutor for 15 years. 'Brad is a proven constitutional conservative, experienced litigator, and criminal prosecutor who has defended Florida's laws and elections in the courtroom and beyond,' Uthmeier said in a statement. McVay starts Aug. 18. — Gary Fineout ODDS, ENDS AND FLORIDA MEN BIRTHDAYS: State Sen. Ed Hooper … state Rep. Tyler Sirois … Puerto Rico Gov. Jenniffer González-Colón.
