Latest news with #WisconsinDemocraticParty
Yahoo
24-07-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers not seeking reelection
Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers (D) announced Thursday he won't seek another term in office, teeing up a competitive election in one of the state's closest battlegrounds. Evers said in a video posted on the social media platform X that serving as governor has been 'the honor of my life' and he expects that he would win reelection to a third term as governor if he ran. But he said he loves being a husband, father and grandfather even more than being governor, and his family has made sacrifices for five decades to allow him to partake in public service. He said he owes it to his family to send time on doing what they love to do together. 'That's why, Wisconsin, I'm announcing I will not be running for a third term,' Evers said. Evers said he's not finished with his job yet, and he has a lot of work to do before his current term ends in 2027. 'And Wisconsin, I'll be working just as hard as I have for the last six years to keep doing the right thing and deliver for you,' he said. 'So let's get to work.' Evers's announcement will kick off an open gubernatorial race in one of the biggest battlegrounds in the country. He was first elected governor in 2018, ousting then-Gov. Scott Walker (R) by just over 1 point, while he won reelection in 2022 by a more comfortable 3 points. Statements quickly poured in from Democrats thanking Evers's for his service and vowing that the party would keep the office next year. Wisconsin Democratic Party Chair Devin Remiker said in a statement that Evers is one of the most successful governors in the state's history. 'While Republican candidates rush to embrace the most extreme elements of their party and face another divisive and bitter primary battle, we will be prepared to hold them accountable and ensure Wisconsin elects a Democratic governor in 2026,' Remiker said. Sen. Tammy Baldwin (D) praised Evers as always putting the state and its children first. 'Tony embodies the best of the Wisconsin way – he knows what is right and is willing to fight for it, but is level-headed, Midwestern nice, and always willing to bridge divides if it's right for our state,' she said in a post on X. Kansas Gov. Laura Kelly, the chair of the Democratic Governors Association, called Evers's leadership 'transformative' for Wisconsin. 'No matter who emerges from the Republican primary, one thing is certain: they will be too extreme for Wisconsin, in stark contrast with the strong, results-focused leadership in the governor's office that Wisconsinites have enjoyed over the last six years,' Kelly said. Republicans vowed that Wisconsin would turn a page from Democratic leadership and return the GOP back to the office. Courtney Alexander, the communications director for the Republican Governors Association, said in a statement that the same type of 'out-of-touch liberals' as Evers will try to replace him. 'Wisconsin is ready for a return to common sense leadership and real solutions that have been lacking under the tenure of Gov. Evers and not a single Democrat in Wisconsin can credibly offer either,' she said. The primaries on both sides could quickly get crowded, with various candidates rumored to be considering a run. For Democrats, the possible candidates include Lt. Gov. Sara Rodriguez, state Attorney General Josh Kaul and Wisconsin Secretary of State Sarah Godlewski, among others. On the Republican side, Rep. Tom Tiffany (R-Wis.) has expressed interest in possibly running, while Washington County Executive Josh Schoemann entered the race in May. Updated: 1:59 p.m. ET Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Winnipeg Free Press
09-07-2025
- Politics
- Winnipeg Free Press
Wisconsin Republican compares himself to Trump as he launches his bid for governor
MADISON, Wis. (AP) — A suburban Milwaukee businessman, former Navy SEAL and political newcomer entered Wisconsin's race for governor Wednesday, likening himself to President Donald Trump and promising a 'Wisconsin First' agenda. Bill Berrien, 56, becomes the second Republican to announce for the 2026 contest. Democratic Gov. Tony Evers, 73, has not yet said whether he will seek a third term, but indicated this week he will announce his decision this month. But that didn't stop Berrien from taking aim at Evers in his campaign launch video, calling the two-term governor a failure who has encouraged illegal immigration and 'welcomed boys into our daughters' sports and locker rooms.' Berrien joins Washington County Executive Josh Schoemann as the only announced candidates for the race. This is Berrien's first race for office and it's the first statewide campaign for both he and Schoemann. In his campaign launch video, Berrien walks in front of a tank and footage of Trump is shown after he was shot as Berrien talks about having a 'fighting spirit.' 'I'm an outsider and businessman just like President Trump and I'll shake up Madison like he's shaking up D.C.,' Berrien said. Berrien promised to cut taxes as he accused Evers and Democrats of wanting to raise taxes. But just last week, Evers signed a state budget that cuts taxes by $1.5 billion. Berrien also faulted Evers for opposing mass deportations and vetoing a bill that would have barred transgender people from playing on girls and women sports teams. Berrien pledged to sign that ban. He also promised to increase wages, support police and make Wisconsin 'a manufacturing powerhouse.' Berrien also faulted Evers for proposing to change state law related to the legal rights of children of same-sex couples who are born through in vitro fertilization, sperm donors or surrogates. Evers wanted to replace the words 'woman,' 'mother' and 'wife' with variations or 'person who is inseminated' or 'inseminated person.' Republicans removed the wording changes before passing the budget Evers signed into law. A spokesperson for Evers declined to comment on Berrien's campaign launch. Wisconsin Democratic Party Chairman Devin Remiker said Democrats will be ready to defeat 'whoever Trump handpicks to do his bidding in the primary and emerges as the nominee.' Remiker said Democrats were building on their playbook that resulted in wins for a hotly contested state Supreme Court seat in April, the U.S. Senate race last year and the governor's race in 2022. Berrien served nine years as a Navy SEAL and has been owner and CEO of Pindel Global Precision and Liberty Precision, manufacturers of precision-machined components in New Berlin, for the past 13 years. He is married and has two children. Berrien formed a political action committee earlier this year that has raised $1.2 million since April. Numerous other Republicans are considering a run for governor next year, including U.S. Rep. Tom Tiffany, who represents northern Wisconsin, state Senate President Mary Felzowski and two-time losing U.S. Senate candidate Eric Hovde, a Madison businessman.
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Business Standard
21-05-2025
- Business
- Business Standard
Musk's pullback from politics comes after his last big investment was flop
Wisconsin could go down as billionaire Elon Musk's last big spend on a political campaign. And it was a flop. Musk, the richest person in the world, said Tuesday that he would be spending less on political campaigns. The announcement came as Musk is stepping back from his role in the Trump administration, saying he will spend more time focused on his businesses, and just seven weeks after the candidate he backed in Wisconsin's Supreme Court race lost by 10 per cent. Democrats in the swing state said Musk's comments show that a party-led effort in this spring's election, dubbed People vs. Musk, succeeded in making Musk and his money toxic. The people have won, said Wisconsin Democratic Party Chairman Ben Wikler. The biggest funder in Republican politics is taking his toys and going home." Brandon Scholz, a retired longtime Republican strategist in the state, said that at least in Wisconsin, after that court race he deserves to be labelled as toxic. But that doesn't mean Musk couldn't spend money on races in the state and nationally again, especially if the stakes are high and his money could make a difference, Scholz said. Does he bring with him a lot of baggage? Possibly, Scholz said. But over time, maybe not as much." Musk's spending in this year's Wisconsin Supreme Court race helped make it the most expensive court race in US history. And it came just five months after Musk spent at least $250 million to help President Donald Trump win, reversing losses in Wisconsin and other battleground states four years earlier. Musk was all-in on the Wisconsin Supreme Court race, even making a personal appearance in Green Bay the weekend before the election wearing a cheesehead hat popular with fans of the NFL's Green Bay Packers and personally handing out checks for $1 million to supporters. It was an extension of Musk's high-profile role in the presidential race, where he campaigned alongside Trump and headlined some of his own rallies. It's a super big deal, he told the roughly 2,000-person crowd in the event center, where hundreds of protesters were rallying against his appearance outside. I'm not phoning it in. I'm here in person. But his appearance and money didn't work. The candidate Musk backed lost Brown County, the home of Green Bay, by 3 per cent, going on to lose statewide by more than three times that margin. After the defeat, Musk has said little publicly about the race and his involvement in it. His popularity has also plummeted. An Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs poll taken two weeks after the Wisconsin court election found that just 33 per cent of adults had a favourable view of the Tesla CEO, down from 41 per cent in December. Musk's involvement in the race came at the same time he was the chain-saw-wielding face of the Trump administration's effort to downsize the federal government. His Department of Government Efficiency, also known as DOGE, has enacted deep cuts to the workforce and spending, in some cases seeking to shutter entire agencies, but it has fallen far short of its goals for reducing federal spending. Democratic US Rep. Mark Pocan, of Wisconsin, is one of the most liberal members of Congress and a loud critic of both Trump and Musk. Pocan is sceptical that Musk truly will back away. I don't believe any of it, first of all, Pocan said. This just means they realize how toxic Elon Musk is and the work he did through DOGE. Kelda Roys, a Democratic state senator, was also tempered in her excitement over Musk saying he plans to do a lot less political spending in the future. There's a ton of other billionaire bros, I'm sure, willing and happy to step up in his place, Roys said. Musk could also get involved with future races, but in a much more low-profile way, said Scholz, the Republican. In Wisconsin, he had such a huge, huge, huge profile, Scholz said. "He became the campaign. He became the story. Musk spent at least $3 million on the Wisconsin Supreme Court race himself. Musk-backed groups America PAC and a Rebuilding America's Future spent another $19 million in support of the Republican-backed candidate Brad Schimel. That was part of more than $100 million spent on both sides. America PAC spent at least $6 million on vendors who sent door-to-door canvassers across the state, according to the nonpartisan Wisconsin Democracy Campaign. It was a reprise of what the group did last fall across the seven most competitive presidential battleground states, including Wisconsin, which were carried by Trump. In addition to his political contributions, Musk paid three individual voters $1 million each for signing a petition in an effort to goose turnout. Musk also offered to pay $20 to anyone who signed up on his group's site to knock on doors for Schimel and posted a photo of themselves as proof. His organisation promised $100 to every voter who signed the petition against activist judges and another $100 for every signer they referred. Musk himself hosted Schimel on his podcast and cast what was at stake in stark terms. A seemingly small election could determine the fate of Western civilization, Musk said in a social media post on the April 1 election day. I think it matters for the future of the world. Democrats made the race a referendum on both Musk and Trump's agenda, successfully electing a judge whose victory ensures the Wisconsin Supreme Court will remain under liberal control until at least 2028. Coincidentally, Musk's announcement about spending less on political races came just hours after a liberal judge announced her candidacy for the 2026 Wisconsin Supreme Court race. Wisconsin Appeals Court Judge Chris Taylor is challenging a conservative incumbent justice who sided with Trump in his unsuccessful lawsuit that attempted to overturn his 2020 loss in Wisconsin. The race will be decided in April, months before the midterms in which Democrats hope unease with Trump and Musk will help the party make gains. Taylor appeared to be taking a similar approach to her campaign that the winning Democratic-backed candidate did this year. My campaign is going to be a campaign about the people of this state," she told The Associated Press, not about billionaires, not about the most powerful.
Arab Times
21-05-2025
- Business
- Arab Times
Musk's pullback from politics comes after his last big investment was a flop
MADISON, Wis, May 21, (AP): Wisconsin could go down as billionaire Elon Musk's last big spend on a political campaign. And it was a flop. Musk, the richest person in the world, said Tuesday that he would be spending less on political campaigns. The announcement came as Musk is stepping back from his role in the Trump administration, saying he will spend more time focused on his businesses, and just seven weeks after the candidate he backed in Wisconsin's Supreme Court race lost by 10 percentage points. Democrats in the swing state said Musk's comments show that a party-led effort in this spring's election, dubbed " People vs. Musk, ' succeeded in making Musk and his money "toxic.' "The people have won,' said Wisconsin Democratic Party Chairman Ben Wikler. "The biggest funder in Republican politics is taking his toys and going home." Brandon Scholz, a retired longtime Republican strategist in the state, said that at least in Wisconsin, "after that court race he deserves to be labeled as toxic.' But that doesn't mean Musk couldn't spend money on races in the state and nationally again, especially if the stakes are high and his money could make a difference, Scholz said. "Does he bring with him a lot of baggage? Possibly,' Scholz said. "But over time, maybe not as much." Musk's spending in this year's Wisconsin Supreme Court race helped make it the most expensive court race in US history. And it came just five months after Musk spent at least $250 million to help President Donald Trump win, reversing losses in Wisconsin and other battleground states four years earlier. Musk was all-in on the Wisconsin Supreme Court race, even making a personal appearance in Green Bay the weekend before the election wearing a cheesehead hat - popular with fans of the NFL's Green Bay Packers - and personally handing out checks for $1 million to supporters. It was an extension of Musk's high-profile role in the presidential race, where he campaigned alongside Trump and headlined some of his own rallies. "It's a super big deal,' he told the roughly 2,000-person crowd in the event center, where hundreds of protesters were rallying against his appearance outside. "I'm not phoning it in. I'm here in person.' But his appearance - and money - didn't work.
21-05-2025
- Business
Elon Musk's pullback from politics comes after his last big investment was a flop
MADISON, Wis. -- Wisconsin could go down as billionaire Elon Musk's last big spend on a political campaign. And it was a flop. Musk, the richest person in the world, said Tuesday that he would be spending less on political campaigns. The announcement came as Musk is stepping back from his role in the Trump administration, saying he will spend more time focused on his businesses, and just seven weeks after the candidate he backed in Wisconsin's Supreme Court race lost by 10 percentage points. Democrats in the swing state said Musk's comments show that a party-led effort in this spring's election, dubbed ' People vs. Musk, ' succeeded in making Musk and his money 'toxic.' 'The people have won,' said Wisconsin Democratic Party Chairman Ben Wikler. 'The biggest funder in Republican politics is taking his toys and going home." Brandon Scholz, a retired longtime Republican strategist in the state, said that at least in Wisconsin, 'after that court race he deserves to be labeled as toxic.' But that doesn't mean Musk couldn't spend money on races in the state and nationally again, especially if the stakes are high and his money could make a difference, Scholz said. 'Does he bring with him a lot of baggage? Possibly,' Scholz said. 'But over time, maybe not as much." Musk's spending in this year's Wisconsin Supreme Court race helped make it the most expensive court race in U.S. history. And it came just five months after Musk spent at least $250 million to help President Donald Trump win, reversing losses in Wisconsin and other battleground states four years earlier. Musk was all-in on the Wisconsin Supreme Court race, even making a personal appearance in Green Bay the weekend before the election wearing a cheesehead hat — popular with fans of the NFL's Green Bay Packers — and personally handing out checks for $1 million to supporters. It was an extension of Musk's high-profile role in the presidential race, where he campaigned alongside Trump and headlined some of his own rallies. 'It's a super big deal,' he told the roughly 2,000-person crowd in the event center, where hundreds of protesters were rallying against his appearance outside. 'I'm not phoning it in. I'm here in person.' But his appearance — and money — didn't work. The candidate Musk backed lost Brown County, the home of Green Bay, by 3 percentage points, going on to lose statewide by more than three times that margin. After the defeat, Musk has said little publicly about the race and his involvement in it. His popularity has also plummeted. An Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs poll taken two weeks after the Wisconsin court election found that just 33% of adults had a favorable view of the Tesla CEO, down from 41% in December. Musk's involvement in the race came at the same time he was the chain-saw-wielding face of the Trump administration's effort to downsize the federal government. His Department of Government Efficiency, also known as DOGE, has enacted deep cuts to the workforce and spending, in some cases seeking to shutter entire agencies, but it has fallen far short of its goals for reducing federal spending. Democratic U.S. Rep. Mark Pocan, of Wisconsin, is one of the most liberal members of Congress and a loud critic of both Trump and Musk. Pocan is skeptical that Musk truly will back away. 'I don't believe any of it, first of all,' Pocan said. 'This just means they realize how toxic Elon Musk is and the work he did through DOGE.' Kelda Roys, a Democratic state senator, was also tempered in her excitement over Musk saying he plans to do a 'lot less' political spending in the future. 'There's a ton of other billionaire bros, I'm sure, willing and happy to step up in his place,' Roys said. Musk could also get involved with future races, but in a much more low-profile way, said Scholz, the Republican. 'In Wisconsin, he had such a huge, huge, huge profile,' Scholz said. "He became the campaign. He became the story.' Musk spent at least $3 million on the Wisconsin Supreme Court race himself. Musk-backed groups America PAC and a Rebuilding America's Future spent another $19 million in support of the Republican-backed candidate Brad Schimel. That was part of more than $100 million spent on both sides. America PAC spent at least $6 million on vendors who sent door-to-door canvassers across the state, according to the nonpartisan Wisconsin Democracy Campaign. It was a reprise of what the group did last fall across the seven most competitive presidential battleground states, including Wisconsin, which were carried by Trump. In addition to his political contributions, Musk paid three individual voters $1 million each for signing a petition in an effort to goose turnout. Musk also offered to pay $20 to anyone who signed up on his group's site to knock on doors for Schimel and posted a photo of themselves as proof. His organization promised $100 to every voter who signed the petition against 'activist judges' and another $100 for every signer they referred. Musk himself hosted Schimel on his podcast and cast what was at stake in stark terms. 'A seemingly small election could determine the fate of Western civilization,' Musk said in a social media post on the April 1 election day. 'I think it matters for the future of the world.' Democrats made the race a referendum on both Musk and Trump's agenda, successfully electing a judge whose victory ensures the Wisconsin Supreme Court will remain under liberal control until at least 2028. Coincidentally, Musk's announcement about spending less on political races came just hours after a liberal judge announced her candidacy for the 2026 Wisconsin Supreme Court race. Wisconsin Appeals Court Judge Chris Taylor is challenging a conservative incumbent justice who sided with Trump in his unsuccessful lawsuit that attempted to overturn his 2020 loss in Wisconsin. The race will be decided in April, months before the midterms in which Democrats hope unease with Trump and Musk will help the party make gains. Taylor appeared to be taking a similar approach to her campaign that the winning Democratic-backed candidate did this year. 'My campaign is going to be a campaign about the people of this state," she told The Associated Press, 'not about billionaires, not about the most powerful.'
