Capitol Notes

The legislative lame duck session dominated the news last week. The Republican-controlled legislature passed a sweeping package of bills designed to weaken the powers of Democratic Gov.-elect Tony Evers and incoming Attorney General Josh Kaul.

Republicans who control the Wisconsin Legislature released plans late Friday for bills they’ll take up the first week of December. Lawmakers are going into session to consider limiting the power of Democratic Governor-elect Tony Evers and Democratic Attorney General-elect Josh Kaul.

Last week saw more fallout from the Nov. 6 election. Republican Attorney General Brad Schimel decided not to seek a recount in the race that he narrowly lost, to Democratic challenger Josh Kaul. The next day, outgoing Gov. Scott Walker appointed Schimel to the post of Waukesha County Circuit Judge. Some legislative Democrats decried the move, calling it "backscratching."

Gov. Scott Walker avoided the public eye in the week following the election, in which he narrowly lost to Democratic challenger Tony Evers. But late last week, he surfaced.

Update Nov. 16

Last week, Tony Evers cleared a huge hurdle, winning the race for governor. But the Democrat’s biggest challenges are to come. The first is within a few months when Evers will have to present his first biennial budget proposal. According to a Wisconsin Policy Forum report, he'll have to find $2 billion just to keep current programs in place.

Gov. Scott Walker conceded to Democratic challenger Tony Evers Wednesday after Evers won the election by just more than 1 percentage point. Walker originally wanted to wait until military ballots were counted and the official canvass was completed. He also expressed concern about 2,000 absentee ballots in Milwaukee that were reconstructed due to errors or damage.

After weeks of attack ads and mailings, the candidates for Wisconsin governor and U.S. Senate spent the weekend barnstorming the state, making their final appeals to voters before Tuesday's election.

Gov. Scott Walker and his Democratic challenger Tony Evers squared off for their second and final debate Friday night before the Nov. 6 election. The candidates debated health care, education, immigration and the economy — and repeated the same arguments they've consistently made throughout the campaign.

Gov. Scott Walker and his Democratic challenger Tony Evers, traded barbs in their first debate Friday night over taxes, health care and education. But, the candidates also found themselves addressing some bombshells that dropped earlier in the week.

Last week saw two debates between Democratic U.S. Sen. Tammy Baldwin and Republican challenger Leah Vukmir. Both debates were characterized by tension and hostility as the two clashed over abortion, immigration, health care and a host of other issues.

After a bitter fight that culminated in sexual assault accusations and an FBI investigation, Judge Brett Kavanaugh is now Justice Kavanaugh. The U.S. Senate confirmed Kavanaugh over the weekend and he was then sworn in to a seat on the U.S. Supreme Court.

The Kavanaugh hearings took center stage last week in Washington, and both candidates is Wisconsin's U.S. Senate race weighed in on President Trump's nominee to the Supreme Court.

The candidates for governor traded more barbs last week. State School Superintendent and Democratic gubernatorial candidate Tony Evers took the opportunity to criticize his opponent, Republican Gov. Scott Walker, in his "state of education" address. Evers said Walker's education priorities are "out of whack" and that his policies are failing Wisconsin.

Gov. Scott Walker is imploring state senators to return to the capitol, and vote on a bill that would provide $100 million in tax incentives to Kimberly-Clark. The company says it will close one of its plants in the Fox Valley if the Senate doesn't approve the incentives by the end of the month.

Last week, we saw Republican Gov. Scott Walker inserting himself into the national anthem debate. He called on all NFL players to stand during the anthem, instead of taking a knee. In doing so, Walker sided with President Trump, who's been vocal on the issue.

Some heavy hitters are beginning to appear in Wisconsin on behalf of the candidates this fall. Vice President Mike Pence held a fundraiser in Milwaukee last week for Republican U.S. Senate candidate Leah Vukmir. She's facing Democratic incumbent Tammy Baldwin in November.

The underlying theme of the midterm elections this fall is how voters feel about Donald Trump.

It’s been less than a week since the fall primary elections and already campaigns are in “full-court press” mode. The candidates in the big races have been traveling the state, courting voters.

Republican Gov. Scott Walker will face state School Superintendent Tony Evers in November, as a result of Tuesday's Democratic primary. The attacks happened immediately. The Republican Party of Wisconsin announced on election night that it would run TV ads, attacking Evers for not revoking the license of a teacher who viewed pornography on a state computer. Evers responded by saying that state law...

Tuesday is Wisconsin's fall primary election. Among the races on the ballot is the Republican primary for U.S. Senate. Voters will decide which candidate should take on Democratic incumbent Tammy Baldwin in November.

The Wisconsin governor's race is starting to draw broader attention. Some recent national polls show Democratic candidate Tony Evers ahead of Republican Gov. Scott Walker in hypothetical head-to-head matchups.

Wisconsin voters had a chance last week to vet the Republican candidates for U.S. Senate. State Sen. Leah Vukmir and Delafield Business Executive Kevin Nicholson debated issues such as tariffs, abortion and immigration policy, at a forum in Milwaukee.

Gov. Scott Walker spent much of last week trying to downplay some photos that surfaced, of him and the woman now charged in an alleged Russian plot to interfere with U.S. elections. The photos were snapped in 2015, as Walker was announcing his presidential bid.

The eight Democrats vying for the chance to take on Gov. Walker this fall shared the stage at UWM last week for their only broadcast debate, with just weeks to go until the Aug. 14 primary.