Capitol Notes

The latest Marquette Law School Poll shows the incumbents in Wisconsin’s most high-profile elections next year are losing support. According to the survey of about 800 registered voters, Democratic Governor Tony Evers’ approval rating slid from 50% in August to 45%. Meanwhile, Republican U.S. Senator Ron Johnson’s approval numbers remained at 36% from August.

Former Republican Lt. Gov. Rebecca Kleefisch, who has formally announced she is running, called on Republicans to “hire mercenaries” and practice “ballot harvesting” in the same aggressive way she believes Democrats did in the 2020 presidential race. That prompted Republican Kevin Nicholson, who is considering getting into the race, to slam the idea, saying anyone who supports it is “dumb as a bag...

A nonpartisan audit of the 2020 presidential election in Wisconsin has turned up no evidence of widespread fraud. In this week’s Capitol Notes conversation, JR Ross of wispolitics.com tells Marti Mikkelson that both sides are parsing different takeaways from the findings.

Former President Donald Trump shook up the Wisconsin governor’s race over the weekend by urging former Republican Wisconsin U.S. Rep. Sean Duffy to challenge Democratic incumbent Tony Evers next November. Trump's endorsement of Duffy could make things difficult for the only high-profile Republican candidate in the contest so far — former Lt. Gov. Rebecca Kleefisch.

There’s been a whirlwind of developments in former State Supreme Court Justice Michael Gableman’s quest to investigate the 2020 presidential election in Wisconsin. Gableman abruptly canceled plans last week to interview the mayors and election clerks of the state’s five largest cities, just days after he subpoenaed them.

The investigation into the 2020 presidential election in Wisconsin is heating up. Republican Assembly Speaker Robin Vos hired former conservative state Supreme Court Justice Michael Gableman to lead the probe.

Republican state lawmakers have asked the U.S. Supreme Court to throw out a redistricting lawsuit that Democrats brought, which asks a federal court to draw the political boundaries in Wisconsin for the next decade. The request came after the Wisconsin Supreme Court agreed to directly take a redistricting case brought by a conservative group.

Former Wisconsin Commerce Secretary Bill McCoshen has decided not to seek the Republican nomination for governor next year. That leaves former GOP Lieutenant Governor Rebecca Kleefisch as the lone Republican so far to formally challenge Democratic incumbent Tony Evers in 2022.

Former state Supreme Court Justice Michael Gableman wants the Wisconsin Elections Commission to preserve all 2020 presidential election evidence. Gableman is leading a GOP-requested investigation into the election. He sent a letter to commissioners last week, urging them to tell local clerks to preserve “any and all” voting records, so he can use them to determine whether any alleged fraud occurre...

It appears former Republican Lt. Gov. Rebecca Kleefisch is going to formally announce her bid for governor on Thursday. She sent a notice to supporters that she’ll make a “special announcement” in Waukesha County.

Sparks flew last week between Interim UW System President and former Republican Gov. Tommy Thompson and GOP leaders in the state Legislature. Republican Sen. Steve Nass, who co-chairs the Rules Committee, threatened to file a lawsuit if Thompson doesn’t first get permission from the panel to enact any COVID-19 mandates on the campuses. Thompson rebuffed Nass' demand.

Longtime Democratic Congressman Ron Kind of La Crosse shocked Wisconsin’s political world last week when he announced he won’t seek reelection next year. In this week’s “Capitol Notes” conversation, WUWM’s Marti Mikkelson asks JR Ross of wispolitics.com what he thinks are the chances of the GOP flipping this seat now that Kind has bowed out.

Democratic state Sen. Chris Larson of Milwaukee has dropped out of the race for U.S. Senate. In this week’s Capitol Notes conversation, Marti Mikkelson asks JR Ross of wispolitics.com if he was surprised by the development.

Democratic Lt. Gov. Mandela Barnes has made it official — he’s in the race for Wisconsin’s U.S. Senate seat next November. Barnes has the highest political profile so far and joins a crowded field of Democrats who have either announced they are running or are thinking of running.

Campaign finance reports are out, and they show Republican Sen. Ron Johnson raised more money between April and June than any of the Democrats who would want to run against him. But at least one potential Democratic challenger is close behind. Johnson hasn’t decided yet whether he’ll seek a third term next November.

Democratic Lt. Gov. Mandela Barnes is apparently getting closer to deciding whether he’ll run for Republican U.S. Sen. Ron Johnson’s seat next year. Barnes has reportedly begun fundraising for a run, and would join a growing, crowded field of Democrats wanting to take on Johnson in 2022.

Both houses of the Republican-controlled Wisconsin Legislature have approved an $87 billion spending plan for the next two years. Now, it heads to Democratic Gov. Tony Evers. A handful of Democrats in both the Assembly and Senate crossed over and voted with Republicans to approve the plan.

Over the weekend, former President Donald Trump threatened to find people to run against Wisconsin Republican legislative leaders Robin Vos, Devin LeMahieu and Chris Kapenga in Republican primaries next year.

The joint finance committee has wrapped up its work on Wisconsin's next biennial budget and now it’s expected to go to the full Legislature for a vote. Republicans who control the committee finished by proposing a $3.3 billion income and property tax cut.

A group of Republican state lawmakers flew to Arizona over the weekend, to observe the recount of two million ballots that’s taking place in Phoenix.

Gov. Tony Evers made it official over the weekend at the virtual state Democratic convention, he is running for a second term in November of next year. Several Republicans have indicated they’d like to challenge Evers next year, but none more so than former Lt. Gov. Rebecca Kleefisch.

The list of Democrats who would potentially like to challenge Republican U.S. Sen. Ron Johnson in November of next year is growing. Johnson hasn’t announced yet whether he’ll seek a third term.

Republicans who control the Legislature seem to want no part of Democratic Gov. Tony Evers' special session to expand Medicaid programs in Wisconsin.

In this week’s Capitol Notes conversation, Marti Mikkelson asks JR Ross of wispolitics.com if he thinks Gov. Tony Evers will stop providing the extra $300 in federally-funded unemployment benefits.

Republicans in the Wisconsin Legislature will begin to craft a budget of their own, after they removed nearly 400 policy items from Democratic Gov. Tony Evers' proposed budget. GOP leaders have indicated that their version of the budget may include a tax cut.