Capitol Notes

After months of anticipation, Milwaukee was chosen last week as the site of the Democratic National Convention in July of 2020. The city beat out two other finalists — Houston and Miami Beach. President Donald Trump narrowly won Wisconsin in 2016.

We've been talking about Democratic Gov. Tony Evers' proposed biennial state budget for months. Then last week, he released his capital budget — a separate plan that includes the amount of money he's proposing for construction and building projects across the state. Evers wants to borrow an additional $2 billion to renovate UW System buildings, and to build a new adult prison near the troubled Lin...

Gov. Tony Evers delivered his budget address late last week to rousing applause from Democrats. He included everything from a program that wouild provide drivers licenses for undocumented immigrants -- to a repeal of the lame duck laws that the Republican-controlled legislature passed in an attempt to weaken his powers.

Assembly Speaker Robin Vos said last week he gives Democratic Gov. Tony Evers' plan to legalize marijuana, and decriminalize small amounts, a 10 percent chance of passing the Republican-controlled Legislature. Vos called the proposal a "very difficult sell" because it would decriminalize recreational marijuana.

The Republican-controlled Legislature passed a middle class tax cut last week. It includes using a surplus to pay for the cut. Now, the ball is in Democratic Gov. Tony Evers' court. He also is pushing for a tax cut — but to pay for it, he wants to virtually eliminate a manufacturing tax credit. There's been talk that Evers will veto the GOP tax plan, and unveil his own, in his budget address later...

The Republican-controlled legislature is moving ahead with its plan for a middle class income tax cut. A bill passed out of committee last week and is scheduled for floor debate Tuesday and Wednesday. Lawmakers want to use a surplus to pay for the tax cut, while Gov. Tony Evers is pushing a plan to eliminate a tax credit for manufacturers.

There was a lot of drama last week involving Foxconn. The Taiwanese electronics giant said it would shift the focus of the huge plant it's building in Racine County from manufacturing LCD screens -- to research and development. But, after a conversation between President Trump and Foxconn Chairman Terry Gou, the company announced that LCD screen manufacturing at the plant is back on.

Gov. Tony Evers raised eyebrows last week when he announced in his first State of the State address that he was directing Attorney General Josh Kaul to withdraw Wisconsin from a federal lawsuit against the Affordable Care Act.

New Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers, a Democrat, is locking horns with Republicans in the state Legislature. In the last week, Evers rejected GOP plans for a middle class tax cut, and to guarantee health coverage for people with pre-existing conditions. Republicans said they'd stand in Evers' way if he tries to expand Medicaid coverage.

New Gov. Tony Evers got some help last week when a coalition of liberal-leaning groups filed a lawsuit which, if successful, would benefit him.

Today is Inauguration Day in Wisconsin, and Tony Evers will be sworn-in as governor. The Democrat defeated Republican Incumbent Scott Walker last November.

In this New Year's edition of "Capitol Notes," we look ahead to the stories that'll likely top the headlines in 2019. It begins with the Jan. 7 inauguration of Democrat Tony Evers as Wisconsin governor. Evers narrowly defeated Republican Scott Walker in the November midterm election.

For our "Capitol Notes" conversation today, we're going to examine the year in politics. Probably the biggest story of 2018 — Republican Gov. Scott Walker narrowly lost his bid for a third term to Democratic challenger Tony Evers.

Often, political news slows as the holidays approach. But that hasn't been the case this year. Democratic Governor-Elect Tony Evers has been busy announcing his first cabinet picks. Republican legislative leaders have been busy responding to the announcements. In this week's Capitol Notes, JR Ross of Wispolitics.com talks about the latest developments.

Republican Gov. Scott Walker signed the lame-duck bills into law late last week. The measures weaken the powers of Democratic Gov.-elect Tony Evers. In addition, the legislation limits early voting to no more than two weeks before an election. Attorneys for a coalition of liberal groups asked a federal judge Monday to block the early voting restrictions.

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.