Capitol Notes

A big name came up last week as a possible candidate for Republican U.S Sen. Ron Johnson’s seat next year.

Republican U.S. Sen. Ron Johnson has been making national headlines. Last week, Wisconsin’s senior senator told a Milwaukee radio host that the deadly riot that occurred at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6 “didn’t seem like an armed insurrection to me.” He said he’d like to find out whether any firearms were confiscated and how many shots were fired.

On Tuesday night, Joe Biden will make one of his first official trips as president, coming to Milwaukee for a CNN town hall at the Pabst Theater. The focus is expected to be on the coronavirus pandemic and jump-starting the economy.

Democratic Gov. Tony Evers is set to unveil his biennial budget proposal next week. We’re starting to get a clearer picture of what will be included, and some big, bold items are emerging.

Last week saw a lot of activity in the Republican-controlled state Legislature. In a surprising turn of events, lawmakers did not repeal Democratic Gov. Tony Evers’ statewide mask mandate. The Senate supported a resolution earlier in the week to eliminate the mask order, but then it ran into roadblocks in the Assembly. The Legislative Fiscal Bureau issued a memo, reminding lawmakers that Wisconsin...

Republicans in the state Legislature have introduced a resolution to nullify Democratic Gov. Tony Evers’ declaration last week of a public health emergency.

Wisconsin’s Congress members broke along party lines last week when the House voted to impeach President Donad Trump for his role in inciting a riot at the U.S. Capitol that left five people dead. It’s now up to the U.S. Senate to decide whether to hold a trial that could lead to a conviction, even after Trump’s term expires this week and President-elect Joe Biden is sworn in.

In this week’s Capitol Notes conversation, we look ahead to the political stories that will likely top the headlines in 2021.

In this week’s Capitol Notes conversation, we’re going to look back at the top political stories of 2020. One of the biggest stories was the impact of the coronavirus, and how elected officials responded.

Newly elected Republican state Senate Majority Leader Devin LeMahieu says he wants to pass a bill early next year that would allow clerks to begin counting absentee ballots before Election Day.

The Wisconsin Supreme Court is expected to issue a decision Monday on whether the Nov. 3 election was conducted illegally in Milwaukee and Dane counties, as President Donald Trump has claimed.

It’s shaping up to be another busy week for the Wisconsin courts. The state Supreme Court rejected a couple of lawsuits last week related to President Donald Trump’s claims that the election was conducted illegally in the state.

Milwaukee and Dane counties have finished their presidential recounts. It turns out President-elect Joe Biden netted 87 additional votes between the two counties. Unofficial results show Biden maintains a roughly 20,000 vote lead in Wisconsin.

The presidential recount in Milwaukee and Dane counties is entering its fourth day. Unofficial results from Nov. 3 show President-elect Joe Biden ahead of President Donald Trump in Wisconsin by about 20,000 votes.

Democratic Gov. Tony Evers says he’ll introduce a coronavirus relief package for Wisconsin this week, amid soaring numbers of COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations.  He announced his intention after he delivered a statewide address, urging Wisconsinites to voluntarily shelter-in-place but stopped short of issuing another emergency stay-at-home order. 

With Democrat Joe Biden the president-elect, President Donald Trump is still vowing to ask for a recount in Wisconsin. His legal team is looking into whether voter fraud occurred in other states.  Meanwhile, Wisconsin Assembly Speaker Robin Vos has called on an Assembly committee to investigate whether there was voter fraud here — unofficial results show that Biden won Wisconsin by about 20,000 vo...

A number of media outlets are declaring Democrat Joe Biden the winner of Wisconsin’s 10 electoral votes. Biden holds a lead of about 20,000 votes over Republican President Donald Trump. Trump’s campaign says it will request a recount in Wisconsin.

Tuesday is Election Day. In addition to the presidential race, Wisconsin’s eight congressional seats are up for grabs, as well as all 99 state Assembly seats and half of the state Senate.

President Trump worked in another visit to Wisconsin over the weekend. He drew a crowd of about 10,000 people to a rally Saturday night in Waukesha. It was the fifth time since August in which Trump has visited the state. The Waukesha rally was held a week after thousands turned out for a rally in Janesville, and Trump is scheduled to hold another rally near La Crosse on Tuesday.

The number of coronavirus cases and hospitalizations in Wisconsin continues to break records. Cases have been averaging 3,000 per day, then on Friday, topped 4,000. In the midst of all this, Gov. Tony Evers issued an emergency order, requiring bars, restaurants and retail stores to operate at 25% capacity. Some had been running at 50%. A judge set a hearing for Monday in Sawyer County after the Wi...

President Trump and Vice President Mike Pence are resuming in-person campaign stops across the country after a bout with COVID-19 sidelined the president. Trump is set to deliver a speech and attend a fundraiser in Janesville on Saturday, according to an invitation to supporters, while Pence is scheduled to visit a manufacturing facility in Waukesha on Tuesday. The presidential election is only th...

President Trump’s COVID-19 diagnosis late last week thwarted the Republican's plans to campaign over the weekend. Meanwhile, Democratic nominee Joe Biden, who tested negative, indicated he would press ahead with in-person events.

President Trump has announced his Supreme Court pick to replace liberal Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, who passed away earlier this month. Trump has chosen conservative federal appeals Judge Amy Coney Barrett and confirmation hearings are scheduled to begin Oct. 12.

Democratic Gov. Tony Evers has essentially fired Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development Secretary Caleb Frostman. It happened amid a huge backlog of unprocessed unemployment claims that had piled up since the state shut down in March because of the coronavirus pandemic. Evers called for Frostman’s departure on Friday and he resigned shortly thereafter. Republicans who control the Legislatur...

At least two major party candidates are heading to Wisconsin again this week. Republican President Donald Trump and his running mate, Vice President Mike Pence, will make stops here — after both visited within the last two weeks. Pence will be in Janesville Monday, while Trump will hold a rally Friday night in Mosinee.