WisPolitics Capitol Chats

On this week's "Capitol Chats," physical therapist and GOP candidate for the 5th SD Mike Roberts discusses how he wants to improve health care, reduce the state's property tax burden, and how to pay for increasing police staffing and prison reforms. 

On this week's "Capitol Chats," freshman Rep. Ben Franklin, R-De Pere, talks about school funding, bipartisanship, and how he's making the case to voters to grant him a second term.

In this week's Capitol Chats, Fair Wisconsin Executive Director Abigail Swetz talks about the group's work to support LGBTQ+ Wisconsinites, which candidates Fair Wisconsin PAC is backing this fall, and political rhetoric and ads targeting the transgender community.

On this week's "Capitol Chats," De Pere School Board member Brandy Tollefson talks about her campaign for the 88th AD as a Democrat, what she thinks the Legislature can do for public schools and affordability, and what she's doing to distinguish herself from incumbent GOP Rep. Ben Franklin.

On this week's "Capitol Chats," Rep. Todd Novak, R-Dodgeville, says he expects Democrats to take the blame for the failure of the $1.8 billion surplus spending package that failed in the Senate last month, though he said he'd "love to come back with the same deal." Novak, a regular target for Dems, also discussed his election strategy, school funding and the future of GOP leadership in the Assembl...

In this week's Capitol Chats, Rep. Jenna Jacobson, D-Oregon, who is running for the 17th Senate district, explains her vote for a failed $1.8 billion surplus deal, touts her support for education funding and says incumbent GOP Sen. Howard Marklein is "scared" going into his reelection bid.

On this week's "Capitol Chats," UW Law Prof. Robert Yablon breaks down where Wisconsin stands amid the national mid-decade redistricting race and discusses how a pair of lawsuits and a possible Democratic trifecta could decide the future of the state's congressional maps.

In this week's "Capitol Chats" episode, U.S. Rep. Gwen Moore, D-Milwaukee, discusses the impact of a Supreme Court ruling narrowing a key provision of the Voting Rights Act, debate over immigration enforcement funding and more.    

On this week's "Capitol Chats," U.S. Rep. Glenn Grothman, R-Glenbeulah, defends congressional Republicans' push to funnel more than $70 billion in new funding to ICE and Border Patrol and answers questions about immigration enforcement reform and why the GOP is pushing this legislation now.

In this week's "Capitol Chats" episode, Assembly Majority Leader Tyler August, R-Walworth, says he's confident in Republicans' ability to retain control of the Assembly, reflects on longtime Speaker Robin Vos' departure and more.

In this week's "Capitol Chats," former technology executive and Caledonia trustee Prescott Balch argues local officials are being drawn into bad deals with the trillion-dollar tech companies building data centers throughout Wisconsin, and need to slow down development deals to better understand the risks and rewards of such projects.

In this week's "Capitol Chats" episode, RightCount Wisconsin Chair Jim Steineke touts the group's work to promote trust by educating voters about election administration and says faith in elections is a bipartisan issue.

On this week's "Capitol Chats," Melissa Moore talks about Wisconsin's "Wild West" of unregulated intoxicating hemp products ahead of a federal ban that could curtail their sale, and what policymakers need to consider if they are to craft regulation keeping these products on shelves.

In this week's Capitol Chats episode, Marquette Law School Poll Director Charles Franklin discusses recent polling of the state Supreme Court race and says anti-Trump sentiment is a key factor pushing Dem voters to the polls.  

On this week's "Capitol Chats," U.S. Rep. Mark Pocan, D-Town of Vermont, weighs in on negotiations to fund the Department of Homeland Security, the Pentagon's $200 billion funding request to prosecute the war in Iran, and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents being deployed to major airports.

In this week's "Capitol Chats" episode, Dem guv candidate Mandela Barnes discusses his vow to freeze utility rates if elected and criticizes utility companies for being "greedy" at Wisconsinites' expense.

On this week's "Capitol Chats," Phillip Scott of the Wisconsin Hemp Farmers and Manufacturers Association forecasts a grim future for Wisconsin's $700 million intoxicating hemp industry if lawmakers can't create a legal pathway for the cannabis alternative at the state or federal level.

In this week's Capitol Chats podcast, former Department of Administration Secretary Joel Brennan discusses his Dem guv campaign and says if elected, he supports temporarily pausing data center projects until state leaders can agree on regulatory guardrails.

In this week's "Capitol Chats" episode, U.S. Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Oshkosh, discusses Tuesday's State of the Union address, Democrats' criticism of immigration enforcement, the Supreme Court striking down the Trump administration's tariffs and the fate of the SAVE America Act in the Senate.

On this week's "Capitol Chats" podcast, Rep. Lindee Brill, R-Sheboygan Falls, says protecting kids online will require a "multi-faceted" approach. She chairs the Speaker's Task Force on Protecting Kids, which has introduced bills touching on youth social media accounts and app usage, law enforcement response to internet crimes against children and AI chatbots.

In this week's Capitol Chats podcast, Keep Our Republic member and former U.S. Attorney John Vaudreuil says President Donald Trump's call to "nationalize" elections doesn't pass constitutional muster. Vaudreuil also argues Trump is seeking to sow distrust in elections ahead of the midterms.

In this week's Capitol Chats episode, Clean Wisconsin spokesperson Amy Barrilleaux discusses the explosion of data centers in the state and their implications for ratepayers and the environment.

In this week's Capitol Chats podcast, Sen. Eric Wimberger, R-Oconto, discusses recent bipartisan progress on legislation to combat PFAS contamination and says he expects the bills to make it to the finish line before the session ends. 

On this week's Capitol Chats podcast, U.S. Rep Gwen Moore, D-Milwaukee, talks about her takeaways from a hearing on the immigration enforcement surge in Minnesota, the Democratic effort to impeach Kristi Noem and Democrats' odds in the midterm elections.

In this week's Capitol Chats episode, Dem Missy Hughes, former Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation secretary and CEO, says she will tackle affordability for Wisconsinites if elected to the East Wing.