MADISON, Wis. — The closeness of this November’s election did not surprise Gov. Tony Evers, nor the fact that while he won reelection, Wisconsinites sent more Republicans to the state Legislature than they did two years ago.
“We are a purple state,” Evers said.
What turned the tide for him could have been the decision by the U.S. Supreme Court that summer to overturn the precedent set by Roe v. Wade, but Evers said that is not the full picture.
“You have a series of other issues around abortion and, you know, voting rights and things like that, that people talked about,” he said. “But at the end of the day, I think people feel comfortable with our accomplishments.”
Those accomplishments included things like road funding and education that were part of the platform the governor ran on this campaign. In the new year, however, when pen meets paper and those promises turn into policies, Evers has to work with the state Legislature to get those into law.
That first push will come early next year when the governor provides a draft of the state budget for legislators to work on.
“We have to have shared revenue for our municipalities and our counties. No question about that,” Evers said, referring to financial aid the state gives to municipalities.
“People continue to talk about our public schools,” he added. “The idea that somehow schools have to go to a referendum in order to keep the doors open, or to do things better than they’re doing now. That’s just wrong-headed because you have winners and losers.”
Those policy asks will have to go through Republicans in the state Legislature, who have indicated may not be open to writing a blank check on education funding without other reforms — expanding school choice, for instance — in return.
For their part, Republicans have pushed to meet Democrats on issues like the state’s abortion ban — adding exceptions for rape or incest into state law where those exceptions do not currently exist. That has been a non-starter for Evers.
“Because it leaves the 1849 law that bans abortions … just changing a few exceptions to an 1849 law, that ban is not where the people in Wisconsin want to be,” he said.
READ MORE: Neubauer talks Democratic priorities for the new year
This is part of a series of News 3 Now political year-end interviews that includes Assembly Speaker Robin Vos and Rep. Greta Neubauer.
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