Wisconsin voters confront new districts: tailgating in Green Bay under redrew maps to make Wisconsin legislative power even more powerful than it might have been
The idea that Wisconsin could be in this position seemed, just a few years ago, almost impossible. Even with Evers in the governor’s office, the Legislature redrew Wisconsin’s maps to make them even more powerful with the help of a then-conservative majority on Wisconsin’s Supreme Court.
In Green Bay, for the first time in many years, Lambeau Field and the surrounding community are included in a campaign that could decide control of the Wisconsin Legislature. A couple of parking lots, local Democrats are tailgating, hoping to get the political power they were given when the state redrew its political maps and made this once-safe GOP district competitive.
“Those maps were not fair to the point that legislators wouldn’t even try,” Gaumer Hutchison said. “They wouldn’t even do doors. They wouldn’t talk to people that might be of a different opinion because they didn’t have to. Now they have to.”
At the tailgating event, Democratic voter Denny Gaumer said that Democrats can force a dialog with Republicans if they win, but conceded they may not win it all. That was never possible, she said, under the state’s old maps.
Source: In swing-state Wisconsin, new districts threaten the GOP hold on the Legislature
What do you want to see in a county? The three things that he talks about with voters and how Republicans can push the balance in the Legislature
Hearly doesn’t fit into any box when it comes to the issues. He thinks women should have a right to abortion with some limits and favors the legalization of marijuana. He is a strong supporter of capitalism and is leery of government overreach. He usually votes for the Republicans.
Bud Hearley used to own a bar located in a garage which was converted into a bar by his family and friends. Hearley, who lives in a nearby district, said there are too many extremes in politics, and he’d like to see more compromise.
Since Republicans took control of state government and redrew legislative district lines, there have been no competitive races for the Legislature.
“Economy, economy, economy,” Buckley said. There is a lot of people hurting out there and we have to figure out how we can help them.
Buckley said the new map created an opening for him because this new district had no incumbent. But he insists he hasn’t really thought about how his race could tip the balance in the Legislature. Buckley has a clear answer about the top three things he talks about with voters.
“We get a lot of stuff done at the county,” Buckley said. I want to take what I’ve learned at the county to the state level. Because I think we need that there.”
Nearby, Patrick Buckley, Spaude’s Republican opponent is also making the rounds. He’s a small business owner and former police officer who currently chairs the board of Brown County, home to Green Bay.
Source: In swing-state Wisconsin, new districts threaten the GOP hold on the Legislature
Why do Wisconsin Republicans vote in the legislature? John Johnson tells us it’s a good place to vote: Wisconsin is not a party
John Johnson, an expert on drawing Assembly districts, said that there were two competitive seats in the state Assembly every year. “There was no chance that majority control of the chamber would change.”
The GOP used its majorities to shift Wisconsin’s politics to the right. When Republican Scott Walker was in the governor’s office, they famously passed laws that weakened unions in a state with deep ties to organized labor.
“Ninety-nine seats in the state Assembly,” Spaude said. There are about a dozen like mine that could either go the other way. The seats will determine who gets the majority.
Spaude is aware of the fact that the district is divided. Donald Trump would have won this district in 2016 if President Joe Biden had not won it in 2020. He says the district is just as purple as the Minnesota Vikings jerseys in the crowd.
Ryan Spaude, the Democratic candidate for the state Capitol in Madison, said that he likes talking about politics. He’s a local prosecutor. I enjoy talking to other people about politics. I also think we can do better than some of the yahoos that are down there in Madison right now.”
The Packers unite people in Wisconsin, he said, calling it a good place in his heart. And in an atmosphere like that, he said there are some things you just don’t talk about, like politics.
Source: In swing-state Wisconsin, new districts threaten the GOP hold on the Legislature
The Packers tailgate band played “Roll Out The Barrel” and “Famelot Sings” at Lambeau Field in Arizona
Tim said that it’s probably the best job he has. It’s just having fun with people, partying with them and making them feel like they’re part of the game.
The Packers tailgate band walked through a crowded lot through chairs and tables with lots of food. Brass and woodwind instruments carried the tune while a makeshift drum set mounted to a stroller kept the time. People got up from their seats when the band played “Roll Out The Barrel”.
People were gathered to watch the Green Bay Packers take on the rival Minnesota Vikings, but in a state and city where football is a staple of the culture, they were also there for the pregame tailgate and the experience of one of Wisconsin’s premier gathering places.
On a recent Sunday, the smell of bratwurst could be smelled from the parking lots that surround Lambeau Field.
“I notice that the amount of resources available to the teachers, directly, it just is not there, any kind of funding for improvements at the school is not there,” says Miriam Hoban, whose child attends a public school in Scottsdale. She says teachers or parents are forced to pay out of pocket for basic necessities like pencils and markers.
Arizona’s program, called Empowerment Scholarship Accounts, is a national model for what advocates call school choice. Vouchers for children with disabilities, as well as students in poorly performing schools, was made available for all children in the Legislature and Gov. Doug Ducey’s administration.
Enrollment in the program leaped from 12,000 students to 78,000 students and growing. The students received a median of $7,409 per year. The state’s budget was more than projected by $93 million and it added up to a total of $718 million.
Three states show how abortion, schools and taxes are at stake in legislature races: Sen. Katie Hobbs’s legacy for the old public school
Republicans control the Legislature with just a two-seat advantage in both the House and Senate. Lawmakers just barely repealed an 1864 law that banned abortion, which made the narrow margin in the national spotlight.
If Democrats win control, they pledge to scale back the voucher program and they can rely on backing from Democratic Gov. Katie Hobbs, elected after the program was expanded. “The previous Legislature passed a massive expansion of school vouchers that lacks accountability and will likely bankrupt this state,” she said after taking office last year.
Critics point to stories about voucher money going for private lessons in luxury cars and ski resort passes, supposedly part of a child’s education. And they say much of the money goes to families that were able to pay for private schools on their own with kids already out of the public schools.
“I don’t expect that they could mount a full-fledged repeal,” Bentz says. It would be difficult for some swing areas of the Democrats. I think there would be regulation on it and probably some changes to the program.
“There was larger class sizes, more budget cuts,” Ellison says of their old public school. We didn’t have a music teacher, we didn’t have an art teacher, and we didn’t have a science teacher.
Source: Three states show how abortion, schools and taxes are at stake in legislature races
The State of Minnesota: What Are the Issues Most Important to a Republican Presidential Election? An Analytic Report from Karch and Fowke
They hope to keep the conversations about what’s going on in their district. They know it is a big ask for a presidential election year.
he believes politics in Minnesota may be different a generation ago than they are today. State politicians are being asked to opine on issues they might think of as national.
Andrew Karch, a political science professor at the University of Minnesota, says candidates face an uphill battle getting voters to pay attention to state issues.
Their candidate facing Fowke is civil engineer Ann Johnson Stewart. She is asking people if they support legal protections for abortion in the state. “One of the reasons I’m running is to make sure we can continue on that track,” she says.
Democrats believe they will do more for their economic well being than Republicans believe they should give more tax cuts to corporations. The national Democratic Party is spending money on the state party.
Democrats say they have laws that address people’s cost of living with laws requiring companies to give paid time off for family leave and free school lunches.
“It’s basically affordability, and they can’t afford, you know, just to go to the grocery store anymore,” Fowke says. “Taxes are high. Inflation is high. They need to find a way to help lower the costs of everything all around them.”
State spending is one of the things the GOP wants to focus on. Fowke, a real estate agent, says that, while voters don’t always know about the work the Legislature does, what she does hear about from them is money.
Republicans think there is a chance to curb the progressive trend. They’re just a few seats behind in the state House. The Senate is tied 33-33 and this vacant seat by the lake could be the tiebreaker that ends the Democrats’ so-called “trifecta” of House, Senate and governorship.
The Democrats have been in charge of the Legislature and governor’s office for two years. More funding has been allocated for affordable housing and public schools. They have also passed protections for patients who need abortion or gender-affirming care.
And they’ve been passing a lot. More than 20 states have imposed new limits on abortion since the U.S. Supreme Court eliminated the federal right to abortion in 2022. In education, state lawmakers create voucher programs and determine public school funding. Access to Medicaid, gun laws, taxes, and criminal sentences are a few of the issues decided by state legislatures.
While the U.S. Congress is often locked in stalemate, Miller says state legislatures that are dominated by one party are able to step into the vacuum to pass laws shaping day-to-day life.
The Democratic party said the goal was within reach. There are 10 legislative races in Kansas being highlighted by the Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee.
The leader of the Senate’s Democratic caucus hopes that the governor can veto and sustain those vetoes, and that will lead to more compromise.
Democrats say they can break the supermajority in this year’s elections — they’d only need to flip two or three seats in either chamber. It would give Kelly a stronger veto in her last two years in office — and Democrats more leverage over what the majority passes.
Republican’s priorities aren’t always veto-proof. Last session, Kelly successfully vetoed three major tax-cut proposals, including one that fell a single vote shy of an override. The Legislature had to call a special session because of the fight.
Kansas is one of a few states where the Legislature sometimes tilts more conservative than the voters. It votes Republican for president and has voted to protect abortion rights twice in a row.
This year, several legislatures could see power shift if just a few seats flip in the election — maybe just a matter of hundreds of votes in some districts. Three states show how important the stakes are around the country.
One of the things that makes this so special is that it gives us a seat at the table, even though it sounds like a huge number.
Source: Three states show how abortion, schools and taxes are at stake in legislature races
The Vacuum Veto-proof Majority of New York State Sens. Tom Croft, a Democrat, and a Former Senator
You can’t get what you want in this business. This business has a little bit of give and take and that’s the beauty of the process,” Croft says. “It’s also the frustrating part.”
Supermajorities, like the one held by Kansas Republicans, have become common. In 29 states, one party or the other had a veto-proof majority as of the recent legislative sessions. Republicans had 20 of those, Democrats nine.
Patrick Miller is a political scientist at Kent State University and his research focuses on political science and politics.