WisPolitics of State Affairs

On this week’s episode of 🎥 WisconsinEye Public Affairs Network #Rewind, WisPolitics of State Affairs' JR Ross and Wisconsin Public Radio Anya van Wagtendonk discuss Mandela Barnes dropping out of the Democratic Party of Wisconsin primary for #governor, how candidates performed during Tuesday’s 🗣 debate, an appeal court upholding #Act10 and more. https://lnkd.in/gUf_DWQ5

Francesca Hong, in a statement, praised Mandela Barnes for helping to grow the progressive movement. “To everyone who supported Mandela because you believe working people deserve a government that fights for them, I welcome you to our movement,” Hong said. David Crowley got back into the race July 18 in what was seen as an effort to prevent Hong, a democratic socialist, from winning the party’s nomination. “To everyone who backed Mandela: there's a place for you in what we're building,” Crowley said in a statement. “It's going to take all of us to beat Tom Tiffany. Let's get to work.” A 📊 poll released Tuesday by Main Street Alliance (Main Streer Action) which represents small business owners, and #UpNorthNews, a progressive media outlet, found 27% of Barnes votes named Crowley as their second choice, while 26% picked Hong. https://lnkd.in/gmsw-rnD

ICYMI: On this week’s 🎙 #CapitolChats, Dem state treasurer candidate and Marathon County Supervisor Yee Leng Xiong discusses the upcoming primary 🗳 #election, his plans to increase fiscal transparency and his #Hmong heritage. https://lnkd.in/gQVecMgK

Dem Mandela Barnes today dropped his bid for governor, saying it’s become clear who the party’s nominee will be. Barnes didn’t say who that was during a video he posted on social media. But state Rep. Francesca Hong has been consolidating support in the race for the Democratic Party of Wisconsin nomination. https://lnkd.in/gaEKBqYu

🗣 Quotes of the week "I don’t think this is a partisan issue. I think #Americans 🇺🇲 want to see this issue addressed. … Passing it with the numbers we did, with the bipartisan support I think shows a strong push to the Senate where we hope we can get it all across the line and signed into law." - U.S. Rep. Bryan Steil, R-Janesville, touting the House passage of his #StopInsiderTrading Act. "There’s other measures that are just much weaker than a stronger #bipartisan bill that would have been a real ban and would have covered the executive branch as well. This feels like a fig leaf 🍃 rather than a real attempt at addressing what is a serious problem." - U.S. Rep. Mark Pocan, D-Town of Vermont, who voted against the bill. 🗞 This week’s news ▪️ U.S. Sen. Ron Johnson questioned Anthony #Fauci on his role in an alleged conspiracy to suppress information about #COVID19vaccine injuries. ▪️ U.S. Sen. Tammy Baldwin at a Senate subcommittee hearing on #AI called for supporting entry-level workers. ▪️ U.S. Sen. Tammy Baldwin is continuing to highlight the impact of #Medicaid cuts following the passage of Republicans’ #OneBigBeautifulBill act last year. ▪️ In the second ad of her campaign for the 3rd CD, Dem Emily Berge says she’ll stand up for the people of #Wisconsin, not “the people who write the biggest checks.” ▪️ President Donald #Trump reiterated his “complete and total endorsement” of 7th CD contender Michael Alfonso in a “tele-rally” for the Republican. ▪️ Northwoods Future PAC reported a $405,270 media buy backing Michael Alfonso as the PAC rolls out a new ad in the 7th CD touting the former podcast producer. https://lnkd.in/gidRS6nJ

🚨 Marquette University Law School Poll : 38% of Dem primary 📮 voters surveyed backed Francesca Hong, while 16% supported Mandela Barnes and 7% favored David Crowley. Joel Brennan and Kelda Roys were backed by 2% each. 🤔 When undecided voters were pushed to pick a candidate, #Hong’s support jumped to 46%, while #Barnes was at 21%, #Crowley 11%, and #Brennan and #Roys at 4% each. https://lnkd.in/giW4UdjV

Two Dem members of the Wisconsin Elections Commission and the Republican National Committee want to intervene in a #lawsuit seeking to allow #Wisconsin voters 📮 to spoil their #absenteeballots if they change their minds on who they want to support. Ann Jacobs and Mark Thomsen voted against Elections Commission guidance issued earlier this month barring voters from getting a new #absenteeballot 🗳 if they wanted to #vote for someone else. The pair argued in their brief filed with the Dane County Circuit Court that the commission had previously allowed those voting absentee to ➡️ #spoil their ballots and cast a new one. They contend it was inappropriate for the commission to vote 4-2 on July 9 -- two weeks after ballots 📨 began going out to voters -- to change the rules of the #election. https://lnkd.in/gnXV-ryB

David Crowley, a Democratic Party of Wisconsin candidate for #governor, says #voters "aren't worried about 🐦 tweets" from 2010 linked to an account registered to Crowley that included racist, homophobic and sexist posts. The Milwaukee County executive told WISN-TV’s #UPFRONT, which is produced in conjunction with WisPolitics of State Affairs, that the account created more than 15 years ago could be accessed “by many individuals.” He 🗣 acknowledged that it included “offensive and cruel comments.” “I want folks to understand I don't condone that type of language, and anybody who knows me knows that I wouldn't use this type of language," Crowley 🎙 said. Also on the show, Rep. Mark Pocan, Bill McCoshen, Joe Zepecki and Marquette University Law School's Charles Franklin 🎥 https://lnkd.in/guPn4wxX

WISN-TV will host and broadcast a live 📽 debate on Tuesday, July 28, 2026, from 7:00 p.m. – 8:00 p.m. The debate, part of the station’s ongoing ‘WISN 12 Commitment 2026’ coverage, includes the primary candidates vying to become the Democratic Party of Wisconsin nominee in the race for #Wisconsin governor. It will feature Mandela Barnes, Joel Brennan, David Crowley, Francesca Hong and Kelda Roys. https://lnkd.in/gbrxpY-f

On this week’s episode of WisconsinEye Public Affairs Network #Rewind, Wisconsin Public Radio's Anya van Wagtendonk and The Associated Press's Scott Bauer discuss Milwaukee County Exec David Crowley rejoining the Dem gubernatorial field, the latest 📊 Marquette University Law School poll, reaction to a Madison Police Department shooting, a lawsuit challenging Wisconsin Elections Commission guidance on spoiling #absenteeballots 🗳 and more. https://lnkd.in/gSPcpUtR