Evers Has a Very Busy Spring

Governor Tony Evers. File photo by Jeramey Jannene.

The active spring of Democratic Gov. Tony Evers offers valuable feedback as he, his family and political advisors get ready to make the major decision of whether he should seek a third term next year.

Consider Evers’ actions in the last few weeks, as he gauges public support for a potential re-election bid. No governor has won a third term since Republican Tommy Thompson in 1994.

Evers defied President Donald Trump‘s border czar, who the governor feels threatened him with arrest. He stumped the state advocating for the next budget to be the one he recommended in February. And, when Republican legislators dumped 600 of his spending priorities from the 2025-2027 budget they are drafting, Evers lambasted the “do-nothing Legislature.” He also touted state government’s many lawsuits against the Trump Administration’s executive orders and spending cuts.

And it’s only mid-May.

Folks, let’s consider the spring-into-summer paths taken by Wisconsin’s euchre-loving governor.

In an April 21 memo, Evers advised state employees to not answer questions from ICE agents, to limit them to the public acres of buildings, and to seek legal advice before cooperating with them.

Asked about that memo, Trump’s border czar Tom Homan said, “if you cross that line of impediment or knowingly harboring [and] concealing an illegal alien, that is a felony, and we’ll treat it as such….Wait to see what happens.”

A “disgusted” governor said Homan’s comments were an arrest threat. “I am not afraid,” Evers declared in a video message. “I’ve never encouraged or directed anyone to break any laws, or commit any crimes.

“Following the law matters,” Evers added. “In this country, the federal government doesn’t get to abuse its power to threaten everyday Americans…[T]he federal government doesn’t get to arrest American citizens who have not committed a crime…. [W]e don’t threaten to persecute people just because they belong to a different political party.

“We now have a federal government that will threaten or arrest an elected official — or even everyday American citizens — who have broken no laws, committed no crimes, and done nothing wrong.”

Responding, Assembly Speaker Robin Vos said Evers was “instructing his employees to either break federal law or not cooperate with law enforcement.”

The exchange followed the April 25 arrest of Milwaukee County Circuit Court Judge Hannah Dugan, who is charged with obstructing justice by trying to help an illegal immigrant scheduled to appear before her escape being arrested by federal officers. She pleaded not guilty last week, after her indictment by a federal grand jury. On May 14 her lawyers filed a motion to dismiss her case, arguing for starters that she has judicial immunity for official acts.

In March and April, Evers and his appointees visited every corner of the state, advocating for the hundreds of provisions in his February budget proposal — changes he said would make 2025 the Year of the Kid.

During the week of April 21, which included Earth Day events and the NFL Draft in Green Bay, Evers visited six communities: Bayfield, Hobart, Waunakee, Spring Green, Lake Mills and Hudson.

On May 8, Republicans who control the Legislature dumped 600 of Evers’ proposed spending items as they started to build their own budget.

Joint Finance Committee co-chair Howard Marklein said Evers wanted total state government spending to explode by 20%, 1,300 more workers hired, and taxes to go up by $3.2 billion by mid-2027.

“My constituents…they are totally supportive of us not starting from this inflated budget,” Marklein added.

Evers’ priorities dumped by GOP legislators included the centerpiece of his Year of the Kid budget — a $442 million state Child Care Counts program that would replace federal subsidies scheduled to end in June.

Responding, Evers denounced a “do-nothing Legislature” and added, “Republicans consistently reject basic, commonsense proposals that can help kids, families, farmers, seniors and Wisconsinites across our state.”

Evers has also authorized Democratic Attorney General Josh Kaul to repeatedly sue the Trump Administration over its proposed cuts to federal spending for health care, education and social services.

What the 73-year-old Evers heard during his busy spring will play a role in his decision to seek re-election in November 2026. The last two-term Democratic governor, Jim Doyle, announced that he would not seek a third term in August 2009, more than a year before the next election.

Team Evers will also follow public and private polls. In the March Marquette University Law School poll, 49% of registered voters approved of his job as governor, while 44% disapproved. This was a drop from his 51% approval rating in October 2024.

Steven Walters started covering the Capitol in 1988. Contact him at stevenscotwalters@gmail.com.