Issue Brief | Governor

Overview

Polling, focus groups, and door-to-door conversations have made it abundantly clear that issues like abortion, rising costs, education, healthcare, and safety are at the top of people’s minds in Wisconsin this year. We want to acknowledge the heightened role that these issues will play in general discourse in the coming months. With that in mind, A Better Wisconsin Together has put together a breakdown of where select public figures stand on these issues. This is by no means a comprehensive list, but merely a guide for navigating informed conversations.

Abortion

Tony Evers

  • Has vetoed 9 different bills that would have restricted abortion access in Wisconsin
  • Has said he will veto any future anti-choice bills that come across his desk
  • Is offering clemency to any Wisconsin doctors being prosecuted for performing abortions
  • Joined AG Josh Kaul in filing a lawsuit challenging Wisconsin’s 1849 criminal abortion ban
  • Called a special session of the State Legislature to repeal the criminal abortion ban
  • Joined state legislators in re-introducing the Abortion Rights Preservation Act this year
  • Has said abortion rights are human rights, and abortion is healthcare
  • Says Wisconsinites should be able to make their own personal healthcare decisions

Tim Michels

  • As a U.S. Senate candidate in 2004, supported a Human Life Amendment to the constitution that says life begins at conception
  • Said in June 2022 he is “100% pro-life” and emergency contraceptives would “be illegal in Wisconsin” under his governorship
  • In 2020 Michels’ Family Foundation made $175,000 in donations to Wisconsin Right to Life, Pro-Life Wisconsin Education Task Force, and a pregnancy crisis center in New York – all are extremist anti-abortion groups that believe pregnant people should be legally required to give birth with no exceptions for rape or incest
    • Michels’ 2004 U.S. Senate campaign received a 100% rating from Pro-Life Wisconsin, meaning they were confident Michels would push for pregnant people to be legally required to give birth with no exceptions for rape or incest
  • Is in full support of Wisconsin’s 1849 criminal abortion ban
  • Said, when the draft Roe v. Wade decision from SCOTUS was leaked in May 2022, he “long worked and prayed for this moment”
  • Said at a meet and greet this year that there are 3 victims of an abortion – the baby, the mother, and the father

Economy

Tony Evers

  • Helped secure Wisconsin a nearly $4 billion budget surplus for 2021-23. Evers’ announced his plan for the budget surplus includes:
    • $150 tax rebate to every Wisconsin resident
    • Institute a Caregiver Tax Credit for 370,000 Wisconsinites
    • Expand the Child Tax Credit to more than 100,000 families
    • Earmark $750 million for Wisconsin schools
  • Allocated $100 million to fund high speed internet expansion across the state
  • Called a special session of the state legislature to vote on the above mentioned surplus plan
  • Signed an executive order to prohibit gas price gouging
  • Unveiled in 2021 his “Less for Rx” plan, which aims to lower out-of-pocket costs for Wisconsinites in need of prescription medication refills and increase transparency from pharmaceutical companies
  • Created a Task Force on Reducing Prescription Drug Prices, a group of experts tasked with making recommendations on how best to lower the cost of prescription drugs
  • Guided Wisconsin to a record low unemployment rate of 2.8%
  • Helped rank Wisconsin first in the country in aid allocated to businesses, and second in the country for federal aid directed to economic development during the COVID-19 pandemic
  • Expanded Wisconsin’s Main Street Bounceback Program, which gives grant money to small businesses across the state
  • Allocated $1 billion to support small businesses in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic
    • This allocation helped 100,000 Wisconsin businesses keep their doors open and helped 3,000 Wisconsin businesses open new storefronts
  • Allocated $27 million to live event small businesses across the state, to support Wisconsin’s entertainment industry amid the COVID-19 pandemic
  • Signed a 15% tax cut, one of the largest in state history, that benefitted 86% of Wisconsin taxpayers and gave relief to roughly 2.4 million tax filers
  • Has released an updated plan to help Wisconsinites with rising costs including additional tax savings target to the middle class, expanded homestead, child care, caregiver and veterans and surviving spouses tax credits. In addition the plan includes a cap on insulin prescription co-pays and a repeal of the minimum markup law on gasoline.
  • Wants to repeal the personal property tax, saying it’s “an unfair, costly tax that is levied on small businesses”
  • Released the Badger Bounceback plan, which provides an outline to ensure Wisconsin’s economy bounces back better than it was pre-pandemic
  • In the biennial budget, included plans to legalize and tax cannabis in order to reinvest the revenue into rural communities
  • Has led the effort to repair nearly 5,000 miles of highways and nearly 1,500 bridges all across Wisconsin

Tim Michels

Guns / Safety

Tony Evers

  • Supports universal background checks for gun-buyers
  • Wants Wisconsin to adopt red-flag laws (supported by over 80% of Wisconsinites) to keep guns out of the hands of people deemed a danger to themselves or others
  • Has plans to invest in after-school programs, addiction treatment, and mental health services in high crime areas of Wisconsin
  • In order to make Wisconsin’s criminal justice system more fair and equitable, has proposed changes to the bail system which would allow judges to consider safety risk when determining bail
  • Has championed for more state funding to local public safety agencies
  • Said he wants to work with Republican colleagues on gun safety laws, but that putting more guns on the streets is not the best way to protect Wisconsinites
  • Called a special session of the state legislature to take up gun control bills that would expand background checks and create extreme risk protection orders (AKA red-flag laws) supported by over 80% of Wisconsinites
  • Vetoed bills this year that would have put more guns into schools, churches, and the hands of teenagers
  • Struck down an attempt to prevent federal bans on firearms
  • Allocated $100 million to ensuring safer communities including:
    • $19 million to tribal law enforcement agencies
    • $20 million to criminal justice initiatives
    • $16 million to reduce pandemic-related backlogs in criminal cases
  • Signed a bill ensuring first responders get the care they need for PTSD
  • Allocated $36 million to 42 infrastructure projects that will enhance safety through fixing Wisconsin’s roads

Tim Michels

  • Is a proponent for building more prisons in Wisconsin
  • Said he would “lift restrictions on firearms” [Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, 4/27/22]
  • Is opposed to assault weapon bans
  • Said he is “pro-gun” and “know[s] how to use them”
  • Did not return requests for comment from reporters in the wake of the Uvalde, Texas school shooting this year
  • Said he would not support red-flag laws, which would keep guns out of the hands of people deemed a danger to themselves or others and are supported by over 80% of Wisconsinites
  • Said he would not consider measures to protect domestic violence victims from gun violence, saying people shouldn’t have their firearms taken away because an “angry ex, ex spouse makes a complaint”
  • Erroneously claimed an endorsement from the National Rifle Association

Healthcare

Tony Evers

  • Said he will do everything in his power to protect reproductive healthcare in Wisconsin
  • Has said abortion is healthcare
  • Created $28 million “Healthy Baby, Healthy Mother” initiative in the state budget that would improve overall access to prenatal care and reduce racial disparities in maternal healthcare
  • Wants to expand BadgerCare to provide more equitable access to affordable healthcare in Wisconsin
  • In 2022 has allocated $14 million to improve and expand mental health services across the state
  • Has invested $6 million in programs to address the shortage of healthcare workers
  • Unveiled in 2021 his “Less for Rx” plan, which aims to lower out-of-pocket costs for Wisconsinites in need of prescription medication refills and increase transparency from pharmaceutical companies
  • Created a Task Force on Reducing Prescription Drug Prices, a group of experts tasked with making recommendations on how best to lower the cost of prescription drugs

Tim Michels

  • Supports the expansion of privatized healthcare
  • Opposes universal healthcare
  • Backed a bill package that would support importing prescription drugs from Canada
  • Said in June 2022 he is “100% pro-life” and emergency contraceptives would “be illegal in Wisconsin” under his governorship
  • In 2020 Michels’ Family Foundation made $175,000 in donations to Wisconsin Right to Life, Pro-Life Wisconsin Education Task Force, and a pregnancy crisis center in New York – all are extremist anti-abortion groups that believe pregnant people should be legally required to give birth with no exceptions for rape or incest
    • Michels’ 2004 U.S. Senate campaign received a 100% rating from Pro-Life Wisconsin, meaning they were confident Michels would push for pregnant people to be legally required to give birth

Education

Tony Evers

Tim Michels

  • Blamed teacher unions for parents not turning out to the ballot box for school board elections
  • Said he would sign a ban on Critical Race Theory
  • Described it as “the definition of insanity” to increase education funding
  • Said he would have signed bills that banned school lessons on racism [Milwaukee Journal Sentinel]
  • Supports the concept of vouchers that would increase local property taxes by over $570 million, and which would take funding from Wisconsin public schools and send them to private schools
  • Wouldn’t say whether his plan to incentivize high schoolers going into the trades would include DACA students
  • Wants to break up Milwaukee Public Schools
  • Has pushed for expanded/universal vouchers
  • Has said he would instate a “parental bill of rights” that would allow people to sue teachers and schools