Wisconsin Right Now

(The Center Square) – Most voers in Wisconsin haven’t decided who they support to be the state’s next governor, according to a new Marquette Law School poll.

The poll showed that 81% of Democrats and 70% of Republicans have not made their choice in a crowded field to replace Gov. Tony Evers in the Aug. 11, 2026, primary. The general election is Nov. 3, 2026.

Those polled were asked which candidates they knew about with 39% saying they recognize and have an opinion of Rep. Tom Tiffany while 17% recognize Washington County Executive Josh Schoemann and 11% recognize medical service technician Andy Manske.

Of the Democrats Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley has the highest recognition at 26%,with Lt. Gov. Sara Rodriguez at 25%, State Rep. Francesca Hong at 22%, state Sen. Kelda Roys at 17%, former Wisconsin Economic Development Corp. CEO Missy Hughes at 16%; former state Rep. Brett Hulsey at 15% and Milwaukee beer vendor Ryan Strnad at 11%.

The poll asked 846 registered voters the questions between Oct. 15-22.

The poll had similar responses related to supreme court candidates Maria Lazar and Chris Taylor, with 86% saying they don’t have enough information on Lazar and 84% saying the same about Taylor while 69% of those polled said they did not have enough information on what each candidate stands for.

(The Center Square) – The Biden administration’s probe into President Donald Trump’s 2020 election loss progressed far beyond investigating potential fraud and potentially targeted 156 conservatives and conservative organizations.

Whistleblower-sourced records, made public Wednesday by Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, show that the Arctic Frost probe, pushed by Biden administration special counsel Jack Smith, conducted extensive and legally dubious investigations into Trump-supporting Republicans nationwide.

Smith, the FBI, and the Department of Justice spent thousands of taxpayer dollars to collect personal cellular phone data, conduct dozens of interviews, and issue 197 subpoenas to 34 individuals and 163 businesses.

“Arctic Frost was the vehicle by which FBI agents and DOJ prosecutors could improperly investigate the entire Republican political apparatus. Contrary to what Smith has said publicly, this was clearly a fishing expedition,” Grassley told reporters Wednesday.

“If this had happened to Democrats, they’d be as rightly outraged as we are outraged,” he added. “We’re making these records public in the interest of transparency and so that the American people can draw their own conclusions.”

The records reveal some of the targets on page 60, including multiple state Republican party chairs or former chairs; many state lawmakers and attorneys; individuals believed at the time to be “fake electors;” and conservatives involved in election integrity efforts.

Records of additional individuals and organizations targeted, beginning on page 101, list everyone from Trump campaign staffers to former senior White House advisor Stephen Miller and White House Deputy Chief of Staff Dan Scavino. The list spans multiple states and includes some significant redactions.

The Arctic Frost team also collected phone records of at least nine Republican senators without notifying them, and attempted but failed to collect phone data on others.

Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Wis., called the records “nothing short of a Biden administration enemies list” and deemed it “far worse, orders of magnitude worse” than the Watergate scandal of the Nixon administration.

“People need to realize how politicized the Biden administration turned all these agencies,” Johnson said. “It’s outrageous, it should shock every American…we need to get to the bottom of this…so that this doesn’t happen again in America.”

The revelations build on previous documents showing that the Biden administration targeted 92 conservative groups, including the Republican National Committee; Republican Attorneys General Association; the America First Policy Institute; and Turning Point USA, the organization previously headed by political commentator Charlie Kirk, who was fatally shot in September.

In a Truth Social post Wednesday, Trump called the investigators a “disgrace to humanity.”

“These thugs should all be investigated and put in prison,” he said. “Deranged Jack Smith is a criminal!!!”

(The Center Square) – For the first time in the past 10 years of polling, more Wisconsin voters said they would vote against a school referendum than for it.

Fifty-seven percent of voters said they would vote against a referendum in the new Marquette Law School poll.

That compares to 52% in June, 57% in February and 55% in January saying they would vote for a school referendum if it was proposed by a local school board.

The poll asked 846 registered voters the questions between Oct. 15-22.

“This is one to keep an eye on to see if this trend continues or it’s just a fluke of this sample,” Law School Poll Director Charles Franklin said.

The poll also showed that 56% said they believe reducing property taxes is more important than increasing spending on public schools.

That compared to 57% in June, 58% in February and 55% in January who said the same.

Historical Marquette polling showed that 50% first said they would prioritize reducing property taxes in June 2023 after years of polling showing that spending more on public schools was more important to voters.

That total has trended up since the 2023 polling.

“People have gotten more concerned about school spending and property taxes in particular,” Franklin said.

The polling comes after Milwaukee voters said they would prefer consolidating schools over another property tax referendum increase when Embold Research asked 535 likely Milwaukee voters in 2026 the questions between Oct. 6-10 on behalf of City Forward Collective and CFC Action Fund.

Legislators are currently discussing a bill that would require districts to file the required paperwork before being eligible for a referendum.

There also are a set of bills in the works on school consolidation.

Public school enrollment in Wisconsin is expected to decline by 10,000 students annually for the five-year period that began in 2023-24 and the trend is expected to continue.

The bill would provide a consolidation model process, funding for consolidation or shared service feasibility studies and assistance for schools as they try to match up differing levies and determine school board positions when consolidation occurs.