Wisconsin Politics & News
The Daily Signal examines Wisconsin state politics, voting law battles, fiscal policy, education debates, and the Badger State’s crucial role in national elections.
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Milwaukee Judge Guilty of Felony Obstruction During ICE Arrest
THE CENTER SQUARE—Milwaukee Judge Hannah Dugan was found guilty of a felony charge of obstruction by a jury Thursday in a case involving the judge’s actions related to a defendant in her court that Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers were attempting to arrest outside of the courtroom. The jury returned the verdict at 8:38 p.m….Jon Styf -
Supreme Court Rules Wisconsin Court Discriminated Against Catholic Charities Bureau
The Supreme Court has unanimously overturned a Wisconsin Supreme Court decision that prevented the Catholic Charities Bureau from receiving a religious tax exemption. Justice Sonia Sotomayor penned the opinion for the court, while Justices Clarence Thomas and Ketanji Brown Jackson each filed concurring opinions. The court, in its opinion released Thursday, held that Wisconsin’s court…Mary Mobley -
FBI Arrests Wisconsin Judge for ‘Obstructing’ ICE Arrest
The FBI has arrested a Wisconsin county circuit judge for “obstructing an immigration arrest.” “Just now, the FBI arrested Judge Hannah Dugan out of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, on charges of obstruction—after evidence of Judge Dugan obstructing an immigration arrest operation last week,” FBI Director Kash Patel wrote on X on Friday morning. “We believe Judge…Virginia Allen -
Wisconsin Farmer Again Challenges USDA Program Rules as Discriminatory
THE CENTER SQUARE—The U.S. Department of Agriculture continues to discriminate in many of its programs, according to a new letter from the Wisconsin Institute for Law and Liberty. Wisconsin Institute for Law and Liberty wrote the letter telling the USDA that it will file a lawsuit if the issue is not corrected within 60 days. Wisconsin Institute…Jon Styf -
Progressives Keep Wisconsin Supreme Court; More Democrat US House Seats Likely
Wisconsin residents voted on Tuesday to elect Susan Crawford as the next member of their state supreme court, according to the Associated Press, which declared Crawford the winner. The vote will put the liberals in charge of the state’s highest court during a time when the court’s decisions on congressional redistricting in the state could…Jacob Adams -
Nominally Nonpartisan, Wisconsin High Court Election Likely to Set Ideological Direction of Bench
Voters in Wisconsin head to the polls on Tuesday to decide the ideological majority and direction of their state Supreme Court. The race involves who will replace outgoing left-leaning Wisconsin Supreme Court Justice Ann Walsh Bradley. Republicans are supporting Waukesha County Circuit Court Judge Brad Schimel, while Democrats are backing Dane County Circuit Court Judge…Jacob Adams -
How Wisconsin Supreme Court Race Could Affect Balance of Power in Congress
The razor-thin Republican majority in the U.S. House of Representatives could hinge on the outcome of a Wisconsin Supreme Court election set for April 1 between Republican-supported candidate Brad Schimel and Democrat-backed candidate Susan Crawford. Elections for the highest court in the Badger State are officially nonpartisan, but the Wisconsin Supreme Court has seven justices,…Jacob Adams -
3 Reasons Elon Musk and George Soros Are Fighting It Out in Wisconsin’s Supreme Court Race
The Wisconsin Supreme Court race on April 1 may be technically nonpartisan, but it is already shaping up to be a battle between two billionaires with incompatible political worldviews: Elon Musk and George Soros. The race appears on track to become the most expensive judicial election in U.S. history. Democrats have spent almost $18 million…Tyler O’Neil -
Battleground Wisconsin Set for Referendum on Enshrining Voter ID in State Constitution
Wisconsin, one of the seven presidential battlegrounds states, could become one of just a handful of states to have voter ID requirements enshrined in its state constitution. A total of 36 states have some form of ID requirement to vote, although only 22 require photo IDs, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures. However,…Fred Lucas -
Wisconsin to Probe How 193 Absentee Ballots Went Uncounted
The top election oversight body in the battleground state of Wisconsin kicked off 2025 by launching a bipartisan investigation of uncounted ballots in the state’s capital city. Election integrity advocates say that’s a good first step. The Wisconsin Elections Commission—equally split with Republicans and Democrats—voted 6-0 on Thursday to investigate why the city of Madison…Fred Lucas -
How Government Unions Won in Wisconsin by Stacking Judicial Deck
Remember when impassioned protesters stormed a Capitol building and disrupted the democratic process? No, not the mob that stormed the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. I’m talking about the pro-union one that stormed the Wisconsin state Capitol on Feb. 21, 2011. More than a decade ago, hundreds of protesters charged into and occupied the state…David Osborne -
Badger State Blues: Why Wisconsin Families Can’t Afford the American Dream
McDonald’s has been in the headlines recently, but fewer and fewer Americans can afford to eat at the classic hamburger chain. Perhaps the best summary of Bidenflation, soaring inflation under the Biden-Harris administration, can be found in the wisdom of Craig Ervin, a welder in Eau Claire, Wisconsin. Ervin told me: “I used to go…Andrew Weiss -
Who Requested 30,084 Mail-In Ballots From Fishy Addresses in Wisconsin?
In what remains a nail-bitingly close presidential race, fewer than 25,000 votes could decide Wisconsin and its 10 Electoral College votes. Donald Trump won the Badger State in 2016 by 22,748 ballots. In 2020, he lost it by 20,982 votes. Given these low numbers and high stakes, this week’s findings by CommonSense Elections/StopBogusBallots.com are deeply…Deroy Murdock -
Priced Out of the American Dream: A Would-Be Homebuyer’s View From Wisconsin
EAU CLAIRE, Wis.—Craig Ervin, a skilled welder from my hometown of Eau Claire, is forced to rent. “I always wanted my own place, but I don't even bother looking anymore. Gets my hopes up, then I see the prices. It's just depressing how expensive it's gotten,” he said. Like many Wisconsinites, Ervin is wondering how…Andrew Weiss -
‘Cardboard Boxes … Unsecured Sacks’: Wisconsin Struggles to Set Standard for Ballot Drop Boxes
Voters will use ballot drop boxes again this fall in Wisconsin, among a few battleground states that could decide the Nov. 5 presidential election, prompting concern among election integrity advocates. The dissenting opinion in the state Supreme Court ruling reinstating the drop boxes argued that insufficient standards could allow “unattended cardboard box” or an “unsecured…Fred Lucas -
‘Insane’: Ron Johnson Slams Wisconsin DOC for Housing Transgender Prisoners With Women
Republican Wisconsin Sen. Ron Johnson reacted Tuesday to a new report from The Daily Signal on the Wisconsin Department of Corrections housing a transgender prisoner, a child rapist, with women. “Housing biological males in women’s prisons is insane,” Johnson said Tuesday. “Forcing a woman to share a cell with a biological male is even worse.”…Mary Margaret Olohan -
Wisconsin Supreme Court Rejects Anti-Choice Position on Schooling
Liberal activist Kirk Bangstad’s Minocqua Brewing Co. SuperPAC on Oct. 12 filed a petition with the Wisconsin Supreme Court that sought to dismantle the state’s popular school choice programs and shutter the state’s independent charter schools. Bangstad hired international law firm Perkins Coie LLP—armed with more than $1 billion in revenue and 1,120 attorneys—to take…Dean McGee -
DEFUNDING DEI: Wisconsin Lawmaker’s Tactics Show Way to Kill Radical University Programs
Napoleon said that to master the art of war, you must “read over and over again” the campaigns of history’s most successful generals. The same advice applies if you want to master the art of legislating: You must study the strategies of the most successful legislators. To that end, any lawmaker that wants to thwart…GianCarlo Canaparo -
Wisconsin Court Sides With Parental Rights Over School District’s Gender Transition Policy
A school district’s policy “to enable and affirm a minor student’s transition to a different gender identity at school without parental consent violates parents’ constitutional right to determine the appropriate medical and health care for their children,” a Wisconsin court ruled Tuesday. “This victory represents a major win for parental rights,” said Wisconsin Institute for Law and Liberty Deputy…Joshua Arnold -
Firebombed Wisconsin Pro-Life Center Has Not Heard From FBI Since May
A Wisconsin pro-life organization set ablaze and vandalized with the message “If abortions aren’t safe, then you aren’t either” says it has not communicated with the Federal Bureau of Investigation about the horrifying attack since May, when the attack originally occurred. Wisconsin Family Action, the 501(c)(4) arm of Wisconsin Family Council, said earlier this year…Mary Margaret Olohan