In Wisconsin, Democrat Tony Evers upset incumbent Republican Scott Walker in the governor’s race.

Evers denied Walker a third term with 49.6% of the vote to Walker’s 48.4%.

Walker lost two key groups he carried in 2014, independents and college graduates.

Evers won in a landslide in urban Dane County and Milwaukee County, winning by more than 150,000 votes and 140,000 votes, respectively.

The Wisconsin Legislature plans to call an extraordinary session to allow the Senate to consider a bill authorizing $100 million in tax incentives to prevent paper giant Kimberly-Clark from shutting down.

If passed, Assembly Bill 963 would authorize Kimberly-Clark to claim as income and franchise tax credits a percentage of the business’s eligible payroll for full-time employees.

Gov. Scott Walker said he is fighting to keep hundreds of jobs in Wisconsin. The extraordinary session will be held on Monday, November 12.

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Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker issued an executive order calling special elections for two legislative seats.

He initially refused to call the elections, defying a court order issued last week. He lost on appeal Wednesday and was forced to call the elections by noon today.

Special primary elections will be held on May 15 with special general elections on June 12.

Republican lawmakers sought to change election laws after the court order was issued so Walker could avoid calling the elections; they have since abandoned their efforts.

Wisconsin Republicans plan to call an extraordinary session to amend state election law rather than comply with a court order to hold special elections.

Last week, a judge ordered Gov. Walker to schedule special elections by March 29 to fill two vacant legislative seats.

Current law requires the governor to call a special election for any vacancy occurring prior to May of an election year.

Walker doesn’t believe the law applies in this case, as the vacancies occurred in December; he claims the requirement only applies to vacancies occurring between January and May of an election year.

Democrats argue Walker is refusing to hold the elections because Republicans may lose the seats.

Dane County Circuit Judge Josann Reynolds ruled Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker must call special elections to fill legislative vacancies.

Two seats were left vacant in December when Republican lawmakers resigned to work in Walker’s administration.

Reynolds, whom Walker appointed in 2014, found he has a duty to call the elections; failure to do so would infringe on the voting rights of the districts’ residents.

He must issue an order by March 29 calling elections within the next 11 weeks.

After being rejected by the Wisconsin Senate, a bipartisan commission has voted to retain Mike Haas through April 30 as the state’s top election official.

Attorney General Brad Schimel has told Gov. Scott Walker someone new must be appointed in order to be in compliance with state law.

Commissioner Mark Thomsen, however, contends only the bipartisan commission has the authority to remove Haas from the post.

Upcoming elections take place on February 20 and April 3.

Wisconsin lawmakers are scheduled to convene this morning specifically to consider and act upon legislation to bring Foxconn, the world’s largest electronics manufacturing services provider, to the state.

Though the legislature is still in regular session, Gov. Walker called a special legislative session to take advantage of the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for Wisconsin to lead the nation in high-tech manufacturing.

The legislation to be considered could bring 13,000 direct Foxconn jobs, 10,000 direct construction jobs, and 22,000 additional project-related jobs to the state.

Gov. Scott Walker called the Wisconsin Legislature into special session on Thursday, January 5.  The Legislature is currently in regular session; a special session operates under different rules to speed up the legislative process.

Citing a public health crisis, Walker called the special session so lawmakers would consider a package of heroin and opioid abuse bills. The Senate will consider the bills after they are introduced and move through committee.

Walker also issued executive orders directing state agencies to follow the recommendations of his opioid abuse task force and directing the Department of Health Services to apply for federal funding to help in its response efforts.

Photo of Gov. Scott Walker courtesy of Gage Skidmore on Wikimedia Commons.

Wisconsin state ethics commissioner Robert Kinney announced his resignation Monday. Kinney cited his disappointment in the agency as his reason for stepping down. He claims the relatively new Ethics Commission operates too secretly and does not adequately enforce ethics, campaign finance and lobbying rules.

Moreover, he contends several members of the commission demonstrate an obvious lack of commitment to the underlying purpose of the agency. In June, Gov. Scott Walker appointed Kinney from a pool of candidates provided by the Democratic Party.

State Sen. Rick Gudex took his own life on October 12, 2016. Gudex was elected to represent District 18 in 2012 and served in 2015 as the president pro tempore before announcing he would not run for re-election in 2016. Gudex was a former mayor of Mayville and also a member of the Fond du Lac Common Council.

Gov. Scott Walker does not plan to call a special election to fill Gudex’s seat as the Nov. 8 election is less than a month away, leaving the seat vacant until January when the new term begins.

On December 16, Gov. Scott Walker signed two bills amending campaign finance rules, increasing political contribution limits, and replacing the state’s Government Accountability Board (GAB) with two new agencies, one overseeing elections and the other overseeing ethics.

Other changes include resuming the practice of allowing lawmakers to determine funding for investigations of public officials, which had been halted when GAB was formed, and in changing the commission members from nonpartisan judges to appointees chosen by the governor and legislative leaders.

Kevin Kennedy, chief administrator of GAB, said there are still many questions to be answered regarding the transition. He said his agency would work with the governor’s administration to ensure a smooth transition.

The campaign finance bill is effective January 1, 2016. The new commissions replace GAB on July 1, 2016.

Two bills passed the Wisconsin Senate early this month, likely changing the state’s future political landscape. One bill eliminates the Government Accountability Board and creates two bipartisan commissions to oversee ethics and elections.

The other bill overhauls state campaign finance laws. It doubles campaign contribution limits and defines express advocacy. Critics argue it creates a potentially dangerous loophole for candidates to loosely coordinate with outside advocacy groups.

The Assembly passed both bills in October but must vote on the revised versions with Senate amendments. It will consider both bills on November 16 in an extraordinary session. The bills are expected to pass and be delivered to Gov. Scott Walker by the end of the month.

Photo of the interior of the Wisconsin State Capitol by Dori on Wikimedia Commons.

Gov. Scott Walker has set a special election date for the 99^th Assembly District seat. Rep. Chris Kapenga vacated the seat after his election to the state Senate in July.

The special election will be held September 29. If a primary is required, it will be held September 1.