MADISON, WI (WTAQ-WLUK) – Governor Tony Evers’ sixth State of the State address was exactly what members of the Democratic Party wanted to hear.
“I thought it was great,” Democratic State Representative Lee Snodgrass (57th District) said. “I mean, it’s really an opportunity for us to know what the governor’s going to focus on in 2024 and how we can support him in that. I loved hearing [about] making ourselves a state people want to come to, so we have more workforce. I love continued investment in child care. I think it’s gonna be a great year.”
Snodgrass said the speech hit on all the top priorities for 2024, but for other lawmakers, it missed the mark.
“I think the interesting thing was that all the things he touts as accomplishments [are] actually part of a Republican budget,” Republican State Senator Eric Wimberger (30th District) said.
Wimberger wanted to hear more from Evers about bipartisan agreements and less about divided issues like abortion and redistricting. That’s a sentiment Republican Representative Ron Tusler (3rd District) shared.
“We just had this tax plan that came out. That’s really gonna focus on — just like he said, this is going to be the year of the working class citizen,” Tusler said. “Surprised he didn’t mention it. Surprised he didn’t at least mention some of that bill that he was okay with. That would at least give us some crumbs on what he would sign.”
Democratic State Representative Kristina Shelton (90th District) said it’s necessary to continue those conversations.
“What we’re waiting for is to see how this fair maps conversation is going to go in the legislature,” Shelton said. “That’s really going to be the template of how we move forward. When we have true accountability at the ballot box, we’ll be able to have more robust conversations about ways we can come together in a bipartisan way.”
Shelton added that she thinks Evers’ address did a great job of unifying the legislature and raising confidence ahead of the remaining session.
“When we get those fair maps, it’s going to allow us to really figure out a way to truly advance the will of the Wisconsin people on a number of issues,” Shelton said.
Wimberger believes it had a very different effect.
“Those are highly technical legal questions and to just give it one liners and that treatment, I think is unfair, because they’re very nuanced,” Wimberger said. “People have lots of positions for very different reasons.”
However, both sides say regardless of how they felt the speech was received, they’re confident moving forward.
“I’m going to continue to work across the aisle and it looks like there’s people across the aisle who want to continue to work with us,” Snodgrass said. “So, I think it’ll be a good year.”
“Really excited about some of the work that’s coming off my plate,” Tusler said. “Really excited about some of the other ideas that other people are doing too. I think we’ve got a lot of good work that’s going to happen. A lot of people don’t realize how much bipartisan work happens here.”
Evers will be touring the state today, including a stop in Green Bay, to continue the conversation about topics like healthcare and women’s reproductive rights.
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