1 00:00:02,302 --> 00:00:05,072 >> Ron Johnson weighs in on the president's plan to 2 00:00:05,138 --> 00:00:07,608 nationalize elections. Democrats reintroduced 3 00:00:07,674 --> 00:00:10,978 their bill to legalize weed. And what can we learn from 4 00:00:11,044 --> 00:00:13,447 the Republicans who are not running for the state 5 00:00:13,514 --> 00:00:15,849 Senate? This is inside Wisconsin politics. I'm 6 00:00:15,916 --> 00:00:18,852 WPR Capital Bureau Chief Shawn Johnson here with 7 00:00:18,919 --> 00:00:23,490 WPR capital reporter Anya PBS Wisconsin senior political 8 00:00:23,557 --> 00:00:26,660 reporter Zac Schultz and political reporter Rich Kramer 9 00:00:26,727 --> 00:00:29,530 in Eau Claire. Hey. everyone. 10 00:00:30,497 --> 00:00:32,833 >> Hey. >> So let's start with what 11 00:00:32,900 --> 00:00:35,869 Senator Johnson said this week about something that 12 00:00:35,936 --> 00:00:38,172 President Trump said. And, I mean, I think we've all 13 00:00:38,238 --> 00:00:40,507 gotten pretty used to, especially in swing state 14 00:00:40,574 --> 00:00:43,810 Wisconsin, hearing pretty broad claims about what's 15 00:00:43,877 --> 00:00:46,980 happening in elections or changes that people want to 16 00:00:47,047 --> 00:00:49,550 see, especially President Trump. But this is pretty 17 00:00:49,616 --> 00:00:52,653 big, even by his standards. First of all, Rich, what 18 00:00:52,719 --> 00:00:57,858 did the president say about nationalizing elections? 19 00:00:58,692 --> 00:01:02,362 >> So during a podcast interview, President Trump 20 00:01:02,429 --> 00:01:05,299 mentioned that Republicans should just take over 21 00:01:05,365 --> 00:01:09,403 election administration. He talked about nationalizing 22 00:01:09,469 --> 00:01:12,906 it. He also mentioned 15 different states where this 23 00:01:12,973 --> 00:01:15,576 might happen or where he'd like to see it happen, but 24 00:01:15,642 --> 00:01:19,146 he didn't specify which ones. So that's gotten a 25 00:01:19,213 --> 00:01:22,115 lot of people's attention. Based on some of those 26 00:01:22,182 --> 00:01:24,785 comments you referenced from the president. You 27 00:01:24,852 --> 00:01:28,522 know, we had the 2020 situation with the 28 00:01:30,057 --> 00:01:32,259 president denying the outcome, essentially, and 29 00:01:32,326 --> 00:01:36,163 that led to January 6th, the riot at the US Capitol. 30 00:01:36,230 --> 00:01:38,632 So definitely, people are paying attention to what 31 00:01:38,699 --> 00:01:41,101 President Trump said. >> Yeah. So you mentioned 32 00:01:41,168 --> 00:01:43,971 it 15 states. We don't know which ones, but we just 33 00:01:44,037 --> 00:01:47,474 kind of assume, hey, we're Wisconsin, one of the most 34 00:01:47,541 --> 00:01:49,543 important political states. Every year we got to be on 35 00:01:49,610 --> 00:01:52,913 that list, right. So Wisconsin Senator Ron Johnson 36 00:01:52,980 --> 00:01:57,117 was asked about this at his tele town hall. 37 00:01:57,184 --> 00:02:00,954 What did he have to say? >> Senator Ron Johnson said 38 00:02:01,021 --> 00:02:04,791 Senator Johnson said he wouldn't like to see 39 00:02:04,858 --> 00:02:08,495 nationalized elections, but he did offer some ideas for 40 00:02:08,562 --> 00:02:12,900 how to set basic standards across the country. He 41 00:02:12,966 --> 00:02:16,003 talked about the Save act. Essentially, that would 42 00:02:16,069 --> 00:02:18,372 require people to prove their citizenship before 43 00:02:18,438 --> 00:02:21,808 they register to vote. To do that, you'd need 44 00:02:21,875 --> 00:02:24,745 documents like certified birth certificate or a 45 00:02:24,811 --> 00:02:26,747 passport, something that a lot of people might not 46 00:02:26,813 --> 00:02:30,250 have access to. But Senator Johnson went beyond that 47 00:02:30,317 --> 00:02:33,120 and also said that he thinks early voting has 48 00:02:33,187 --> 00:02:37,024 gone way too far in this country, and that he he's 49 00:02:37,090 --> 00:02:40,694 generally opposed to mail in balloting of absentee 50 00:02:40,761 --> 00:02:43,297 ballots. >> So it feels like there's 51 00:02:43,363 --> 00:02:46,366 a lot to unpack with both what the president said and 52 00:02:46,433 --> 00:02:49,303 with what Senator Johnson said. I mean, first of all, 53 00:02:49,369 --> 00:02:54,041 the idea of nationalizing Wisconsin's elections, how 54 00:02:54,107 --> 00:02:56,476 would that work? I mean, tangibly, what would that 55 00:02:56,543 --> 00:02:58,946 mean. >> In Wisconsin? It's not 56 00:02:59,012 --> 00:03:01,381 really possible without some drastic changes. First 57 00:03:01,448 --> 00:03:04,151 off, they'd have to be the votes to pass it in 58 00:03:04,218 --> 00:03:06,486 Congress, which they're not. And Wisconsin's election 59 00:03:06,553 --> 00:03:09,122 system is decentralized like so many other states. 60 00:03:09,189 --> 00:03:11,625 We have an elections commission that has very 61 00:03:11,692 --> 00:03:14,494 little direct oversight over how elections are run 62 00:03:14,561 --> 00:03:16,864 all the way down to like the township level, where 63 00:03:16,930 --> 00:03:19,967 there may be 30 or 40 voters and a clerk that 64 00:03:20,033 --> 00:03:22,636 works part time. That's the beauty of Wisconsin 65 00:03:22,703 --> 00:03:24,638 elections. And that's why all the conspiracy theories 66 00:03:24,705 --> 00:03:27,875 about fraud can usually be put to rest among people 67 00:03:27,941 --> 00:03:29,877 that actually are paying attention and listening to 68 00:03:29,943 --> 00:03:32,713 facts is that you can't rig an election that's run by 69 00:03:32,779 --> 00:03:35,382 so many different people. The conspiracy is the 70 00:03:35,449 --> 00:03:38,552 entire state at this point, so it really wouldn't work 71 00:03:38,619 --> 00:03:41,388 here without some sort of dramatic federal court 72 00:03:41,455 --> 00:03:44,791 takeover that, you know, goes too far down the line 73 00:03:44,858 --> 00:03:46,860 for what most people can rationally conceive at this 74 00:03:46,927 --> 00:03:48,729 point. >> You actually did a 75 00:03:48,795 --> 00:03:50,898 feature once, I remember, where you talked to a bunch 76 00:03:50,964 --> 00:03:54,601 of election clerks who have many duties, as I recall. 77 00:03:54,668 --> 00:03:56,703 >> Yeah. That's right. I mean, that's the thing with 78 00:03:56,770 --> 00:03:58,872 this kind of federated system is that you have all 79 00:03:58,939 --> 00:04:02,442 of these highly skilled local kind of civic civil 80 00:04:02,509 --> 00:04:05,379 servants, I should say, and they do all kinds of things 81 00:04:05,445 --> 00:04:08,081 that we never think about. They have to think about, 82 00:04:08,148 --> 00:04:10,284 like the size of the envelopes, and they have to 83 00:04:10,350 --> 00:04:13,187 be creased in a certain way, all these little things. 84 00:04:13,253 --> 00:04:15,222 And so that's also like a built experience level. And 85 00:04:15,289 --> 00:04:17,391 so when you make these changes, first of all, 86 00:04:17,457 --> 00:04:20,194 there's rules about kind of how far out you need to 87 00:04:20,260 --> 00:04:22,229 make changes to election processes, but then also 88 00:04:22,296 --> 00:04:24,932 how just get the knowledge to be able to kind of 89 00:04:24,998 --> 00:04:28,135 implement these nitty gritty kind of 90 00:04:28,202 --> 00:04:31,405 >> And so, you know, we can't read the president's 91 00:04:31,471 --> 00:04:34,308 mind here, but we do know that we're in an election 92 00:04:34,374 --> 00:04:36,810 cycle where there's a lot of talk that this might be 93 00:04:36,877 --> 00:04:39,446 a Democratic wave year. And everybody's always trying 94 00:04:39,513 --> 00:04:41,849 to predict waves. Sometimes it works, sometimes it 95 00:04:41,915 --> 00:04:44,418 doesn't. But if you look at the polling generically 96 00:04:44,484 --> 00:04:49,056 right now, it's shaping up that way anyway. Do you 97 00:04:49,122 --> 00:04:51,992 think this is sort of a way of putting down a marker 98 00:04:52,059 --> 00:04:55,395 and saying that this is the kind of thing we're going 99 00:04:55,462 --> 00:04:58,198 to fight over in court if things don't go our way? 100 00:04:58,265 --> 00:05:00,868 >> Well, it's definitely setting the table for 101 00:05:00,934 --> 00:05:03,270 conspiracies if Republicans lose in the fall, because 102 00:05:03,337 --> 00:05:06,440 the easiest way to convince your base that they never 103 00:05:06,507 --> 00:05:09,142 lost it was stolen from us, which we saw in 2020. There 104 00:05:09,209 --> 00:05:11,945 are still people holding on to this idea that Donald 105 00:05:12,012 --> 00:05:14,147 Trump had the election stolen from him, and 106 00:05:14,214 --> 00:05:16,350 there's still conspiracies about ballot dumps from the 107 00:05:16,416 --> 00:05:18,352 city of Milwaukee running around the internet just 108 00:05:18,418 --> 00:05:21,121 this week, having to be debunked yet again. And so 109 00:05:21,188 --> 00:05:24,758 what's the best way to set your base up for that? Tell 110 00:05:24,825 --> 00:05:27,394 them right now it's going to be stolen ahead of time 111 00:05:27,461 --> 00:05:30,197 that we have to nationalize it if we don't do it. But 112 00:05:30,264 --> 00:05:32,332 this is also another example of Donald Trump 113 00:05:32,399 --> 00:05:34,434 shoots from the hip, and then everyone else has to 114 00:05:34,501 --> 00:05:37,304 take it seriously and explain either why it is or 115 00:05:37,371 --> 00:05:39,373 is not possible. And we've been doing that since he 116 00:05:39,439 --> 00:05:41,942 came down the golden escalator ten years ago. 117 00:05:42,009 --> 00:05:44,545 It's not a new thing that we have to sit there and 118 00:05:44,611 --> 00:05:47,347 say, well, would it really be possible to do this? And 119 00:05:47,414 --> 00:05:49,516 sometimes it's farcical, but we have to take it 120 00:05:49,583 --> 00:05:52,252 seriously because so many of the things previously in 121 00:05:52,319 --> 00:05:54,354 politics that we didn't think were possible, he has 122 00:05:54,421 --> 00:05:56,356 pushed through somehow or they've materialized enough 123 00:05:56,423 --> 00:05:58,725 for people. Take it seriously. And so that's 124 00:05:58,792 --> 00:06:00,661 what we have to do. Talking about nationalizing 125 00:06:00,727 --> 00:06:02,396 elections when everyone knows that's not how 126 00:06:02,462 --> 00:06:05,032 they're run in Wisconsin. >> It does feel that way. 127 00:06:05,098 --> 00:06:07,668 So turning to the state legislature, Ana, there was 128 00:06:07,734 --> 00:06:11,171 a group of Democratic lawmakers and activists who 129 00:06:11,238 --> 00:06:15,108 introduced a bill this week would legalize marijuana 130 00:06:15,175 --> 00:06:18,445 for medicinal and recreational purposes. This 131 00:06:18,512 --> 00:06:21,682 is something that, if you look at polling, has 132 00:06:21,748 --> 00:06:24,518 widespread support among both parties. It's one of 133 00:06:24,585 --> 00:06:28,789 those issues. And so why did you say in your story 134 00:06:28,856 --> 00:06:32,459 about this bill that it is doomed at the Capitol? 135 00:06:32,526 --> 00:06:35,329 >> Yeah, I mean, a very astute listener pointed out 136 00:06:35,395 --> 00:06:37,431 to me that they made this introduction on Groundhog 137 00:06:37,497 --> 00:06:40,701 Day and that this is a thing that happens every 138 00:06:40,767 --> 00:06:43,704 single year, that the Democrats introduce a full 139 00:06:43,770 --> 00:06:46,073 legalization bill. Governor Tony Evers, also in his 140 00:06:46,139 --> 00:06:49,009 proposed budget every two years, has proposed 141 00:06:49,076 --> 00:06:52,412 legalizing marijuana. And it it won't happen because 142 00:06:52,479 --> 00:06:54,715 Republicans who are in leadership in the 143 00:06:54,781 --> 00:06:57,584 legislature. So not every Republican lawmaker, but 144 00:06:57,651 --> 00:07:00,053 Republican leadership says we don't want it. So there 145 00:07:00,120 --> 00:07:02,689 is some amount of leadership support for 146 00:07:02,756 --> 00:07:05,626 medicinal marijuana. There is not unity among those 147 00:07:05,692 --> 00:07:07,895 leaders in terms of what it will look like. There is 148 00:07:07,961 --> 00:07:10,197 certainly no support among the most powerful 149 00:07:10,264 --> 00:07:12,466 Republicans for recreational marijuana. And 150 00:07:12,533 --> 00:07:14,968 so the Democrats will do this introduction. It won't 151 00:07:15,035 --> 00:07:19,173 go anywhere. We might see a medicinal bill, maybe come 152 00:07:19,239 --> 00:07:22,209 forward in the Senate session is also about to 153 00:07:22,276 --> 00:07:25,045 end in a couple of months. So I don't necessarily have 154 00:07:25,112 --> 00:07:27,281 high hopes for that. I think the authors actually 155 00:07:27,347 --> 00:07:29,249 don't have high hopes for that either, but this just 156 00:07:29,316 --> 00:07:32,619 ends up being a little bit of a marketing or a 157 00:07:32,686 --> 00:07:35,189 messaging kind of move from Democrats in an election 158 00:07:35,255 --> 00:07:38,158 year. the session could wrap up 159 00:07:38,659 --> 00:07:41,395 in the Assembly as soon as this month. They may wrap 160 00:07:41,461 --> 00:07:43,697 up their business, and they're both going to 161 00:07:43,764 --> 00:07:46,633 be done by March at some time. Is that how you get 162 00:07:46,700 --> 00:07:49,570 bills to become law when you want it to happen? 163 00:07:49,636 --> 00:07:52,105 >> You get bills to become law by saying, this is what 164 00:07:52,172 --> 00:07:55,075 we would do if we were in power. The message really 165 00:07:55,142 --> 00:07:57,845 is to the voters for this fall, saying Democrats, for 166 00:07:57,911 --> 00:08:00,247 the first time in a long time, have a legitimate 167 00:08:00,314 --> 00:08:03,083 chance at gaining control of one or both houses. 168 00:08:03,150 --> 00:08:05,052 Obviously, the governor's race is up for grabs as 169 00:08:05,118 --> 00:08:07,187 well. If they had full power, you would fully 170 00:08:07,254 --> 00:08:10,490 expect to see a real discussion at the Capitol 171 00:08:10,557 --> 00:08:13,660 about medicinal marijuana or fully recreational legal 172 00:08:13,727 --> 00:08:16,463 weed. And what would that look like? Who would run it? 173 00:08:16,530 --> 00:08:19,333 Would it be state run dispensaries? Would it be a 174 00:08:19,399 --> 00:08:21,335 wide open market? Who state model would we follow? 175 00:08:21,401 --> 00:08:23,303 Those are all the conversations that have 176 00:08:23,370 --> 00:08:25,305 happened over the past decade and Shon you and I 177 00:08:25,372 --> 00:08:27,508 were talking, we covered this the last time 178 00:08:27,574 --> 00:08:30,143 Democrats were in power, when the conversation 179 00:08:30,210 --> 00:08:32,179 hadn't quite shifted to fully legalized. Democrats 180 00:08:32,246 --> 00:08:34,047 were still talking medicinal then. 181 00:08:34,114 --> 00:08:38,118 >> Yeah, I got to say, this sort of tentative 182 00:08:38,785 --> 00:08:41,588 atmosphere when it comes to moving forward with 183 00:08:41,655 --> 00:08:43,624 legalization, either medicinal or otherwise, has 184 00:08:43,690 --> 00:08:46,827 been around for a long time. It's very, very there with 185 00:08:46,894 --> 00:08:49,530 Republicans. They do not want to move on 186 00:08:49,596 --> 00:08:51,798 recreational, obviously, and seem to not want to 187 00:08:51,865 --> 00:08:54,001 really move on medicinal. Or they could have done it 188 00:08:54,067 --> 00:08:58,405 by now. But yeah, it was 2000. The 2009 session, I 189 00:08:58,472 --> 00:09:02,276 think we were we were 2010. >> The end. 190 00:09:02,342 --> 00:09:04,411 >> Would have been 2010. And Democrats had, believe 191 00:09:04,478 --> 00:09:06,580 it or not, the governor's office, the Assembly and 192 00:09:06,647 --> 00:09:09,483 the Senate, they could do what they want and they 193 00:09:09,550 --> 00:09:11,852 just got cold feet over that one, even though it 194 00:09:11,919 --> 00:09:14,488 was very much a passionate cause for some of their 195 00:09:14,555 --> 00:09:17,591 members. more normalized since then. 196 00:09:17,658 --> 00:09:20,160 So a majority of states have a medicinal marijuana 197 00:09:20,227 --> 00:09:22,696 program. I think 22 have a recreational program, 198 00:09:22,763 --> 00:09:27,100 including our neighbors in Minnesota, Michigan and so 199 00:09:27,167 --> 00:09:29,603 Illinois. And so one of the arguments, again, from both 200 00:09:29,670 --> 00:09:32,206 sides of the aisle is that Wisconsin is losing money 201 00:09:32,272 --> 00:09:35,576 when people go across the border to kind of to reach 202 00:09:35,642 --> 00:09:39,313 those products. And so that argument has been 203 00:09:39,379 --> 00:09:42,115 compelling, I think, to some Republicans, a lot of 204 00:09:42,182 --> 00:09:44,351 Democrats, but again, not the Republicans who 205 00:09:44,418 --> 00:09:48,755 actually get legislation across the finish line. 206 00:09:48,822 --> 00:09:52,192 >> And just an aside here right now, you know, we've 207 00:09:52,259 --> 00:09:56,196 got this these these other products that are 208 00:09:56,263 --> 00:09:59,533 essentially marijuana but derived from hemp that are 209 00:09:59,600 --> 00:10:01,969 all over the state. I mean, some gas stations sell 210 00:10:02,035 --> 00:10:04,538 these products. So it's just kind of an interesting 211 00:10:04,605 --> 00:10:07,608 paradox. >> So you alluded this. 212 00:10:13,347 --> 00:10:15,949 Whether or not this actually becomes legalized 213 00:10:16,016 --> 00:10:18,719 in Wisconsin that decides that. And the next governor, 214 00:10:18,785 --> 00:10:20,954 we could keep saying this year after year, 215 00:10:21,021 --> 00:10:22,923 potentially on this issue with. 216 00:10:22,990 --> 00:10:25,225 that. >> We could. Yeah. 217 00:10:26,426 --> 00:10:28,428 >> Well, we know it's not happening now. This won't 218 00:10:28,495 --> 00:10:30,731 even get a hearing. >> I think. Yeah, yeah. 219 00:10:30,797 --> 00:10:33,333 Pretty clearly. In fact, a few sessions ago when there 220 00:10:33,400 --> 00:10:35,502 was a hearing on a medicinal bill, they held 221 00:10:35,569 --> 00:10:37,538 it after the legislature had adjourned. It's one of 222 00:10:37,604 --> 00:10:40,307 those issues where they acknowledge we got to talk 223 00:10:40,374 --> 00:10:42,409 about it. Our constituents are talking about this 224 00:10:42,476 --> 00:10:44,678 issue. They just don't seem to want to know what they 225 00:10:44,745 --> 00:10:48,882 want to do with it. But the next legislature, there is 226 00:10:48,949 --> 00:10:51,485 some movement in terms of what might happen in the 227 00:10:51,552 --> 00:10:54,354 state Senate, where Republicans currently have 228 00:10:54,421 --> 00:10:58,992 an 18 to 15 majority. You had a couple retirements 229 00:10:59,927 --> 00:11:02,496 recently, Rob Hutton in Brookfield and Steve Knox 230 00:11:02,563 --> 00:11:06,700 in Whitewater. Very different lawmakers, I 231 00:11:06,767 --> 00:11:10,103 guess. Just kind of an open question to all of you. But 232 00:11:10,170 --> 00:11:13,507 I'll start with you, Zach. Like, what do we make of 233 00:11:13,574 --> 00:11:15,809 this? Does this matter that we see these retirements 234 00:11:15,876 --> 00:11:18,712 coming up here as we try to read the tea leaves of 2026? 235 00:11:18,779 --> 00:11:20,848 >> They matter for different reasons. Hutton 236 00:11:20,914 --> 00:11:24,218 is in one of the most vulnerable Republican 237 00:11:24,284 --> 00:11:27,187 Senate districts. He's the number one target, arguably 238 00:11:27,254 --> 00:11:29,556 from Democrats, the number one expected pickup. They 239 00:11:29,623 --> 00:11:31,959 need two to flip the chamber. He's number one. 240 00:11:32,025 --> 00:11:34,461 The fact that he's leaving does make it easier. It's 241 00:11:34,528 --> 00:11:37,431 also a sign that he may be looking at and saying it's 242 00:11:37,497 --> 00:11:40,067 an uphill battle. A lot of politicians across party 243 00:11:40,133 --> 00:11:42,669 lines love to retire before they lose. No one wants to 244 00:11:42,736 --> 00:11:45,873 go out as a loser. They all just slip away a cycle 245 00:11:45,939 --> 00:11:48,509 early if they can, when they when they know what's 246 00:11:48,575 --> 00:11:50,577 coming. So whether he's leaving for that reason or 247 00:11:50,644 --> 00:11:53,180 because he's just sick and tired of the Capitol, we 248 00:11:53,247 --> 00:11:56,016 can't answer. But Democrats certainly were pushing the 249 00:11:56,083 --> 00:11:57,985 message that this show is a Republicans think they're 250 00:11:58,051 --> 00:12:00,187 going to be losing this fall. And certainly that 251 00:12:00,254 --> 00:12:03,023 seat Knox was not really in danger of losing his seat. 252 00:12:03,090 --> 00:12:06,293 He is completely striking example, and he's one of 253 00:12:06,360 --> 00:12:08,829 the most conservative Republicans in the Capitol, 254 00:12:08,896 --> 00:12:10,998 and that he's willing to buck his own party over and 255 00:12:11,064 --> 00:12:13,600 over, voting against multiple budgets, forcing 256 00:12:13,667 --> 00:12:15,369 Republicans in the Senate to find Democrats to help 257 00:12:15,435 --> 00:12:19,806 pass budgets. He is a true believer in what he says 258 00:12:19,873 --> 00:12:22,676 and stands by his vote. Him leaving sends a different 259 00:12:22,743 --> 00:12:25,145 message of either he thinks they may lose and doesn't 260 00:12:25,212 --> 00:12:27,314 want to be in the minority, as you mentioned before. 261 00:12:27,381 --> 00:12:30,584 Shon. Or it could simply be he's done with that 262 00:12:30,651 --> 00:12:33,320 kind of politics. And what will be most interesting is 263 00:12:33,387 --> 00:12:35,556 to see who takes that spot, because one of the things 264 00:12:35,622 --> 00:12:39,226 that we saw over and over in the Walker era is when a 265 00:12:39,293 --> 00:12:42,629 Republican Senate seat opened up, it was the most 266 00:12:42,696 --> 00:12:44,831 conservative Assembly member from that district, 267 00:12:44,898 --> 00:12:48,001 that one. So over time, Robin Vos and the Assembly 268 00:12:48,068 --> 00:12:50,904 saw most of his most strident Republicans move 269 00:12:50,971 --> 00:12:53,807 and then become state senators, sometimes to his 270 00:12:53,874 --> 00:12:55,776 chagrin. Those weren't people that he always got 271 00:12:55,843 --> 00:12:58,846 along with, and that created that relationship 272 00:12:58,912 --> 00:13:01,081 more than a decade of how Assembly Republicans and 273 00:13:01,148 --> 00:13:04,484 how Senate Republicans have gotten along. So it will be 274 00:13:04,551 --> 00:13:06,386 interesting to see who takes his place in that 275 00:13:06,453 --> 00:13:08,622 seat. >> Very likely conservative, 276 00:13:08,689 --> 00:13:10,891 though, as you look at the numbers for those districts, 277 00:13:10,958 --> 00:13:14,962 I think Kamala Harris won the Hutton seat by close to 278 00:13:15,028 --> 00:13:18,765 six points. So that is a very good seat for 279 00:13:18,832 --> 00:13:21,935 Democrats. I want to say. Steve Knox in his district, 280 00:13:22,002 --> 00:13:26,607 Donald Trump won by 27 or 28. So even in the bluest 281 00:13:26,673 --> 00:13:28,876 of waves, that is probably going to be a conservative 282 00:13:28,942 --> 00:13:30,978 district. >> Yeah. I mean, I think 283 00:13:31,044 --> 00:13:33,881 Democrats have been trying to kind of spin this as 284 00:13:33,947 --> 00:13:35,782 like, oh, Republicans are running scared. They know 285 00:13:35,849 --> 00:13:37,885 we're going to sweep the legislature. They know 286 00:13:37,951 --> 00:13:40,087 we're going to have this takeover. And I think that, 287 00:13:40,153 --> 00:13:42,956 you know, there might be an argument to be made that 288 00:13:43,023 --> 00:13:45,125 the Hutton seat is going to be a really competitive 289 00:13:45,192 --> 00:13:47,794 fight. And so a person could decide, you know, 290 00:13:47,861 --> 00:13:50,063 maybe I don't want to, maybe I just want a major 291 00:13:50,130 --> 00:13:51,965 legal settlement, and I don't want to participate 292 00:13:52,032 --> 00:13:54,835 in a this. >> Did happen. He did win a 293 00:13:54,902 --> 00:13:57,104 large sum of money. >> Yeah. So maybe he wants 294 00:13:57,171 --> 00:14:00,073 to kind of, you know, bow out of what might be a 295 00:14:00,140 --> 00:14:03,076 Dukes out kind of fight. But I don't think that you 296 00:14:03,143 --> 00:14:05,779 can make the same argument for Steve Knox. Right. And 297 00:14:05,846 --> 00:14:08,081 so I think that it's actually a little bit more 298 00:14:08,148 --> 00:14:10,784 of a nuanced case than just like a, oh, the blue wave 299 00:14:10,851 --> 00:14:12,986 is coming. >> Yeah. He's he's 73 and 300 00:14:13,053 --> 00:14:15,856 he's been doing this since 1991, I believe, and has 301 00:14:15,923 --> 00:14:17,958 always been kind of that sort of legislature, which 302 00:14:18,025 --> 00:14:20,060 we're watching a couple more seats in the Senate, 303 00:14:20,127 --> 00:14:22,996 too. I mean, it's not just that the Hutton seat is 304 00:14:23,063 --> 00:14:25,132 going to decide that they need more things to happen. 305 00:14:25,199 --> 00:14:27,868 Democrats do if they want to flip that chamber. 306 00:14:27,935 --> 00:14:30,204 >> That's right. I mean, first of all, they have to 307 00:14:30,270 --> 00:14:33,073 defend Jeff Smith, who is a state senator up in my neck 308 00:14:33,140 --> 00:14:36,109 of the woods here near Eau Claire or in Eau Claire, 309 00:14:36,176 --> 00:14:39,680 representing this area. So they need to defend that. 310 00:14:39,746 --> 00:14:42,950 But also, like you both, you were all mentioning 311 00:14:43,016 --> 00:14:46,220 they have to win a couple. They need a net positive 312 00:14:46,286 --> 00:14:51,258 gain of two. If speaking of tea leaves some campaign 313 00:14:51,325 --> 00:14:55,596 finance reports recently offered a little bit of 314 00:14:55,662 --> 00:15:00,467 that, we saw that Senator Van Wanggaard only raised 315 00:15:01,401 --> 00:15:05,706 $30,000, give or take. And that's just that's just not 316 00:15:05,772 --> 00:15:08,509 the kind of money you raise if you're going to run for 317 00:15:08,575 --> 00:15:10,644 re-election. He is undecided about retirement. In fact, 318 00:15:10,711 --> 00:15:14,014 a person with his office said the fundraising 319 00:15:14,081 --> 00:15:17,484 indicates that he hasn't made a decision yet. So if 320 00:15:17,551 --> 00:15:20,621 that seat opens up, you know, generally open seats 321 00:15:20,687 --> 00:15:24,391 are a little more competitive for a, say, 322 00:15:24,458 --> 00:15:26,527 Democrats trying to take over a district that might 323 00:15:26,593 --> 00:15:28,395 be a little safer for Republicans. 324 00:15:28,462 --> 00:15:31,031 >> Yeah. I want to say that when you did a story about 325 00:15:31,098 --> 00:15:34,468 that district, Rich, you talked to his spokesperson 326 00:15:34,535 --> 00:15:37,771 and he basically said, you know, van really doesn't 327 00:15:37,838 --> 00:15:40,674 want to think about this right now. So that does not 328 00:15:40,741 --> 00:15:44,711 sound like somebody who's super eager to run in a, in 329 00:15:44,778 --> 00:15:47,681 a highly competitive race that could determine the 330 00:15:47,748 --> 00:15:49,149 balance of the Senate. That's like another one 331 00:15:49,216 --> 00:15:52,286 that Kamala Harris narrowly won. 332 00:15:52,352 --> 00:15:55,722 >> Yeah. And just more broadly, some of those 333 00:15:55,789 --> 00:15:58,458 finance reports from these fundraising committees in 334 00:15:58,525 --> 00:16:00,861 the state Assembly and state Senate on the 335 00:16:00,928 --> 00:16:03,363 Republican and Democratic side, also painted a little 336 00:16:03,430 --> 00:16:07,734 bit of a picture showing some strategy, maybe again, 337 00:16:07,801 --> 00:16:10,904 a little bit of speculation here, but a lot of money 338 00:16:10,971 --> 00:16:14,374 went into the Republican Assembly campaign committee 339 00:16:14,441 --> 00:16:18,545 and just and Democrats were able to raise more in the 340 00:16:18,612 --> 00:16:21,415 state Senate fundraising committees than their 341 00:16:21,481 --> 00:16:24,785 Republican counterparts. So, you know, one could look at 342 00:16:24,852 --> 00:16:26,954 that and say, okay, Republicans are going all 343 00:16:27,020 --> 00:16:30,457 in on holding the Assembly majority, and they don't 344 00:16:30,524 --> 00:16:33,827 feel as confident about the Senate majority. 345 00:16:33,894 --> 00:16:38,031 >> And Rich, real quick, you did some reporting on 346 00:16:38,098 --> 00:16:41,335 congressional fundraising. 2 what's going on in the 347 00:16:41,401 --> 00:16:44,104 first and the third congressional districts in 348 00:16:44,171 --> 00:16:46,507 Wisconsin, the third in western Wisconsin, 349 00:16:46,573 --> 00:16:48,775 represented by Derrick Van Orden, the first by Bryan 350 00:16:48,842 --> 00:16:52,479 Steil, those are both by the numbers, in theory, 351 00:16:52,546 --> 00:16:55,215 competitive. What's terms of what you're seeing, 352 00:16:55,282 --> 00:16:59,419 at least money raising. >> So in practice, it 353 00:17:00,087 --> 00:17:04,057 doesn't appear that the first is considered as 354 00:17:04,124 --> 00:17:08,595 gettable for Democrats. So Bryan Steil is a good 355 00:17:09,162 --> 00:17:12,432 fundraiser. He ended the last three months of 2025 356 00:17:12,499 --> 00:17:17,070 with $5 million in the bank. His nearest Democratic 357 00:17:17,137 --> 00:17:20,941 competitor had something like 130,000 or maybe even 358 00:17:21,008 --> 00:17:24,077 less, just not really competitive in the third 359 00:17:24,144 --> 00:17:26,747 district. It has been a bit of an arms race between the 360 00:17:26,813 --> 00:17:29,249 Democrat Rebecca Cooke and Republican Congressman 361 00:17:29,316 --> 00:17:32,319 Derrick Van Orden. They've both raised around $1 362 00:17:32,386 --> 00:17:36,056 million every three months that they've reported. Most 363 00:17:36,123 --> 00:17:40,594 recently, Rebecca Cooke raised more around $200,000 364 00:17:40,661 --> 00:17:42,896 more than Van Orden. So it's still going strong in 365 00:17:42,963 --> 00:17:45,332 the third district. >> All right. And I know 366 00:17:45,399 --> 00:17:47,668 you're working on a story coming up about the 367 00:17:47,734 --> 00:17:49,770 Republican primary in the seventh Congressional 368 00:17:49,837 --> 00:17:51,872 District. Real quick, before we wrap up here, 369 00:17:51,939 --> 00:17:54,441 Zach, what do you have going on in coming weeks 370 00:17:54,508 --> 00:17:56,276 here. >> Looking at mining in 371 00:17:56,343 --> 00:17:59,379 northern Wisconsin, drilling to explore some of 372 00:17:59,446 --> 00:18:01,882 the deposits that I identified nearly half a 373 00:18:01,949 --> 00:18:03,851 century ago to see if they're viable. 374 00:18:03,917 --> 00:18:07,154 >> All right. And Ana. >> I hate to say it, but I 375 00:18:07,221 --> 00:18:09,556 am going in the weeds on marijuana legislation. 376 00:18:09,623 --> 00:18:12,359 >> There's so many puns. >> So many puns. We'll see 377 00:18:12,426 --> 00:18:14,862 how many irresistible you cross out of my final draft. 378 00:18:14,928 --> 00:18:16,897 >> I may add some. >> Or that's. 379 00:18:16,964 --> 00:18:19,633 >> Just a little bit too much fun. So you're going 380 00:18:19,700 --> 00:18:21,869 to look at the politics that we just talked about 381 00:18:21,935 --> 00:18:24,638 and whether it could happen. That's right. All right. 382 00:18:24,705 --> 00:18:27,908 I'm looking forward to reading that one. That will 383 00:18:27,975 --> 00:18:31,378 do it for us today. Thanks for joining us on this 384 00:18:31,445 --> 00:18:34,314 week's Inside Wisconsin Politics. Be sure to follow 385 00:18:34,381 --> 00:18:38,118 us on pbswisconsin.org or YouTube or wherever you get 386 00:18:38,185 --> 00:18:39,853 your podcasts.