1
00:00:06,907 --> 00:00:09,176
>> A powerful figure in the
state legislature is not

2
00:00:09,243 --> 00:00:14,248
seeking reelection after 22
years representing his

3
00:00:14,314 --> 00:00:17,851
Racine County district and
13 years leading the

4
00:00:17,918 --> 00:00:20,654
Assembly, Republican
Speaker Robin Vos said late

5
00:00:20,721 --> 00:00:24,224
this week he is retiring
from office. The Vos

6
00:00:24,291 --> 00:00:27,227
announcement comes as
Democrats try to flip

7
00:00:27,294 --> 00:00:30,430
control in the legislature
in upcoming elections under

8
00:00:30,497 --> 00:00:33,700
new voting maps. Senior
political reporter Zach

9
00:00:33,767 --> 00:00:36,737
Schultz is at the Capitol
with more on. Hi, Zach.

10
00:00:36,803 --> 00:00:39,406
>> Hello, Fred.
>> So describe just how

11
00:00:39,473 --> 00:00:43,143
powerful Speaker Vos has
been in the legislature.

12
00:00:43,210 --> 00:00:46,547
>> Well, he is the longest
serving Assembly speaker in

13
00:00:46,613 --> 00:00:49,583
state history, and that did
not come without him

14
00:00:49,650 --> 00:00:52,386
learning how to consolidate
power within his own party,

15
00:00:52,452 --> 00:00:55,556
within his own caucus in
the Assembly. He had a lot

16
00:00:55,622 --> 00:00:58,892
of nicknames from both
friends and foes. Vos Vos

17
00:00:58,959 --> 00:01:02,162
the Shadow Governor. It was
basically known that

18
00:01:02,229 --> 00:01:04,765
nothing could become law
without him saying yes, and

19
00:01:04,831 --> 00:01:07,434
signing off and allowing it
to come to the floor in the

20
00:01:07,501 --> 00:01:09,236
assembly. And he controlled
that chamber for quite a

21
00:01:09,303 --> 00:01:11,405
long time.
>> What does his departure

22
00:01:11,471 --> 00:01:14,675
say about how real the
potential of November

23
00:01:14,741 --> 00:01:17,711
elections might be for the
partisan makeup of the

24
00:01:17,778 --> 00:01:19,680
legislature?
>> Well, Democrats

25
00:01:19,746 --> 00:01:21,882
certainly see it as a
positive sign. They're

26
00:01:21,949 --> 00:01:23,851
definitely proclaiming in
all their press releases

27
00:01:23,917 --> 00:01:26,119
that this is the sign.
Republicans know that this

28
00:01:26,186 --> 00:01:28,789
is going to be a Democratic
fall, and they're going to

29
00:01:28,856 --> 00:01:31,725
pick up those five seats
that they need to flip the

30
00:01:31,792 --> 00:01:34,695
assembly. I wouldn't look
as far into it as that. In

31
00:01:34,761 --> 00:01:36,563
his announcement, he wasn't
going to seek reelection.

32
00:01:36,630 --> 00:01:39,166
Vos said he had a mild
heart attack last fall. He

33
00:01:39,233 --> 00:01:41,668
certainly is. He said he's
going to continue to

34
00:01:41,735 --> 00:01:44,271
campaign. He certainly set
up a machine within the

35
00:01:44,338 --> 00:01:46,673
Republican Party to win
those seats, even when

36
00:01:46,740 --> 00:01:48,542
they're facing into
headwinds, so I wouldn't

37
00:01:48,609 --> 00:01:51,378
count that out. It's a lot
about optics, though.

38
00:01:51,445 --> 00:01:53,413
Democrats are going to
campaign and say they've

39
00:01:53,480 --> 00:01:55,749
got momentum because of
this. And certainly the

40
00:01:55,816 --> 00:01:57,951
idea of what the Assembly
will look like in the

41
00:01:58,018 --> 00:02:00,721
future without Robin Vos,
no matter who is in charge,

42
00:02:00,787 --> 00:02:02,890
means there's a lot of
uncertainty coming to the

43
00:02:02,956 --> 00:02:06,193
chamber and to the Capitol.
>> How realistic is a flip

44
00:02:06,260 --> 00:02:09,429
from Republican to
Democratic majority in the

45
00:02:09,496 --> 00:02:12,466
Assembly and Senate?
>> Well, in the Senate,

46
00:02:12,533 --> 00:02:14,535
it's two seats that the
Democrats need to pick up.

47
00:02:14,601 --> 00:02:17,471
They have their eyes on
those, and they feel very

48
00:02:17,538 --> 00:02:19,573
confident that they've got
good candidates in seats.

49
00:02:19,640 --> 00:02:22,242
They've got some open seats.
As Republicans are retiring

50
00:02:22,309 --> 00:02:23,911
and not choosing to defend
some of those seats,

51
00:02:23,977 --> 00:02:26,280
they're optimistic in that
chamber and the Assembly.

52
00:02:26,346 --> 00:02:29,149
It is an uphill climb. They
they had those same seats

53
00:02:29,216 --> 00:02:31,852
that they had two years ago.
And the Senate side, it was

54
00:02:31,919 --> 00:02:34,788
seats that weren't up two
years ago. So they couldn't

55
00:02:34,855 --> 00:02:36,890
have done it. The Assembly
Democrats had their chance.

56
00:02:36,957 --> 00:02:39,526
They they won ten, but they
lost the five. They needed

57
00:02:39,593 --> 00:02:41,795
to flip it. They've
retained candidates.

58
00:02:41,862 --> 00:02:44,064
They've got their eyes on
who they want to see

59
00:02:44,131 --> 00:02:46,266
targeted. We all know what
those battleground races

60
00:02:46,333 --> 00:02:49,169
are going to be. A lot of
it depends on what the wave

61
00:02:49,236 --> 00:02:52,906
looks like at the top. If
there is one one way or the

62
00:02:52,973 --> 00:02:54,975
other, but down ballot. And
that's one thing Vos has

63
00:02:55,042 --> 00:02:57,110
been known for, is
insulating his candidates

64
00:02:57,177 --> 00:02:59,913
in those seats so that they
don't face some of those

65
00:02:59,980 --> 00:03:01,915
political headwinds that
may impact other candidates.

66
00:03:01,982 --> 00:03:04,551
So it is a complete toss up
in the Assembly.

67
00:03:04,618 --> 00:03:07,554
>> Meanwhile, the Assembly
was adjourning with a

68
00:03:07,621 --> 00:03:10,057
little undone business on
the floor, including that

69
00:03:10,123 --> 00:03:12,025
deal between the
Republicans and the

70
00:03:12,092 --> 00:03:15,329
governor over property tax
relief. That could still

71
00:03:15,395 --> 00:03:18,832
happen. Or what do we think?
>> Well, there's always

72
00:03:18,899 --> 00:03:21,768
time. The Assembly
Republicans say that this

73
00:03:21,835 --> 00:03:24,071
is the last time they're
going to be in session,

74
00:03:24,137 --> 00:03:26,840
that they're taking the
rest of the year off to get

75
00:03:26,907 --> 00:03:28,942
ready for the campaign.
However, there are floor

76
00:03:29,009 --> 00:03:31,078
session dates available in
March if they want to come

77
00:03:31,144 --> 00:03:33,714
back in regular order. And
obviously they can always

78
00:03:33,780 --> 00:03:36,817
come back in special
session or extraordinary

79
00:03:36,884 --> 00:03:39,152
of deal that could get done
on a moment's notice,

80
00:03:39,219 --> 00:03:41,255
simply because there's a
lot of political incentives

81
00:03:41,321 --> 00:03:44,057
going into the fall for
both sides to want to

82
00:03:44,124 --> 00:03:47,094
figure out how to spend
some of this surplus and

83
00:03:47,160 --> 00:03:50,564
campaign on that. However,
the two sides are not on

84
00:03:50,631 --> 00:03:52,866
the same page right now,
and they are running out of

85
00:03:52,933 --> 00:03:55,702
their own set deadlines for
how long they have, so who

86
00:03:55,769 --> 00:03:57,704
knows?
>> I wanted to ask you

87
00:03:57,771 --> 00:04:01,241
about the bill that passed
in both chambers. That's

88
00:04:01,308 --> 00:04:04,645
the Medicaid expansion
expansion to give one year

89
00:04:04,711 --> 00:04:07,748
postpartum coverage to to
new mothers. I thought Vos

90
00:04:07,814 --> 00:04:10,817
didn't like that.
>> Yes, he was the lone

91
00:04:10,884 --> 00:04:13,487
person standing in the way
of that bill becoming law

92
00:04:13,554 --> 00:04:15,789
for at least a couple
sessions now. He told me

93
00:04:15,856 --> 00:04:17,991
last December he didn't
believe in expanding the

94
00:04:18,058 --> 00:04:20,427
welfare state, which is why
he opposed Medicaid

95
00:04:20,494 --> 00:04:22,896
expansion. However, the
people that were lined up

96
00:04:22,963 --> 00:04:24,765
the Republicans out front
to announce they'd reached

97
00:04:24,831 --> 00:04:28,001
a compromise were those
very vulnerable Assembly

98
00:04:28,068 --> 00:04:29,803
Republicans running to
protect that majority for

99
00:04:29,870 --> 00:04:32,372
next year. It wasn't a
coincidence that they were

100
00:04:32,439 --> 00:04:34,508
ones to announce that that
bill was going to pass. And

101
00:04:34,575 --> 00:04:39,046
in the end, Vos voted for
in the end, Vos voted for