leverage and flex their political power while they
still have it. Governor Evers making a comment
there on political fortunes going forward. What will
those fortunes look like in the midterm elections? We
welcome our political panelists, Republican Bill
McCoshen and Democrat Scot Ross. And hello.
>> How are you? >> Pretty good. So Bill Tom
Tiffany said Republicans got their butts kicked
Tuesday night. How, in your view did that happen?
>> Well, he's right about that. If you're going to
win statewide, you need three things. You need
money, organization and message. Mom, we had no
money. We didn't look like we had any organization.
And I'm not sure what the message was. So I think we
failed on all three of those points. And
ultimately, it wasn't the worst Supreme Court
election in state history, but it was pretty close.
And you know, when when Maria Lazar is losing her
home county of Waukesha by 43,600, she got 43,600
fewer votes than Brad Schimel did in her own
county. That's a rough night.
>> Scott wasn't about the money advantage for Chris
Taylor. advantages before where I
mean, I've been part of ones where the Republicans
had all the money and the Liberal candidate didn't
have any. And we've never I haven't you know, the most
I saw was like I think seven points back in 2013.
But the fact is, is that this is a combination of a
couple things. First and foremost, that the
The Donald Trump Republican Party has taken us to war.
It's taken us into the poorhouse, and it keeps
doubling down. And I would point out that, you know,
in the same interview where Tom Tiffany said they got
their butts kicked, he also endorsed Trump's, you know,
announced intention to commit war crimes and every
economic policy that he has pushed forward, including
trying to overturn the results of the 2020
election. Considering this race was about fairness,
freedom and rights, there's no wonder the Republicans
lost. factor is Trump in these
elections? was nationalized. I don't
agree with Scott on that. It may have had something
to do with some people staying home. I mean, the
truth is they didn't know Maria Lazar. She raised
less than $1 million, which is far less than Brad
Schimel. I mean, a year ago, we had the most expensive
Supreme Court race in history, $115 million. This
one combined was around 10 million. So people didn't
know who she was. So I'm not I'm not sure that Trump
was a huge factor in this race. But the truth is, you
know, congrats, first of all to justice elect Chris
Taylor. But she won seven out of eight congressional
districts, including Tom Tiffany's.
>> And they went up 7171 of the 72 counties had a
higher performance than in 2025.
>> So how does this travel into November?
>> Well, I think I think that the trend is
irreversible in terms of the Republican performance
would just I mean, again, I just have to disagree
because if you look at past elections, you know, like
for instance, in 2016 where Rebecca Bradley, I mean,
she lost, she won by 94,500 votes, you know, when there
were 97,000 more Republicans who voted in
the presidential primary that year, that's not even
close to 20%. It's not even close to double digits in
terms of the difference between the two. You know,
Republicans have in the in the Trump era, lost races
where tons of money, the most money ever spent,
they've lost when not a lot of money spent. They've
lost by double digits. Each time that we've had these
things, it's just again, it's the brand is broken.
They are doubling down. The cult will continue. Tom
Tiffany, Derrick, Van Orden and whoever. Republicans
can finally try and get to be leader of the Senate and
Assembly or Republicans, you know, come November,
you know, it's just a disaster. But again,
Democrats have to do the work in order to get there.
>> Not a great correlation between spring elections
and fall elections in the state of Wisconsin. If you
look at 2023, Janet Protasiewicz won a Supreme
Court seat by ten points. 2024 Donald Trump wins
Wisconsin with the most votes of any statewide
candidate in history. So it's it's not a perfect
correlation, but I would say it's a warning sign for
Republicans, and they ought to take it that way.
>> So, Bill, what about the war in Iran and its
repercussions at home? >> I think it's having an
impact in this respect. Gas prices are up whether it's
a buck, buck 50 and people feel that. So the
fundamental question that every voter has to answer
when they go into the voting booth is, what's in
it for me if I vote for X or Y? And right now, that's
not great for Republicans, for Republicans to have a
shot this fall, gas needs to be at or below three
bucks a gallon. And if it's not, it's going to be a
tough cycle. >> Yeah, 33% gas prices
have gone up since Trump's war of choice in Iran.
>> So if if that somehow gets resolved and those gas
prices come down and inflation comes down, is it
does it kind of revert to a regular cycle then.
>> Because people are still losing their health care,
they're still seeing ICE, you know, the Gestapo in
our streets, you know, killing Americans who do
nothing more than protest. Like those things aren't
going to stop. And the cult of Trump within the
Republican Party of elected officials, specifically
Derrick Van Orton and Tom Tiffany, who both, as Bill
correctly pointed out, lost the congressional district.
I mean, Derrick Van Orton lost his district or Chris
Taylor 1 Derrick Van Norton's district by 22
points. Eau Claire and La Crosse were nearly 40%. It
could. >> It could revert to a
normal cycle before the war broke out in the Middle
East. The generic ballot was a couple points
favorable towards Democrats. That's something that
Republicans can and compete in and win in. Now it's 5
or 6, and in some polls it's eight points. That's a
much tougher environment for Republicans.
>> So, Scott, what about for Democrats in their
splintered primary for governor with so many
candidates? there's more coverage of
what Democrats are talking about because they're not
attacking each other, not going after each other.
It's the same thing from 2018. I mean, there were
hardly any even contrast levels in the 2018 primary
for for Democrats. And what ended up happening, Tony
Evers upset Scott Walker, who was trying to win a
third term. And didn't you know, I think that on top
of, you know, not just that ballot, but talking I'm
sorry to your question, not just talking about the
Democrats in the in the in the primary, but what
that's going to do for the down ballot, the state
Senate and state Assembly. I mean, we saw things like,
you know, some of the targets, the best targets
the Republicans have in the state Senate, Jeff Smith,
Chris Taylor won his district by 30 points. Like,
you know, that's all I mean, there's even new there's
new meat on the table as results of of Tuesday night.
>> Not surprising but a different take. There's 123
days until the primary. If they do not define one
another Francesca Hong will be the Democratic nominee.
>> What's the money race going to look like?
>> It's going to be very different this fall. Maria
Lazar got no outside help, including from allied
groups like the Federalist Society and WMC, who have
always spent seven figures in Supreme Court races.
This fall, the money will be there for Tom Tiffany.
>> And what about the money on the Democratic side?
>> Golly yes, I think that the money is going to be
there for Democrats because they have been an
incredible fundraising you know, since Wikler.
Thankfully. >> He's Wikler gone.
>> So but Devin's doing a good job of raising the
money too. You know, again, Democrats need to do what
in order to win these races? It's not about outraising
the Republicans. It's about a consistent, relentless
assault on what Republicans stand for and how they are
hurting the people of Wisconsin.
>> 207 days to go. It's time to get the war over