Evers cites accomplishments, ongoing concerns in his final State of the State address

With 10 months remaining in his second term as Wisconsin's 46th governor, Evers addressed his administration's accomplishments, his policy priorities for his final months as governor, and his concerns about Wisconsin’s future in his eighth and final State of the State address on Feb. 17. 

In typical fashion, one side of the aisle applauded while the other appeared disinterested.  The one exception was when Evers mentioned it was his ‘final’ speech.  Assembly Leader Robin Vos, seated directly behind Evers, applauded enthusiastically. The grand finale was the entrance of the UW-Madison Marching Band playing On Wisconsin.

The challenges of partisanship  

Evers kept the focus on his administration’s bipartisan accomplishments in the face of a divided government.

“My vetoes are often the focus of news coverage and even political criticism,” said Evers.  “But here’s the truth: I’ve signed over 800 bills as governor, and more than 97 percent of the bills I’ve signed passed with bipartisan support.”  

Four bipartisan state budgets were negotiated and passed on time. Other bipartisan legislation included funding for the justice system, tax credits to help lower the cost of childcare, and support for telehealth services.  Evers also signed bipartisan legislation to rein in energy bills as well as several tax relief bills.

“In fact, middle-class taxpayers have seen an income tax cut of 23 percent – more than double what I promised. Wisconsinites, you’re keeping more of your hard-earned money today than at any point in the last 50 years,” said Evers.

Evers also signed a deal that kept the Brewers in Milwaukee through 2050, a shared-revenue agreement that boosted state support for local municipalities. His signature also finalized the replacement of the heavily gerrymandered GOP maps with maps that resulted in a legislature whose Democrat-Republican split more accurately aligns with the state’s demographic makeup.   

Evers cautioned that there is no guarantee that partisan gerrymandering would not happen again after the next census. Therefore, Evers announced that he will call a special session this spring to consider a resolution to place a constitutional amendment on the ballot to ban partisan redistricting. During his time in office, Evers called 13 special sessions on issues like abortion access, workforce development, school funding, and gun control. Most sessions were immediately gaveled in and out by Republicans without action

Evers, a moderate Democrat, had an uneasy relationship with the Republican-controlled state legislature throughout his tenure. Over his nearly eight years as governor, Evers vetoed many of the partisan bills passed by the Republican majority, putting a check on Republican power after their eight years of total control.

There is more work to be done

Evers’ 2026 legislative priorities include plans to lower health care costs for families, to lower property taxes, provide funding for local schools, and work towards a permanent solution for nonpartisan redistricting. 

"We can’t afford for lawmakers to lose focus on the future we’ve been working hard to build together just because it’s an election year," he said.  “I know many lawmakers are antsy to end the legislative session and pack up to get back on the campaign trail.” 

He joked that, as someone who had won five statewide elections, he was happy to offer advice to those running for office.

Over the last four budgets, the Legislature has rejected more than $7 billion in K-12 funding requests from Evers. As a result, school districts have held a record number of referendums, in which local communities voted to raise their own taxes to make up for the state revenue shortfalls.   

“I get Republicans want to blame my 400-year veto for property taxes going up. Why? Politics, of course,” said Evers. “Here’s the truth: funding our schools is a responsibility that the state and local partners share. Local property taxes go up when the state fails to do its part to meet its obligation.” 

Evers urged more work on public safety. He asked the Legislature to make the Wisconsin Office of Violence Prevention permanent and fund Victims of Crime Act programs. More must be done on gun violence prevention and correctional facilities, he insisted. 

Evers, who made the environment a focus during his terms, stressed such successes as partnerships to develop clean energy – including nuclear and fusion – data center regulation, renewing the Knowles-Nelson Stewardship Program, and the release of funding for the bipartisan PFS legislation approved two years ago. 

Evers proclaimed 2026 as The Year of the Neighbor, likely in response to the current political climate and the uptick in hostility toward immigrants. 

“We’re going to spend the next year celebrating the neighbors who make Wisconsin the great place it is to call home,” he said.

Evers rejected a tax relief package proposed this week by Republican leaders, saying the state can come up with a better, more equitable plan 

Concerns for Wisconsin’s future are many

Evers said that the chaos created by the Trump administration keeps him up at night. 

“I’m worried about the impacts of reckless decisions being made in Washington, and that these decisions will have disastrous consequences for Wisconsinites, taxpayers, and our state budget moving forward,” he said.

Among those concerns are the thousands of Wisconsin federal employees who were terminated without cause, along with how Wisconsinites who rely on their services are being impacted by those unfilled positions. Due to the administration’s mass deportation policy, families are afraid to leave their homes and are being torn apart, he said.  He argued that the impact on the dairy industry may be catastrophic and that families are feeling the squeeze from the chaotic tariff wars.

Evers urged the Legislature to invest in FoodShare quality-control efforts to keep FoodShare error rates down and avoid penalties imposed by the Trump administration. An investment of $70 million now will save Wisconsin taxpayers up to $200 million in penalty fees later, he insisted. 

“We’ve been asking for this for months, and it has to get done. If the Legislature fails to provide the funding the state needs, Republicans will be to blame for the penalty fees taxpayers will be forced to pay,” he said. 

Evers also pointed out that healthcare costs are estimated to result in an additional 270,000 Wisconsin residents losing coverage, much of that the result of the federal government’s refusal to extend the Affordable Care Act’s enhanced subsidies. 

'... what's best for our kids"

Tony Evers was a lifelong educator with more than three decades in public education, serving as a science teacher, principal, and district superintendent across various Wisconsin districts. He served three terms as the Wisconsin State Superintendent of Public Instruction and defeated Scott Walker in 2018 to become the 46th governor of Wisconsin. 

“I’ve devoted most of my life to doing what’s best for our kids,” he said. “After watching a Republican Governor and Legislature shred my education budgets as state superintendent, I knew we could do more and better for our kids. Our kids are why I got into this gig in the first place.”

State Senator Kristin Dassler-Alfheim (D-Appleton) praised the address and called on Republicans to cross the aisle to get things done soon.

“We are in the midst of an affordability crisis," she said in a statement. "This is the number one issue that we should be focusing on right now, and Governor Evers and legislative Democrats have been committed to lowering costs and improving lives since the start of session over a year ago. Time is running out in the legislative session to take action on the proposals we’ve put forth that would immediately lower costs for families, and I hope that Republicans will join us at the negotiation table to work something out.” 

Seven Democrats are vying to be Wisconsin’s next governor: Lt. Gov. Sara Rodriguez, Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley, Sen. Kelda Roys,  Rep. Francesca Hong, former Wisconsin Economic Development Corp. CEO Missy Hughes, former Lt. Gov. Mandela Barnes, and Greater Milwaukee Committee President Joel Brennan.

The Democratic candidate who wins the primary election on August 17 will run in the General Election on Nov. 10. Currently, the Republican candidate for governor is Congressman Tom Tiffany, who represents the 7^th Congressional District in northern Wisconsin.

 Evers cites accomplishments, ongoing concerns in his final State of the State address © 2026 by Carol Lenz is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 4.0

·