WisGOP Research Update 2/18/26

February 18, 2026

Tony Evers predictably attempted to rewrite history, claiming personal credit for Republican progress on tax relief, affordable housing, and lower utility costs.

• These achievements only happened because Republicans in the Legislature held the line against his tax-and-spend antics and forced real results.

• Tony Evers’ 400-year veto raised taxes for every Wisconsinite. He made the direct choice to take more money out of Wisconsin voters’ pockets.

• Evers also included tax increases in every single budget proposal.

• Republicans have lowered taxes to alleviate the burden of Evers' tax increases. 

• Without them, Evers, Barnes, and Rodriguez would have raised taxes in every area of our lives.

• Republicans in the Assembly and Senate lowered utility costs by removing taxes.

• Evers’ PSC then turned around and raised utility costs across the state.

• Evers attempted to take credit for bringing more affordable housing, but it was Republicans in the Assembly and Senate who passed a package of bills to lower the cost of homes for every family.

• While Tony bragged about “helping farmers,” he really meant hurting them with a 1700% increase in livestock costs. This cost increase is devastating to our farmers.

• Evers wanted to brag about helping education in our state, but under Jill Underly and his administration, students continue to fail, and reading and math scores are plummeting. 

• For the so-called “education Governor,” he’s failed to help our kids.

• Evers’ attempt to discredit the Big Beautiful Bill also backfired. While he tried to say the bill hurt rural hospitals, the truth is it provided a historic investment in our rural hospitals.

• With these investments, hospitals are able to expand their infrastructure and provide better care to our communities.

• Republicans have consistently delivered for working families: record tax relief benefiting the middle class, workforce training for over 127,000 workers, debt reduction, and measures to keep energy affordable.

  
  

The Republican Party of Wisconsin today announced it has filed an amicus curiae brief in support of the United States Department of Justice in the federal lawsuit United States of America v. Wisconsin Elections Commission and Meagan Wolfe, et al. 

• The brief, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Wisconsin, underscores the RPW’s strong commitment to ensuring that Wisconsin’s voter registration lists are accurate, up-to-date, and limited to eligible U.S. citizens.

• Acting on behalf of hundreds of thousands of qualified Wisconsin voters, the Republican Party of Wisconsin is urging the court to allow the DOJ’s investigation of Wisconsin’s voter rolls to continue and require WEC to confidentially provide the DOJ with the voter registration data requested, including necessary personally identifiable information.

• The party maintains that lawful elections require regularly maintained, accurate voter rolls free from outdated, ineligible, or unlawful entries, which WEC has continually failed to do.

• Wisconsin voters have a right to elections they can trust. 

• For years, the Wisconsin Elections Commission has refused to properly clean our voter rolls, even admitting it makes no effort to identify or remove non-citizens who may be illegally registered.

• That position directly contradicts the will of Wisconsin voters, who in 2024 overwhelmingly amended our state constitution to ensure that only U.S. citizens may vote in our elections.

• The DOJ is simply trying to do its job under longstanding federal civil rights and election laws. 

  
  

WEC has continuously failed to put Wisconsin voters first by allowing our voter rolls to go unmanaged, diluting the system and its effectiveness. 

• The voting rights of lawfully registered voters are threatened when a state fails to properly administer elections and maintain accurate registration records.

• WEC has failed to adequately manage Wisconsin’s voter rolls by retaining large numbers of unnecessary or outdated records, undermining the effectiveness and integrity of the system. 

• In its response to the DOJ’s inquiry, WEC admitted it makes no effort to identify or remove non-citizens who may be illegally registered to vote in Wisconsin (Dkt. 3-1, p. 9).

• This position mirrors WEC’s stance in Cerney v. WEC, where it asserted it had no responsibility to prevent, investigate, or remove non-citizens from voter registration lists.

• This posture directly conflicts with Wisconsin’s Constitution, amended in 2024 to state explicitly that only U.S. citizens may vote in Wisconsin elections, a measure approved by more than 70% of voters statewide.