Gov. Tony Evers' re-election decision looms over battleground Wisconsin

Source: NBC News

July 6, 2025, 5:15 AM EDT


In one of the nation’s most closely divided battleground states, there’s one big question on both parties’ minds: Is Gov. Tony Evers going to run for a third term next year? The answer will have reverberating consequences in Wisconsin, where one of five Democratic-controlled governorships is up for grabs in 2026 in states President Donald Trump won last year.

Evers, 73, has said he would announce whether he’d run again after he reached a budget deal with Republicans, who control both chambers of the Legislature. But with an agreement rapidly signed, sealed and delivered last week, some Wisconsin Democrats are growing impatient for his decision.

“I’d like to see him make a decision, hopefully sooner rather than later, because I do think we’ve got a lot of elections that we need to be winning and focusing on,” Democratic state Sen. Kelda Roys, who ran against Evers in the 2018 Democratic gubernatorial primary, said last month. “If the governor makes a decision, I hope that’s going to be soon.”

One dynamic hanging over Evers’ decision is the possibility he wouldn’t have to deal with a combative Legislature fully controlled by Republicans, as he has throughout his tenure. A landmark 2023 Wisconsin Supreme Court decision from a newly installed liberal majority prompted the state’s gerrymandered maps to be redrawn, giving Democratic a much more realistic path to taking control of either the state Assembly or Senate in 2026.

Read more: https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/2026-election/gov-tony-evers-re-election-decision-looms-battleground-wisconsin-rcna216301