Tony Evers on taxes; Tim Michels on Kenosha; Ron Johnson on Social Security

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Tony Evers on taxes

Just in time for the fall election, Democratic Gov. Tony Evers played the tax-cut card Tuesday.

Corrinne Hess reports on Evers' plan to tap the state's nearly $4 billion biennium budget surplus to provide more than $600 million in tax relief including a 10% income tax cut.

“Our state is in a strong fiscal position, and there is no reason these dollars should sit in state coffers when families need help now,” Evers said during a news conference at Malaika Early Learning Center in Milwaukee. “We can help lower out-of-pocket costs for Wisconsinites today while providing long-term tax relief and still making sure we have readily available state resources to invest in our priorities in the next state budget.”

After hearing of Evers' proposed tax cuts, his Republican rival, Tim Michels, said, "Tony Evers knows that today is the two-year anniversary of perhaps his largest failure, and he's trying to cloak it over."

The plan is likely DOA in the Republican-led Legislature, with Assembly Speaker Robin Vos declaring in a tweet: This is obviously an attempt to distract from his failed record in Kenosha dealing with the riot. The date isn't a coincidence. More politics instead of results from Tony Evers, just like the last 4 years."

Tim Michels on Kenosha

Republican governor candidate Tim Michels marked the two-year anniversary of Kenosha's unrest Tuesday by touring several sites that were destroyed in the wake of the shooting of Jacob Blake.

Molly Beck reports that Michels and Attorney General candidate Eric Toney met with U.S. Rep. Bryan Steil, law enforcement officers and Kenosha officials who blamed Gov. Tony Evers for what they described as a reckless and negligent response to the riots.

"You can fix buildings, you can rebuild businesses, but the fear that I still heard in people's voices today — the concern that they have that this could happen again because they see no change in Madison. That's what November is all about," Michels told reporters following a roundtable discussion with law enforcement, local officials and local business owners affected by the 2020 riots.

"Obviously violence and the results that happened are not acceptable in any stretch of the way, but we worked with the leaders in Kenosha and every time they asked us for something — even the very first day — we did exactly what they wanted us to do," Evers said Monday during a campaign stop in West Allis.

Evers said blaming him now, is "ridiculous."

"People should feel free to talk to the leadership in Kenosha, they will agree," Evers said. "It's a dead issue, obviously we want Kenosha to recover and move to a better place, but at the end of the day, blaming me for that situation is just dead wrong and it's just politics as usual."

Ron Johnson on Social Security

For the second time in recent weeks, Republican U.S. Sen. Ron Johnson weighed in on Social Security.

During a Wednesday campaign stop in Rice Lake, Johnson said Social Security "was set up improperly" and that the system's funds would have been better off invested in the stock market.

The comments came on the heels of Johnson previously declaring Social Security and Medicare should be subject to annual budget deliberations.

Democrats have harshly criticized Johnson for his remarks.

The senator isn't backing down, though.

"What I want to do is I want to actually look at the problem and try and start fixing it," Johnson said in Rice Lake, according to a recording obtained by the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Johnson was responding to a series of questions from one of those attending a meet-and-greet session.

He later laid out his views on Social Security, Medicare and the budget process.

Meanwhile, Saul Anuzis, president of 60 Plus the American Association of Senior Citizens, a right-leaning nonprofit advocacy group, backed Johnson in an opinion piece.

Is there a thaw underway between Milwaukee and GOP leaders in Madison?

There was a quiet and interesting meeting last week when top Republican legislative leaders visited Milwaukee to celebrate the city winning the 2024 Republican Convention and to talk about financial problems facing the area.

Milwaukee Mayor Cavalier Johnson and Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley were among those to speak to the GOP delegation, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel learned.

Assembly Speaker Robin Vos attended Wednesday night's opening session while Senate Majority Leader Devin LeMahieu was at both events.

"I think it's refreshing to see new leadership in Milwaukee and the new mayor developing those relationships," LeMahieu said. "From that standpoint, it was a good meeting."

You can read the article here.

What you need to know about ...

Ben Baker has compiled a nifty brief on the two main candidates running for lieutenant governor.

There's Sara Rodriguez, who is running with Democratic Gov. Tony Evers.

And there's Roger Roth, the Republican running with Tim Michels.

Around the horn

Robin Vos fired Michael Gableman but the retired judge has landed on his feet. The news came after a judge admonished Gableman's 2020 election review.

And speaking of Vos, he'll now face a write-in challenge from the candidate he defeated in the GOP primary, Adam Steen.

Wisconsin is historically ahead of the curve in voting access.

Ron Johnson is in a familiar spot, down in the polls against a Democratic rival. He won in 2016. Can he do it again in 2022? Craig Gilbert has some thoughts.

And here's the story on last week's Marquette Poll that showed Lt. Gov. Mandela Barnes with a 7-point advantage over U.S. Sen. Ron Johnson and Gov. Tony Evers up by 2 points over businessman Tim Michels.

Tweet of the week

Former White House ethics lawyer Richard W. Painter reacting to the news of a massive $1.6 billion donation bolstering conservatives: "So, is American politics now just a war of attrition between conservative and liberal billionaires?"

This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Tony Evers on taxes; Tim Michels on Kenosha