Collaborationist profile: Governor Tony Evers

The most powerful Democrat in Wisconsin is probably also the most collaborationist. Tony Evers has been the leader of the Wisconsin Democrats since he won his gubernatorial election in 2018. Under his leadership the Republican Party continues their minority rule control of state politics. 

People who defend Tony Evers claim he is doing the best he can against a corrupt and belligerent Republican legislature. In actuality, he is only doing the bare minimum against that legislature. Can you think of a law that Evers vetoed that the average Democrat would have signed? No. There are none. Evers has signed this list of terrible deals : Brewers stadium giveaway, I94 expansion, privatizing education, snitch houses, youth prison expansion, 10 year felony for water defenders, reckless expansion of felony sentences, maps that are still gerrymandered, and a terrible shared revenue deal. This list is NOT “doing his best.” Most Democrats would have vetoed, or at least negotiated better deals before signing these laws.

Wisconsin has been suffering under Republican austerity budgets for decades, and Evers just signed his fourth. He even undermined the leverage of Democratic senators who were trying to negotiate for better. Evers’s media team brags about this “year of the child” budget, but in actuality, his budget reduces support for childcare and K-12 education. 

Initially, it seemed like Evers was only bad on prison issues. His 2019 proposed budget was incredibly slim on the DOC while thorough and robust on other subjects, especially education. After his re-election in 2022, though, Evers revealed that he only cares about himself. He threw education under the bus. He screwed over rural Wisconsinites to deliver the tax cuts  conservative elites demanded. He has also remained completely disinterested in prison reform, growing the prison population dramatically, allowing torturous conditions, and shrugging off alarming death rates.  

The only thing Tony Evers seems to care about is his brand as a folksy bipartisan compromiser. Its easy to believe that Tony Evers is a kind man, a well-intentioned but weak politician, who just doesn’t know how to negotiate. Anyone who has seen him speak knows he comes across that way, but under his aw shucks facade, this governor is making morally depraved choices with dire consequences in people’s lives. Angling for compromise when the opposition party is filled with outright fascists is politically reckless and ethically vacant. When it comes to the left wing of his own party, Evers suddenly has a spine, he can be ruthlessly stubborn, ensuring that he controls processes to reward the corporate money and elite interests who bankroll his political career. 

How did we get Evers?

The next line from Evers apologists is that he won. He’s the one who beat Scott Walker, but is he really the only one who could have? How would things be different if someone else was given the chance? Let’s look for answers in the 2018 race. Evers did win that primary, but it was under ideal circumstances for a centrist like him. 

First, there was a very crowded field of nine candidates, most them to the left of Evers. Evers was the only one among them with statewide recognition, and got 225,082 votes (41.8%). That’s more than the next four candidates combined, but not an outright majority. If Democrats had ranked choice primary voting, or if the left had consolidated behind one candidate, they may have beat Evers. 

Second, Wisconsin has open primaries, which means you don’t have to be a Democrat to vote in Democratic Primaries. In 2018, Scott Walker was an incumbent and the only other statewide race was against very popular Democrat Tammy Baldwin (who won the general by 11 points.) This means the Republican primary was lower stakes, making it easier for Republicans (or for conservatives who consider themselves “independent”) to cross party and vote in the Democratic primary. We did some math and both the primary vs general vote proportions and county breakdowns suggest that a significant number of Republicans and “independents” made that choice, helping Evers win the primary. This kind of party sabotage and dilution of values are known risks of open primaries. 

Third, Wisconsin is racist and sexist. Evers’ top primary opponents were Mahlon Mitchell (a Black man) and Kelda Roys (a white woman). Many “strategic” liberals default to straight white men, fearing that other demographics are too risky, but we did not find data in Wisconsin to support this. Unfortunately, though, fear mongering is effective, and when racists and sexists try to bury their “isms” by saying they’re just afraid the other guy is thinking that way, racism and sexism are perpetuated, the system works the way it’s supposed to, and we get tragedies like Tony Evers’ primary victory.   

After winning the primary, Tony Evers only won the 2018 general election by 1.1%, or 29,227 votes. That’s entirely too close to celebrate. Tony Evers isn’t a unique hero, exclusively capable of slaying the Scott Walker dragon. Walker was very vulnerable. He’d survived a contentious recall, and was fighting with his legislature about whether or not to stop torturing kids. He definitely should have lost by more than 1.1%. A candidate like Mitchell or Roys, using a working class populist and base mobilization strategy likely would have won with a strong mandate and the conviction to wield it.

Evers doesn’t care

On May 20, Governor Evers went on Wisconsin Eye’s Newsmakers, where he was told that only one third of Democrats are optimistic about the party and asked if he was surprised by that. His dispassionate response was: “Not really. When you lose the presidency that causes a lot of angst thinking about the future… I think there’s a lot of angst, there’s always a lot of angst in the Democratic Party.” This man has no sense of urgency, no concern about the crisis in his party. Rumors are he got into it because of career climbing, that he wanted to be national Secretary of Education under Biden. Since being snubbed, he’s just been coasting, a puppet of his staff.

Evers’ nonchalance does not bode well for the 2026 gubernatorial race, and neither do his poll numbers. It’s always important to read polls critically, but there are some insights here. Overall, 55% of respondents say Evers should not run. Unfortunately, 83% of Democrats say he should, which may embolden him. Remember the numbers above? Tony Evers won in 2018 by appealing to Republicans and conservative independents. Bipartisanship is his brand and his entire campaign strategy. Well, now that he’s been in office long enough for the GOP hate machine to work him over, fully 93% of Republicans are against him. Those numbers are a death knell for the bipartisan outreach strategy Evers has pursued with an almost manic single-mindedness. 

Tony Evers Needs to Retire

Milwaukee Beagle is not alone opposing a three term Tony. Dan Schafer at the Recombobulation Area beat us to the punch. That article piles undeserved flattery on Evers and focuses solely on his age, but elsewhere he’s been more critical. Robert Kraig from Wisconsin Citizen Action is much more honest, recognizing that Evers’ collaborationism is a threat to democracy in our state. Evers has been coy about his intentions, but he’s already taken $750,000 from his wealthy patrons who clearly want to keep their guy in office. 

Tony Evers running will put Wisconsin Democrats on track to repeat the obvious mistakes of Joe Biden in 2024. This is not a perfect comparison, but it’s close enough to count. Running again would be Tony Evers’s final gift to Republicans, his final act of fascist collaboration. By preventing a primary, he will not only deny Wisconsinites participation in politics, but also hand Republicans the Governor’s seat.