It's likely Governor-Elect Tony Evers will face a significant amount of gridlock early on in his term with a Republican-led state legislature.
That's according to Marquette University Assistant Political Science Professor Philip Roco. Roco says "the Republican legislature wants to work with Governor Tony Evers but they want to work with him on their terms."
This comes as Republican Assembly Speaker Robin Vos floated the idea Wednesday to "rebalance" the governor-elect's powers.
In a statement Vos said, "The reality is that the voters of Wisconsin have chosen divided government. The state that elected Tony Evers as governor also chose 64 hardworking and passionate Republicans to represent areas throughout our great state. While yesterday was a win for Governor-elect Evers, it cannot be seen as any kind of mandate for change. Assembly Republicans will continue to deliver on our conservative promises to our constituents and won’t allow Wisconsin to slide backward."
The statement from the speaker came just hours after Governor-elect Evers spoke to reporters for the first time following his win last night. Evers said he had talked with the Republican leader earlier in the day.
"Now is a time for us to come together... I'm eager to begin working with them in the near future to find ways to solve the problems that are facing the state of Wisconsin" said Evers.
Evers spokeswoman Britt Cudaback released a statement Wednesday evening on Vos' comments.
“It’s unfortunate that Speaker Vos is doubling down on division just hours after Governor-elect Evers called on Speaker Vos and Majority Leader Fitzgerald to set aside differences and work together on the pressing issues facing our state. These are the same desperate antics of politicians hellbent on staying in power after eight years. The people of Wisconsin deserve better from our government, and that’s why they voted for a change yesterday.”
