News of the Day November 6, 2026
Democrat Leaders Share Priorities for Next State Legislature

For the first time in 16 years, Democrats will have full control of the Wisconsin state Legislature after Tuesday night’s election flipped both the Senate and Assembly.

And the two presumptive leaders in those chambers say they have big plans for the upcoming legislative session.

Senate Minority Leader Dianne Hesselbein, D-Middleton, and Assembly Minority Leader Greta Neubauer, D-Racine, both took the stage Tuesday night at a Milwaukee victory party for Governor-elect David Crowley, to share the news that, coupled with Crowley’s win, Democrats had achieved the state trifecta they’d hoped for all year.

“With this trifecta, we will end decades of Republican obstructionism,” said Neubauer, who is expected to be elevated by her Democratic colleagues to Assembly Speaker. “We will show that government can be a force for good in people’s lives, and that things will be different when Democrats are in charge.”

In postmortem interviews, Neubauer and Hesselbein, who is expected to be tapped by Democrats as Senate Majority leader, offered a range of priorities they’ll tackle upon taking power.

Both said lowering costs for families was a top priority, alongside increasing public school funding, legalizing cannabis and expanding abortion access.

They’ll have a state surplus of more than $3 billion to achieve their goals. But they also have their work cut out for them. With slim margins, the leaders will need to maintain control of diverse caucuses that include progressives and centrists, and lawmakers from safe districts alongside those who Republicans will be all too eager to run against in two years.