Wisconsin’s 2026 campaign ads and big national endorsements

Inside Wisconsin Politics

Wisconsin’s 2026 campaign ads and big national endorsements

Ads for and against Tom Tiffany and David Crowley flood the airwaves and streamers, and national figures make endorsements — Inside Wisconsin Politics looks at the races for governor and Congress.

October 8, 2026

Donald Trump gestures with both hands held out to the side while speaking into a microphone mounted to the top of a podium with the Seal of the President of the United States affixed to its front, with out-of-focus audience members in the background behind him and a teleprompter mirror in the foreground on one side.
Donald Trump gestures with both hands held out to the side while speaking into a microphone mounted to the top of a podium with the Seal of the President of the United States affixed to its front, with out-of-focus audience members in the background behind him and a teleprompter mirror in the foreground on one side.

Elections

Disaster relief funding is creeping into Trump’s 2026 campaign rhetoric, including for Wisconsin

President Donald Trump has turned emergency relief into a campaign talking point, voicing support for Republican U.S. Rep. Tom Tiffany in Wisconsin’s 2026 race for governor while pledging millions of dollars to the state for storm recovery.

October 7, 2026

A cryptocurrency ATM kiosk with an illuminated touchscreen with the words The Best Time to Buy Bitcoin? stands next two three video gambling machines with stackable chairs facing each, in a room with a window on one side and a ceiling-mounted round mirror in a corner.
A cryptocurrency ATM kiosk with an illuminated touchscreen with the words The Best Time to Buy Bitcoin? stands next two three video gambling machines with stackable chairs facing each, in a room with a window on one side and a ceiling-mounted round mirror in a corner.

Courts

How much is Wisconsin’s crypto ATM law limiting scams?

Wisconsin enacted a law regulating cryptocurrency ATMS to limit the impact of scammers but did not ban the kiosks as in other some states — law enforcement agencies and state regulators say the restrictions are already having an effect.

October 7, 2026

Jerry Helmer, Judith Willink Grose on Trump’s clout in 2026
Jerry Helmer, Judith Willink Grose on Trump’s clout in 2026

Elections

Jerry Helmer, Judith Willink Grose on Trump’s clout in 2026

Republican Party of Sauk County Chair Jerry Helmer and Democratic Party of Sauk County Chair Judith Willink Grose discuss how President Donald Trump might factor into the outcome of the 2026 election.

October 7, 2026 • South Central Region

Side-by-side photos show campaign yard signs — one with the words Matt Burch and Sauk County Sheriff and the other with the words Ryan Jesberger for Sauk County Sheriff — displayed in lawns in front of a house and barn, respectively.
Side-by-side photos show campaign yard signs — one with the words Matt Burch and Sauk County Sheriff and the other with the words Ryan Jesberger for Sauk County Sheriff — displayed in lawns in front of a house and barn, respectively.

Elections

Cooperation with ICE is at issue in two 2026 sheriff races in Wisconsin

In the November 2026 election, voters in Sauk and Winnebago counties will choose between sheriff candidates who have competing visions for local law enforcement's role in immigration enforcement and its relationship with ICE.

October 6, 2026

Sydney Stinson, Zachary Tomlinson on Gen Z voting by gender
Sydney Stinson, Zachary Tomlinson on Gen Z voting by gender

Elections

Sydney Stinson, Zachary Tomlinson on Gen Z voting by gender

UW-Milwaukee College Democrats Vice Chair Sydney Stinson and Turning Point USA UW-Madison President Zachary Tomlinson discuss political and partisan gender divides among Generation Z men and women.

October 6, 2026

Francis Halzen stands and gestures with this left hand and holds a presentation clicker in his right hand while speaking in a room with an out-of-focus wood podium in the background.
Francis Halzen stands and gestures with this left hand and holds a presentation clicker in his right hand while speaking in a room with an out-of-focus wood podium in the background.

Science

Scientist who hunts mysterious ghost particles in the Antarctic ice wins Nobel Prize for physics

Belgian-born scientist Francis Halzen has won the Nobel Prize in physics for his research on neutrinos, particles that offer clues about the development of the universe — the 82-year-old scientist is affiliated with UW-Madison, which operates the IceCube Neutrino Observatory in Antarctica.

October 6, 2026

A paperbound text book with the words Level 6 and Journey to Success on its spine sits on the wood-laminate surface of a table, with multiple out-of-focus papers on top of it.
A paperbound text book with the words Level 6 and Journey to Success on its spine sits on the wood-laminate surface of a table, with multiple out-of-focus papers on top of it.

Politics

Federal judge rules immigrants in Wisconsin, multiple other states can keep using clinics, Head Start and adult education

In response to a lawsuit filed by Wisconsin and 20 other attorneys general, a federal judge rejected a controversial rule that would have required states to check the immigration status of anyone seeking to use federally funded adult education, Head Start, community health clinics and more.

October 5, 2026

Anthony Chergosky on a partisan gender gap for Gen Z voters
Anthony Chergosky on a partisan gender gap for Gen Z voters

Elections

Anthony Chergosky on a partisan gender gap for Gen Z voters

UW-La Crosse political science professor Anthony Chergosky considers how the wide gender divide for Generation Z voters may be influenced by the issue of abortion and the "Dobbs v. Jackson" decision.

October 5, 2026

A stone obelisk monument topped by a cross stands among lower headstones in a cemetery next to a chain-link fence, with a line of utility poles, road and trees in the background.
A stone obelisk monument topped by a cross stands among lower headstones in a cemetery next to a chain-link fence, with a line of utility poles, road and trees in the background.

Indigenous

Researchers identify graves of students from a Milwaukee Indian boarding school

Indigenous leaders and allies working with Marquette University and UW-Milwaukee identified graves of at least a dozen Indigenous students at Good Shepherd Industrial School, which was a federally funded Indian boarding school in Milwaukee in the late 19th century.

October 5, 2026 • Southeast Region