'Here & Now' Highlights: US Sen. Tammy Baldwin, former Gov. Tommy Thompson
Here's what guests on the Nov. 6, 2026 episode said about the Democratic blowout in the midterm elections.
By Frederica Freyberg | Here & Now
November 9, 2026

Frederica Freyberg and U.S. Sen. Tammy Baldwin (Credit: PBS Wisconsin)
Democrats won Wisconsin’s elections for governor, both houses of the state Legislature and flipped two previously Republican-held congressional seats. Democratic U.S. Sen. Tammy Baldwin, who was not on the ballot, said she knew a blue wave was brewing after campaigning for other candidates across the state.
Former Gov. Tommy Thompson said the Republican Party decimation on Nov. 3 was a complete rejection.
U.S. Sen. Tammy Baldwin
D-Wisconsin
- Baldwin said the midterms were a repudiation of President Donald Trump and MAGA, which she described as becoming clearer in the weeks leading up to the election. Going forward, she said the new Democratic majorities in Congress will enact a two-pronged approach to answer the desire of their voters to usher out the Trump era.
- Baldwin: “They’re struggling. Small businesses, farmers, families are struggling. And they’re smart — they know who’s to blame. So moving forward, there’s a number of things we have to do. We have to have oversight and accountability to make sure that the corruption that we have seen over the last year, well, almost two years now, comes to an end. This president is enriching himself at the same time that others are just struggling to get by. But we also need to address the high cost of things immediately. And there’s things we can do to bring down the cost of gas and diesel, and to bring down the costs of healthcare and prescription medication, and there’s things we can do to bring down the cost of childcare — all the things that people are struggling with. I think we can do oversight and hold this administration to account at the same time that we’re addressing the very central needs that voters have told us, not just in Wisconsin, but across the country.”
Tommy Thompson
Republican former governor
- Democratic Gov.-elect David Crowley won the governor’s office by an 8-point margin over Republican candidate Tom TIffany. The victory marked the largest margin in a gubernatorial race in Wisconsin since 1998, when Thompson won by 21 points. Thompson served four terms as governor and prides himself on being a pragmatic politician who worked across the aisle. He became a Trump supporter but now he blames the president’s go-it-alone style and Republicans who allowed it for the crushing midterm defeat.
- Thompson: “President Trump was not helpful in this election, and the people certainly repudiated President Trump. His popularity is at 31% across the country. That tells me that that is a rejection. And the Republican Party has allowed Donald Trump, the president, to be able to make all the decisions as to what direction MAGA is going. That’s not right. The House, the Senate, and state legislators, state governors have got to get in. If they want to change this party and become a majority party again, they got to start taking some control and start making their own decisions, and not just let the President of the United States make the decision. That’s the issue.”
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