Wisconsin voters approved two of three Republican-backed constitutional amendments on Nov. 3, including a ban on race- and sex-based preferential treatment in government and a limit on the governor’s power to raise taxes through the partial veto. At the same time, they delivered a clear blue wave. Democrat David Crowley defeated Republican Tom Tiffany for governor, and Democrats flipped both the Assembly and Senate for the first time in 16 years.
Clearly, more voters endorse conservative restraints on government power. They also just rejected the candidates who advanced those restraints and installed a Democratic trifecta.
Wisconsin voters have shown they support equal treatment and limits on tax-raising executive power when those questions are presented directly. Many of those same voters, however, showed a clear disdain for any person with an R next to their name on the ballot.
Question 3, which prohibits government entities from discriminating against or granting preferential treatment based on race, sex, color, ethnicity, or national origin in public employment, education, contracting, or administration, passed with roughly 56.5% of the vote. The measure would end or severely restrict DEI programs, affirmative action, and similar preferences in state and local government, including the Universities of Wisconsin and technical colleges. It won by the widest margin of the three questions.
Question 1, which bars the governor from using the partial veto to create or increase any tax or fee, passed narrowly, about 50.7% to 49.3%. Republicans placed it on the ballot after then-Gov. Tony Evers’ 2023 400-year veto, which altered budget language to lock in annual $325-per-pupil school revenue limit increases through the year 2425. The amendment does not reverse that specific veto but prevents similar maneuvers going forward.
Voters did reject the third amendment, which would have barred state and local officials from closing places of worship during declared emergencies, including public health emergencies. It failed by roughly 52% to 48%.
These outcomes happened against a backdrop of national and statewide Democratic gains. Crowley, the Milwaukee County executive, defeated U.S. Rep. Tom Tiffany by about 8 points. Democrats secured an 18-15 majority in the Senate and a 53-46 majority in the Assembly. They also flipped two U.S. House seats. The night produced the first Democratic trifecta in state government since 2010.
Pre-election polling from the Wisconsin Institute for Law & Liberty had already shown broad support for the equality amendment (61% overall, including majorities of independents and a majority of Democrats) and plurality support for the veto limit. The election results largely tracked those numbers on the policy questions while diverging sharply on the candidates.
Wisconsin voters were willing to write clear limits into the state constitution on race- and sex-based preferences and on a governor’s ability to unilaterally raise taxes, yet they were unwilling to elect the Republican candidates who put those questions on the ballot and campaigned on related issues. Tiffany and legislative Republicans had tied their arguments to fairness, equal treatment under the law and protection against future tax hikes of the kind Evers delivered.
Wisconsin voters have shown they support equal treatment and limits on tax-raising executive power when those questions are presented directly. Many of those same voters, however, showed a clear disdain for any person with an R next to their name on the ballot. Shame, since those R’s would definitely work to enact policies more closely aligned with the constitutional amendments that passed than the D’s who ended up winning their elections. The electorate will learn sooner rather than later that treating every Republican as if he/she were President Trump was a costly decision.
