Wisconsin
The GOP’s Gerrymandered Grip on Wisconsin Elections Is About to Break
For more than a decade, Republicans had Wisconsin carved up into one of the worst partisan gerrymanders in the countryâpractically ensuring GOP control over the state legislature, despite losing 14 of the last 17 statewide elections. No longer. On Monday, Democratic Governor Tony Evers approved new district maps for the upcoming November election in what supporters hailed as âprogress towards true democracyâ in the key swing state. âWisconsin is not a red state or a blue stateâweâre a purple state, and I believe our maps should reflect that basic fact,â Evers said in a statement. âThe people should get to choose their elected officials, not the other way around.â
âThe long, dark night of ultra-partisan gerrymandering is over,â added Wisconsin Democratic Party Chair Ben Wikler. âA new day for democracy now dawns in the Badger State.â
The move by Evers comes after the state Supreme Court declared the current, GOP-friendly map unconstitutional. Its newest justice, Janet Protasiewicz, cast the deciding vote in that decision; the liberal won election to the open seat last spring in what was widely seen as a referendum on issues of democracy and abortion rights. âThe mainstream Wisconsinite wants to have a right to choose,â as Protasiewicz told me ahead of that election, âand wants to have fair maps.â Voters affirmed that in the election last April. âThis election changes everything,â Wikler told me afterward.
A day after Protasiewicz joined the court, democracy advocates filed a lawsuit challenging the Republican-drawn maps; the 4-3 liberal majority overturned the gerrymander in December, allowing Evers to redraw the maps. Though Republicans still control the legislature, they approved the Evers map last week, weeks before a March deadline. âIt pains me to say it, but Gov. Evers gets a huge win today,â Republican Assembly Speaker Robin Vos said. âThe legislature will be up for grabs.â
That holds a great deal of significance for Wisconsin, where Republicans have been âlaying siege to democracy itselfâ since 2011, as Wikler put it Monday. But it could also resonate beyond Wisconsin, which will host the 2024 Republican National Convention this July. The state was crucial Joe Bidenâs 2020 victoryâand a focus of Donald Trumpâs efforts to overturn his loss, which the Republican legislature supported with an absurd partisan âauditâ into the results that dragged on well into 2022. The new maps, then, are a âvictory, not for me or any political party, but for our state and for the people,â Evers said Monday. âIt is a new day in Wisconsin.â
What was different for Wisconsin in second half vs Minnesota
Wisconsin coach Greg Gard explained what was different for the Badgers in the second half of their comeback win over border-state rival Minnesota.
MADISON – Minnesota’s Niko Medved called it.
“We know [John] Blackwell and [Nick] Boyd – they’re going to really force the action here in the second half,” Medved recalled telling his team at halftime.
Blackwell and Boyd did exactly that as Wisconsin’s talented backcourt duo helped the Badgers overcome an 18-point halftime deficit en route to an improbable 67-63 win over Minnesota on Jan. 28 at the Kohl Center.
It was tied for the largest second-half comeback in program history, matching wins against Indiana in 2021, Ohio State in 1976 and Marquette in 1948.
The Badgers outscored Minnesota in the second half, 50-28, en route to the historic comeback. Blackwell and Boyd combined to score 37 of those 50 second-half points, including 15 of Wisconsin’s last 18 points of the game.
Box score | UW schedule
“We couldn’t put our heads down,” Blackwell said, “or we were going to lose that game. … Coach just challenged our leaders to be better. I think we did that in the second half. I think guys stepped up like BC [Braeden Carrington] and Jack [Janicki], and then we strung a great second half together.”
John Blackwell comes up big again in final minute
The double-digit comeback win – Wisconsin’s third in the month of January and second this season against Minnesota – was anything but a sure thing in the final stretch of a game that had a total of eight lead changes and three ties.
With 90 seconds remaining, Minnesota had a one-point lead and possession. Then Janicki came up with a crucial steal, and Blackwell gave the Badgers everything they could ask for from their star player in the last minute.
He drew a foul and hit a pair of free throws with one minute remaining to take the lead, came up with the rebound after Janicki got his fingertips on a potential go-ahead 3-pointer and hit a 3-pointer on the other end to give the Badgers a two-possession lead with 19 seconds remaining.
It’s nothing new for Blackwell, who had 27 points and a game-winning buzzer-beater against Minnesota 15 days earlier. The standout guard finished with a team-high 23 points and seven rebounds, marking his seventh consecutive game with a double-digit point total.
Blackwell and Boyd, Medved said, are “relentlessly aggressive.”
“You got to be able to take them on, and you got to be able to take them on without fouling,” Medved said. “We weren’t able to do that.”
Wisconsin’s improved shooting stood out, but comeback was due to much more than that
Wisconsin’s improved shooting was an obvious factor in the Badgers’ big comeback. After all, Wisconsin hit 70% of its shots in the second half after hitting only 17.9% of its shots in the first half.
But for as much as those numbers stand out, Wisconsin’s ability to do everything else – from defense to drawing contact – was a difference-maker as well in the comeback.
Wisconsin made more free throws in the second half (13) than it even attempted in the first half (four). Blackwell alone drew four fouls in the second half, and Boyd drew another four after halftime. That helped put the Badgers in the bonus for most of the second half.
“We initiated things better,” Gard said. “We were on attack mode better. We got to the free-throw line. … We were just tougher in all aspects of the game.”
Perhaps even more importantly, the Badgers showed improvement on the defensive end in the second half.
Yes, Minnesota technically shot a higher percentage in the second half (50%) than in the first (43%). But the Gophers turned the ball over on 29.6% of possessions in the second half rather than 9.7% in the first half and averaged fewer points per possession after intermission.
“Defensively, I thought we had more bite to us than what we did in the first half,” Gard said.
Wisconsin also made some defensive plays at critical moments that had an impact bigger than a glance at the box score might suggest. Janicki’s steal while UW trailed by one point is near the top of that list, as is the redshirt sophomore’s block with 45 seconds remaining.
“It was good for us to respond specifically from the defensive end,” Gard said. “Shots are going to come and go. They’ll fall eventually. But that other end is what got us back on track.”
That improved physicality was against a short-handed Minnesota team that was without leading scorer Cade Tyson, among others. The Gophers used only seven players, and three of their starters were on the floor for at least 38 minutes.
“Could you say that that’s a factor? Yeah,” Medved said. “But that’s not – everyone’s tired. I think we lose our focus sometimes in the second half. … If we’re going to say we’re tired, we’re just making excuses.”
Wisconsin’s rough first half starts with lack of shooting success, but also lack of physicality
Wisconsin’s rough first half was a continuation of the shooting woes that saddled the Badgers in the 73-71 loss to USC three days earlier.
After shooting 34.3% from the field and 24.3% from 3-point range against the Trojans, Wisconsin made only 17.9% of shots from the field and 25% from 3-point range in the first half against Minnesota.
It’s been quite the harbinger of the Badgers’ 2025-26 success, as they went into the Jan. 28 rivalry game with a 12-0 record when shooting at least 45% from the field versus a 2-6 record when falling short of that mark.
Of all the issues that Wisconsin experienced in the first half, though, the quality of shot attempts might be the last thing that comes to mind for Gard.
“It was how hard we were playing, how physical we were,” Gard said. “And then when you don’t play hard and you don’t play physical, you end up getting crappy looks. It’s amazing how that works when the ball doesn’t go in. You play hard, you play physical – man, it makes the ball go in. It’s magic.”
Wisconsin
Man in Wisconsin arrested after traffic stop leads officers to find marijuana in his underwear
President Donald Trump has endorsed U.S. Rep. Tom Tiffany, R-Minocqua, in his bid to be the next governor of Wisconsin.
Trump announced the endorsement Tuesday night, writing on his social media platform Truth Social that Tiffany had his “Complete and Total Endorsement.”
“He will fight to advance Common Sense Values, and put WISCONSIN, AND AMERICA, FIRST,” Trump wrote.
News with a little more humanity
WPR’s “Wisconsin Today” newsletter keeps you connected to the state you love without feeling overwhelmed. No paywall. No agenda. No corporate filter.
The endorsement puts to bed the questions of whether — and when — Trump would weigh in on the GOP primary for governor.
Tiffany, who has represented northern Wisconsin’s 7th District in Congress since 2020, was considered an early favorite to clinch the Republican nomination against Washington County Executive Josh Schoemann, but recent fundraising numbers suggested Schoemann could put up a fight.
The backing from Trump has proven critical in Republican primaries across the country, and it’s almost certain to give Tiffany a boost. Four years ago, Trump’s endorsement helped propel businessman Tim Michels over former Lt. Gov. Rebecca Kleefisch in the 2022 GOP primary for governor.
But whether the president’s nod is a help or a hindrance in the general election is an open question, especially in a cycle that polling suggests could favor Democrats. Four years ago, Michels lost to Democratic Gov. Tony Evers in the general election. And almost immediately after Trump’s endorsement Tuesday, the Democratic Party of Wisconsin looked to seize on the president’s support of Tiffany as a condemnation.
“We agree with Donald Trump—Tom Tiffany has been by his side for all of it: ICE murdering Americans in the streets, the Big Ugly Bill, ending funding for the Affordable Care Act, invading Greenland, and raising every day costs,” read a statement from state Democratic Party Chair Devin Remiker. “Donald Trump just made Tom Tiffany the general election nominee, and we will stop him from bringing his chaotic and dangerous agenda in November.”
At least seven candidates are running in the Democratic primary for governor, where many of them have made attacking Trump central to their campaigns. The winner of the general election will replace Evers, who is not seeking a third term.
Trump’s announcement came as part of a slate of endorsements posted to his Truth Social platform late Tuesday evening. He also endorsed Michael Alfonso, who is running for Tiffany’s soon-to-be-vacant seat in Congress.
Alfonso is the 25-year-old son-in-law of U.S. Treasury Secretary Sean Duffy, who represented the 7th District before Tiffany. He’s one of four Republicans running to replace Tiffany.
Trump called Alfonso “a young ‘STAR’.”
In a post on X, Alfonso wrote that it is his “greatest honor to accept this endorsement from President Donald J. Trump,” and pledged “to be a steadfast MAGA warrior.”
Wisconsin Public Radio, © Copyright 2026, Board of Regents of the University of Wisconsin System and Wisconsin Educational Communications Board.
How Wisconsin Badgers pulled off historic comeback win over Minnesota
Schools closures in West Virginia continue into Thursday, Jan. 29
January Grind: Week 7 Tips Off the Stretch Run in Wyoming Girls’ Hoops
Arthur Hayes Outlines Conditional Bitcoin Bull Case Tied to Fed Balance Sheet
Austin council member Paige Ellis may have violated campaign finance rules again
Florida High School Football Rankings: Top 25 teams – Oct. 21
Cleary's 21 help Le Moyne down Central Connecticut State 69-64 in OT
How old is Bo Nix? What to know about Oregon quarterback ahead of 2024 NFL Draft
99th annual Pony Swim held in Virginia
Indiana Members Credit Union announced as new anchor tenant at Bottleworks District
Trump admin finds California ban on notifying parents of gender transitions violated federal law
Syria grants immediate citizenship to Kurds in wake of gains against SDF
US life expectancy reached a record high in 2024 as deaths from drug overdose and Covid-19 dropped | CNN
Video: Their Mother Was Detained. Now a Minneapolis Family Lives in Fear.
Trump return to Iowa likely ahead of high-stakes midterms, GOP gubernatorial candidate says
-
Illinois7 days agoIllinois school closings tomorrow: How to check if your school is closed due to extreme cold
-
Pittsburg, PA1 week agoSean McDermott Should Be Steelers Next Head Coach
-
Pennsylvania3 days agoRare ‘avalanche’ blocks Pennsylvania road during major snowstorm
-
Sports1 week agoMiami star throws punch at Indiana player after national championship loss
-
Technology7 days agoRing claims it’s not giving ICE access to its cameras
-
Science1 week agoContributor: New food pyramid is a recipe for health disasters
-
Movie Reviews1 week ago
Movie Review: In ‘Mercy,’ Chris Pratt is on trial with an artificial intelligence judge
-
Politics4 days agoTrump’s playbook falters in crisis response to Minneapolis shooting
