Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers announced Thursday he won’t run for re-election next year, a move that will set off a wide-open race to replace him in one of the nation’s most closely divided battleground states.

In a video posted to X, Evers, 73, a Democrat, said he would not seek a third term so he could spend more time with his family, while also predicting he would have won had he run.

“For five decades, my family has sacrificed to give me the gift of service. They’re my world, and I owe it to them to focus on doing all the things we enjoy and love doing together. It’s why, Wisconsin, I’m announcing that I will not be running for a third term,” he said. “I’m humbled to be your governor. This is the best job I ever had.”

“Would I win if I ran?” Evers added. “Of course, no question about that. But whether I’d win or not has never been part of my calculus about running again.”

Evers had said he would announce whether he’d seek a third term after he reached a budget deal with Republicans in the state Legislature, which occurred earlier this month.

His decision to forgo another bid is expected to result in competitive primaries for both parties. Wisconsin is one of five states President Donald Trump won last year where a Democratic-controlled governorship is on the ballot in 2026.

Several Democrats have publicly or privately expressed interest in running to succeed Evers. They include state Attorney General Josh Kaul, Lt. Gov. Sara Rodriguez, Secretary of State Sarah Godlewski, Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley and Milwaukee Mayor Cavalier Johnson.

Ahead of Evers’ decision, some Wisconsin Democrats had expressed concern that an expensive and divisive primary could occur if he declined to run again.

“It would be a big field if he doesn’t run. That could get messy,” a Democratic operative familiar with Evers’ thinking told NBC News earlier this month.

On the Republican side, two candidates have so far entered the race, and more could follow.

Josh Schoemann, the county executive of Washington County, an exurban area northwest of Milwaukee, and Bill Berrien, a Milwaukee manufacturing CEO, have both launched campaigns.

Businessman Eric Hovde, who narrowly lost a 2024 U.S. Senate race to Democrat Tammy Baldwin, and Tim Michels, who lost to Evers in 2022, are also weighing bids. And U.S. Rep. Tom Tiffany hasn’t ruled out a run.

In a statement put out by his campaign, Berrien accused Evers of being “too scared to run on the Madison Democrats’ record of failure” and vowed to “spend the next 15 months making sure whoever the Madison liberals pick from their bench of radical career politicians learns the same lesson.”

Evers’ decision also comes amid a broader movement within the Democratic Party to clear the way for new and younger voices, particularly following their experience with then-President Joe Biden in the 2024 campaign.

Recent polling showed that Wisconsin Democrats had widely supported Evers running again, even as the general electorate in the swing state remained more split.

A Marquette University Law School poll of registered Wisconsin voters released in June found that 83% of Democrats said they supported Evers seeking a third term. That poll also found that 42% of all registered voters said they wanted Evers to run again, compared to 55% who said they did not.

In a statement, Wisconsin Democratic Party Chair Devin Remiker praised Evers as “one of the most successful governors in our history” whose “steady leadership has been instrumental in transforming our state and moving us forward.”

“While Republican candidates rush to embrace the most extreme elements of their party and face another divisive and bitter primary battle, we will be prepared to hold them accountable and ensure Wisconsin elects a Democratic governor in 2026,” Remiker added.

Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has vaccines in the news again.

The U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary has a history of spreading doubt and misinformation around vaccines.

He wrapped up June by making false statements that pediatricians encourage vaccinations to make profits. Then he stunned the global health community by criticizing a worldwide health alliance as careless based on one old, flawed study.

A week ago, the American Academy of Pediatrics, American College of Physicians and American Public Health Association sued Kennedy over recent changes to federal COVID-19 vaccination recommendations.

So what are the facts?

For children born between 1994 and 2023, the CDC estimates that vaccines prevented 1.1 million deaths and resulted in $540 billion in direct savings.

Here’s what else you should know.

What doctors and public health officials are saying

Why should we vaccinate children? According to Margaret Hennessy, a physician representing the Wisconsin chapter of the American Academy of Pediatricians, the easiest way to say it is that “disease is bad.”

“Many of the illnesses we vaccinate against cause premature death, especially in young children,” said Hennessy. Those that don’t kill can cause permanent health problems like blindness.

The Wisconsin Department of Health Services website on childhood vaccination says that “vaccines are among the best way to protect the health of our children,” citing frequent deaths from measles, whooping cough and Haemophilus influenzae before these vaccines were widely available.

In addition to providing protection for individuals, the DHS website says that widespread vaccination means that diseases have less opportunity to spread. When enough people are vaccinated to reach “herd immunity,” overall case numbers drop, protecting everyone.

The latest on Wisconsin vaccination data

One measure of vaccination rates is the percentage of children who have completed every dose of a seven-vaccine series by the time they reach 24 months old. These include at least 4 doses of DTaP, 3 doses of poliovirus, 1 dose of MMR, 3 doses of Hib, 3 doses of HepB, 1 dose of varicella (chickenpox) and 4 doses of PCV vaccines.

While these numbers are not perfect measures because they don’t count booster shots that are important through childhood and adulthood, they can give a rough estimate of vaccination trends.

In 2024, only 68.8% of Wisconsin children had completed this seven-vaccine series by 24 months of age. However, this can vary across the state. Individual county vaccination rates ranged from 31% to 81%, with Milwaukee County sitting slightly below the statewide average at 65.5%.

The most recent data from the CDC, covering children born in 2016, reported that 69.7% of children across the country had completed the vaccine series on time.

According to the CDC, vaccinating children by this age is important for providing the best protection against diseases.

What do schools require?

Immunization requirements for child care and school entry in Wisconsin differ slightly from the seven-vaccine series. They have slightly different dose requirements and don’t require vaccines only recommended for toddlers.

The Wisconsin DHS added a requirement for the 2024-25 school year for the Meningococcal conjugate vaccine (MenACWY) by seventh grade, and a booster by 12th grade. Meningococcal disease is a rare, but serious disease that can be fatal in 10% to 15% of people who get it.