Wisconsin
Wisconsin Dem fighting re-election battle under fire for blasting same tax loopholes exploited by her partner
Wisconsin Democratic Sen. Tammy Baldwin has a long history of criticizing tax loopholes for the rich, despite her partner’s career reportedly helping ultra-high-net-worth clients pay less in taxes.
Labeled by Morgan Stanley as one of its “private wealth advisors,” Maria Brisbane, Baldwin’s partner since 2018, works to deliver “tax minimization strategies” for her clients at the firm.
Brisbane’s work, as well as how it stands in contrast to Baldwin’s own preaching about wealthy Americans using tax loopholes to avoid paying their fair share in taxes, was first highlighted in a report by the Washington Examiner on Tuesday.
On Tax Day this year, Baldwin and two other Democrats in the upper chamber introduced the Carried Interest Fairness Act in an effort to eliminate the “carried interest tax loophole and make wealthy fund managers pay what other American workers do,” according to an April press release.
TRUMP THROWS SUPPORT BEHIND REPUBLICAN BUSINESSMAN LOOKING TO FLIP WISCONSIN SENATE SEAT: ‘GO OUT AND WIN’
Sen. Tammy Baldwin, D-Wisc., speaks during the WisDems 2024 State Convention on June 08, 2024 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. (Daniel Boczarski/Getty Images for The Democratic Party of Wisconsin)
“Hardworking Wisconsin families should not be paying more in taxes than the wealthiest Americans. But right now, our tax code has loopholes that allow super wealthy hedge fund managers to avoid paying their fair share,” Baldwin said at the time. “By closing the carried interest loophole, we’ll make our tax code fairer for working families, cut the deficit, and ensure that those at the top of the food chain aren’t exploiting the system to further enrich themselves.”
Brisbane, who was named to Forbes’ “America’s Top Women Wealth Advisors” list in February, has worked alongside private wealth adviser Alex Zachary at Morgan Stanley since early 2024. Their practice, the Brisbane Group, previously operated under Merrill Lynch’s “private wealth management unit focused on ultra-wealthy clients,” according to a January report by Advisor Hub.
“The Brisbane Group is focused on helping Ultra High Net Worth individuals, families, and not-for-profit organizations create customized investment strategies with a focus on custom tailored equity portfolios,” Morgan Stanley states on its website.
Additionally, Morgan Stanley touts the firm’s private wealth management division, which is “dedicated to serving the firm’s most affluent clients, including some of the world’s most accomplished entrepreneurs, executives and stewards of multigenerational wealth.”
Based in New York, the multinational investment bank and financial services company touts its wealth management division’s offering of “investment opportunities spanning private equity, private credit, real assets, hedge funds and more.”
SEN. TAMMY BALDWIN REPAYS TAXPAYER-FUNDED NOVEMBER 2020 NYC TRIP TO SEE PARTNER
Sen. Tammy Baldwin, D-Wis., speaks during a hearing on Capitol Hill on April 20, 2023, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon, File)
In February 2022, Baldwin targeted “activist hedge funds,” saying they “promote short-term gains at the expense of workers, taxpayers and local communities.”
The Tuesday report from the Examiner also included a comment from the Wisconsin Republican Party, which took aim at Baldwin and Brisbane:
“Baldwin and Brisbane are enriching themselves by helping out-of-state clients avoid paying their taxes,” Matt Fisher, a Wisconsin Republican Party spokesman, told the outlet.
Regarding Baldwin’s past comments and Brisbane’s work at Morgan Stanley, Baldwin’s campaign insisted the senator’s record “speaks for itself.”
“Tammy Baldwin has been a leader in the fight to ensure the wealthiest Americans pay their fair share for years … Attacking Tammy Baldwin for her partner’s work is baseless and wrong,” Andrew Mamo, a spokesperson for Baldwin’s Senate campaign, told Fox News Digital.
Baldwin’s campaign also pointed to legislation the senator has introduced or supported in recent years to address certain loopholes, including the Carried Interest Fairness Act, Paying a Fair Share Act, and the Billionaires Income Tax Act.
Baldwin is expected to face off in the state’s Nov. 5 general election against Eric Hovde, her leading Republican challenger in the race. (Scott Olson/Getty Images)
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The report comes as Baldwin, who has represented Wisconsin in the Senate since 2013, seeks re-election to a third term in office. She is expected to face off in the state’s Nov. 5 general election against Eric Hovde, her leading Republican challenger in the race.
Baldwin’s campaign accused Hovde of refusing “to disclose his finances” and claimed he “worked to avoid taxes.” Additionally, the campaign highlighted Hovde’s efforts to self-finance his campaign and his investment in a hedge fund based in the Cayman Islands.
(WLUK) — Warm, sunny weather is expected to continue in Northeast Wisconsin’s forecast, but small storm chances can still pop-up as summerlike conditions settle in.
Weather conditions can change quickly this time of year, with summer heat fueling thunderstorms. As temperatures rise, warm and humid air lifts into the atmosphere, eventually cooling and condensing into clouds. That process continues throughout the day, allowing clouds to form thunderstorms.
Often isolated, these storms are often called “pop up storms” because they can form quickly. Unlike larger storm systems typically triggered by fronts or low-pressure systems, pop-up storms are fueled by heat and humidity. The hotter and muggier it is, the more energy is available for storms to develop.
However, not every hot summer day ends up turning stormy, but when heat and humidity are high enough, summer afternoons can quickly shift into thunderstorms.
A forecasts can indicate when conditions are favorable for thunderstorms, but pinpointing the exact location a pop-up storm will form is difficult because of how small and fast they develop.
This leads to sharp differences in the weather over short distances, meaning one neighborhood sees a downpour while another neighborhood just a few miles away stay dry.
The extended forecast often show a scattered storm chance rather than widespread rain to account for the possibility of pop-up storms.
MPS staff protest budget cuts, layoffs and for cost-of-living raises
Milwaukee Public School staff protest budget cuts, layoffs and for cost-of-living raises
Wisconsin teacher unions have seen the nation’s largest drop in strength since 2012, according to a new study from the Thomas B. Fordham Institute.
The Fordham Institute, a conservative-leaning education think tank, ranked Wisconsin 36th among 50 states and the District of Columbia for teacher union strength, falling 18 spots from its previous 2012 study. The rankings factored in union resources and membership, involvement in politics, the state’s labor and bargaining policies, policy wins and losses, and the perceived influence of teacher unions in the state.
The report said teacher unions across the nation are weaker than they were over a decade ago, with the percentage of teachers who are union members declining in all but four states.
In Wisconsin, membership declined from 98% in 2012 to 45% in 2025, a nearly 54 percentage point decrease and the largest drop in membership nationwide. The state ranked 43rd overall for union resources and membership compared to 13th in 2012.
The report attributed the decline in membership to Act 10, the state’s 2011 law signed by then-Gov. Scott Walker that essentially ended collective bargaining rights for public employee unions in Wisconsin.
In an email, Fordham Institute researcher Meredith Coffey said most of the data in the 2012 study predated the law, and it’s unlikely the initial report fully captured the effects of Act 10. She said the change in Wisconsin’s overall rank understates the impact of the law.
“In other words, the estimated change in rank between 2012 and today is arguably conservative,” Coffey said.
The study also found Wisconsin teacher unions’ financial resources are limited compared with unions in other states. After adjusting for cost-of-living differences, Wisconsin unions have the seventh-lowest annual revenues per teacher.
Wisconsin also ranked 44th for its labor and bargaining policies. Public-sector unions are limited to negotiating for raises capped at the rate of inflation under Act 10.
The report said just five states – Idaho, Missouri, Ohio, Oklahoma and Virginia – have enhanced collective bargaining rights since 2012.
Wisconsin teacher unions ranked 25th for their political involvement, specifically in elections and campaigns. In 2020 and 2022, the Fordham Institute found, the state’s teacher unions sponsored the second-highest number of state and local political ads in the nation.
About 70% of Wisconsin candidates endorsed by state-level teachers unions won their elections in 2024, according to the data.
The state’s teacher unions additionally ranked 26th in policy wins and losses, which the Fordham Institute measured by analyzing the extent to which Wisconsin policies align with union priorities.
In perceived influence, the organization ranked Wisconsin’s teacher unions 24th. Researchers said they measured this through a survey of people with knowledge of education policymaking in each state, including lawmakers, journalists, state education administrators and members of teacher unions, among others.
Overall, the study found the strongest unions are concentrated in Democrat-led, more affluent states, while the weakest are concentrated in Republican-led, poorer states.
The report said the strongest teacher unions are in Vermont, California, Massachusetts, New Jersey and Hawaii. The weakest teacher unions are in Arkansas, Oklahoma, Tennessee, North Carolina and Mississippi.
Kayla Huynh covers K-12 education, teachers and solutions for the Journal Sentinel. Contact: khuynh@gannett.com. Follow her on X: @_kaylahuynh.
Kayla Huynh‘s reporting is supported by Herb Kohl Philanthropies and reader contributions to the Journal Sentinel Community-Funded Journalism Project. Journal Sentinel editors maintain full editorial control over all content. To support this work, visit jsonline.com/support. Checks can be addressed to Local Media Foundation (memo: “JS Community Journalism”) and mailed to P.O. Box 85015, Chicago, IL 60689.
The JS Community-Funded Journalism Project is administered by Local Media Foundation, tax ID #36-4427750, a Section 501(c)(3) charitable trust affiliated with Local Media Association.
MADISON, Wis. (WMTV) – State Superintendent Dr. Jill Underly announced Tuesday the launch of a new statewide project focusing on shaping the future of education and student success.
Portrait of a Graduate was created by the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction to help prepare high school students for life after high school, including college, careers and community leadership.
With students having to navigate new challenges involving technology, the cost of living and evolving career paths, the project was created to give students the knowledge, skills and experiences they need, no matter what post-graduate path they take.
“We want to broaden Wisconsin’s vision for student success,” Dr. Underly said. “The world our students are preparing to enter is changing quickly, and it is critical that we hear directly from the people who know our communities best. Academic rigor is always a top priority and will not change, but we also need to ensure students leave our schools prepared to think critically, adapt, communicate, solve problems, and thrive.”
A committee of educators, students, higher education partners, statewide education organizers, employers and representatives from industries across Wisconsin is helping guide the project.
The Department of Public Instruction will be holding virtual listening sessions scheduled for May 27 from noon to 1 p.m. and June 3 from 6 p.m. to 7 p.m.
Registration for the session or more information can be found on the Department of Public Instruction’s website.
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