Wisconsin
Wisconsin Democrat lies about Republican opponent’s position on abortion, IVF in campaign ad
WATERTOWN, Wis. — Democrats are setting their sights on a GOP stronghold district in Wisconsin this November — and they’re playing dirty to beat Rep. Bryan Steil, the Republican incumbent whose seat was once held by former Speaker of the House and VP candidate Paul Ryan.
A victory for Steil’s Democratic challenger Peter Barca, now the state’s Secretary of Revenue, would be an uphill battle in a district that has voted red for decades and has a Likely Republican rating in the Cook Political Report.
That long-shot status may be why the pol is slinging mud in a new campaign ad, attacking the Steil’s record on abortion and in-vitro fertilization.
In the 30 second spot, Barca claims Steil worked to “overturn Roe V. Wade,” a ruling made by the U.S. Supreme Court in the Dobbs decision, not Congress. The ad also says Steil supports “pregnancy surveillance” and restricting IVF.
Barca’s campaign did not respond to a request from The Post to define and provide sourcing for his assertions about Steil’s stances.
Whatever “pregnancy surveillance” is, Steil is not in favor, his campaign confirmed to The Post, adding that the ad is blatantly false.
The two-term congressman spoke to The Post after taking part in a Trump 47 policy panel in Milwaukee Thursday night.
“I support looking at ways to lower the cost of IVF for families. I’ve cosponsored legislation that looks at how we can use Health Savings Accounts as it relates to IVF,” Steil said when asked whether he supports Donald Trump’s free IVF policy.
“As a conservative, I support families and IVF is a way for many couples to be able to have a family. And sometimes it’s the only way. [That is] one of the key reasons we support IVF.”
Responding to questions from The Post about his positions on abortion, Steil pointed out that current law in Wisconsin restricts abortion to the first 20 weeks.
“Dobbs shifted [abortion] primarily to the states,” Steil added.
Barca voted against the Pain-Capable Abortion Act — a 20 week abortion ban — as the minority leader of the State Assembly in 2015.
Whereas Steil is open about his positions on abortion, Barca does not define his positions on the controversial topic for voters, such as whether abortions should be available through all nine months of pregnancy.
The “reproductive freedom” page on Barca’s campaign website says the candidate “believes a woman’s health care decisions are between herself and her doctor – not politicians.”
A June Marquette University Law Poll found that 66% of Wisconsin registered voters do not support legalizing abortion in all cases. Abortion was the third-rated issue for voters in the poll on deciding their vote in the election, after the economy and immigration.
“I myself come down on the side of life,” Steil told The Post. “I support reasonable exceptions for rape, incest, life of the mother. It is the Democrats that are extreme on [abortion]. Peter Barca is always in line with extreme Democratic positions,”
When Roe v. Wade was overturned in 2022, Steil tweeted, “Today’s decision will bring this important issue back to the states. This is a great victory for life.”
Barca received a lifetime grade of “A,” or 100%, from NARAL Pro-Choice Wisconsin in 2012 as the minority leader of the state assembly for supporting state funding for Planned Parenthood and opposing restrictions on abortion. Planned Parenthood, which opposes restrictions on abortion and supports public funding of abortions, has endorsed his race for Congress this November.
Barca’s campaign did not respond to The Post’s request for comment by time of publication.
Wisconsin guard Andrew Rohde reflects on early March Madness exit
Wisconsin guard Andrew Rohde said the Badgers ‘thought we could do so many things’ in the NCAA Tournament before it ended abrupty with an upset loss.
Wisconsin men’s basketball has added a sharpshooting wing via the transfer portal.
Miami (Ohio) transfer Eian Elmer has signed with the Badgers, the team announced April 18. The 6-foot-7 wing will join UW with one year of eligibility remaining.
Elmer averaged a career-high 12.7 points and 5.9 rebounds while shooting 49.8% from the field and 42.9% from 3-point range in 2025-26. His production helped the RedHawks go 32-2 and earn an at-large NCAA Tournament bid.
“We are really excited to add another excellent addition to our spring signees,” UW coach Greg Gard said in a release. “Eian brings a wealth of experience and scoring punch as a 6-7 wing. … A terrific shooter, his skillset and production fit excellently into our plan as we build out next year’s team. Throughout our evaluation process, our staff loved his size, power and skill and truly believe he will thrive in our system.”
Elmer is Wisconsin’s third transfer portal addition since the end of the 2025-26 season, joining former George Washington guard Trey Autry and former Hofstra forward Victory Onuetu. UW also added Australian guard Owen Foxwell.
The additions of Autry, Onuetu and now Elmer leave Gard’s staff with three more roster spots to fill ahead of the 2026-27 season.
The Badgers are looking to replace much of their production from a 2025-26 team that went 24-11. Nolan Winter is expected to be the team’s only returning starter after John Blackwell and Aleksas Bieliauskas entered the transfer portal and Nick Boyd and Andrew Rohde exhausted their eligibility.
MILWAUKEE – Friday’s severe storms have passed. And with that, the threat of any severe weather has also passed for the immediate future as no storms or rain are expected for several days.
However, plenty of damage remains across southeastern Wisconsin as of Saturday morning, in addition to the ongoing flooding threat.
Several area rivers are at flood stage, and there are multiple river flood warnings in effect.
FOX6 Weekend WakeUp on Saturday begins at 6 a.m.
On the scene in the morning
What we know:
Farmstead damage in Franklin
FOX6’s Hayley Spitler is in Franklin on Saturday morning, April 18, getting a daylight look at the damage from last night’s storms.
Storm damage in Caledonia
Friday’s storms left quite the mark across southern and southeastern Wisconsin, including at L and L Farms and Greenhouse in Caledonia.
FOX6 Weather Extras
Local perspective:
Meanwhile, FOX6Now.com offers a variety of extremely useful weather tools to help you navigate the stormy season. They include the following:
FOX6 Storm Center app
FOX LOCAL Mobile app
FOX Weather app
Maps and radar
We have a host of maps and radars on the FOX6 Weather page that are updating regularly — to provide you the most accurate assessment of the weather. From a county-by-county view to the Midwest regional radar and a national view — it’s all there.
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School and business closings
When the weather gets a little dicey, schools and businesses may shut down. Monitor the latest list of closings, cancellations, and delays reported in southeast Wisconsin.
FOX6 Weather Experts in social media
The Source: Information in this post was compiled by the FOX6 Weather Experts.
How Aleksas Bieliauskas has grown in first season with Wisconsin Badgers
Wisconsin coach Greg Gard has high praise for Aleksas Bieliauskas about a month into the Lithuania native’s freshman season.
MADISON – One of Wisconsin men’s basketball’s departing transfers is headed to an SEC program with some connections to the Badgers.
Ex-UW forward Aleksas Bieliauskas has committed to South Carolina, he announced on April 17.
Bieliauskas left the Badgers after appearing in all 35 games as a freshman and making 28 starts. He averaged 4.9 points and 4.4 points in 20.2 minutes, and highlights of his freshman year included his five 3-pointers in UW’s upset over eventual national champion Michigan.
He’ll join a program with plenty of Wisconsin ties. South Carolina head coach Lamont Paris was an assistant coach at Wisconsin from 2010-17 on Bo Ryan and Greg Gard’s staffs. South Carolina assistant coach Tanner Bronson and director of video services Roman DiPasquale also are UW alumni.
Bieliauskas is the second of UW’s four departing transfers to commit to a new school. Reserve forward Jack Robison committed to North Dakota State on April 15. Starting guard John Blackwell and reserve forward Riccardo Greppi have not announced their next schools yet.
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