State Policy · WI
Wisconsin Democrats Win Trifecta, Plan BadgerCare Expansion Push
Wisconsin Democrats won full control of state government on Election Day, with David Crowley defeating Tom Tiffany for governor and the party flipping both the state Senate and Assembly for the first time since 2010. The trifecta gives Democrats an opening to advance a backlog of priorities including expanding Medicaid eligibility under BadgerCare, which Wisconsin has not adopted despite federal incentives available under the ACA. Other stated priorities include abortion rights, minimum wage increases, marijuana legalization, and using the state's budget surplus for child care and public schools. The new legislative session begins in January 2027, when Democrats will hold an 18-15 Senate majority and a 53-46 Assembly majority.
Why it mattersA Democratic trifecta removes the chief political obstacle to Wisconsin becoming one of the last holdout states to adopt Medicaid expansion, which would extend BadgerCare eligibility to tens of thousands of low-income adults and shift costs onto enhanced federal matching funds.