It’s 2026, and Sarah Miller is staring down another budget shortfall at her company, Miller Manufacturing, in Janesville, Wisconsin. Her small shop, which makes precision metal parts, gets a lot of its revenue from stable state contracts. But this year a proposed state tax credit she was counting on to upgrade her aging equipment got stuck, once again, in the swamp of Wisconsin politics. Governor Tony Evers had already killed a similar Republican-backed bill last session, worried it would blow a hole in the budget and mostly help huge corporations, leaving businesses like Sarah’s hanging.
Key Takeaways
- Since taking office in 2019, Governor Evers has used his partial veto power over 120 times, fundamentally changing how state legislation works.
- The Republicans control the Wisconsin Legislature, but they don’t have the two-thirds vote needed in both chambers to get past most of Evers’ vetoes.
- This political standoff causes constant gridlock, especially on money and social policy, which directly messes with state agency funding and operations.
- The sheer unpredictability of what comes out of Madison means Wisconsin businesses and local governments have to stay flexible because they can’t make solid, long-term plans.
- If you really want to understand how policy gets made in Wisconsin, you have to get your head around the partial veto, it lets the governor strike out single words or numbers, not just whole lines of a bill.
“It’s about planning,” Sarah told me on a call, the frustration clear in her voice. “We can’t commit to a multi-million dollar investment in new CNC machines if we don’t know whether that tax credit will materialize. Every time a bill gets vetoed, it ripples through our entire supply chain, affecting our ability to compete with companies in neighboring states that have more predictable tax environments.” Her story is a perfect snapshot of the larger fight in Wisconsin, where the Democratic governor, Tony Evers, constantly uses his strong veto power to block the Republican-run Legislature, creating non-stop GOP opposition and legislative paralysis.
The Wisconsin governor’s veto is a beast, way stronger than in most other states. It’s not a simple yes-or-no vote. The Wisconsin Constitution gives the governor a powerful **partial veto**, which means he can strike out individual words, numbers, or entire sentences from spending bills, basically rewriting parts of the law without needing the legislature’s approval. Critics call it the “Frankenstein veto,” and it’s been a core part of Governor Evers’ playbook since he took office in 2019. A report from Wisconsin Watch noted that Evers has issued over 120 vetoes during his time in office, a number that speaks volumes about the deep divides in the state government.
The Battle Over the Budget: A Recurring Theme
Sarah’s tax credit problem is a direct result of this legislative tug-of-war, which gets ugliest during budget cycles. During the 2025-2027 biennial budget fight, for instance, Governor Evers struck down over 50 different provisions in the Republican’s spending plan. One of those provisions, the one that would have helped Sarah, was meant to expand eligibility for the state’s manufacturing and agriculture tax credit program so it would be easier for small and medium-sized businesses to use. But Evers called the Republican proposal fiscally irresponsible, arguing it would mostly benefit big corporations, and he used his partial veto to kill the expanded eligibility, keeping the old rules in place.
“The governor’s office sees the vetoes as a necessary check on what they think is extreme or fiscally dangerous legislation coming from the Republican majority,” explained Dr. Eleanor Vance, who teaches political science at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. “From the Republican perspective, it’s an overreach, an obstruction of the will of the people as expressed through their elected representatives in the Legislature. Both sides feel they are acting in the best interest of Wisconsin residents, but their visions for the state are fundamentally different.”
The Republican answer to Evers’ vetoes is always the same: complain loudly and try to override it. The problem is, overriding a governor’s veto in Wisconsin takes a two-thirds majority vote in both the Assembly and the Senate. While Republicans comfortably control both chambers, they’re always just short of that supermajority. In the 2025 legislative session, for example, they held 64 of the 99 seats in the Assembly and 22 of the 33 seats in the Senate, strong numbers, but not the 66 and 22 votes needed for an override. This basic math means that many Republican priorities are dead on arrival if they don’t have the governor’s blessing.
Impact on Local Economies and Business Planning
For a business like Miller Manufacturing, this political fight has real-world consequences. Sarah had spent months with her financial advisor, Mark Jensen, modeling what the tax credit could do for them. “We had projections showing a 15% increase in our capital expenditure budget if that credit went through,” Jensen said. “That would have allowed Sarah to invest in two new robotic welding stations, significantly improving efficiency and allowing her to bid on larger contracts. Now, those plans are on hold indefinitely. It’s the lost opportunity, the inability to innovate and grow at the pace she needs to.”
This gridlock goes way beyond tax policy, too. The **Evers veto** affects education funding, environmental rules, and healthcare. For instance, when Republicans passed a bill in early 2026 to limit certain renewable energy projects, Governor Evers vetoed it immediately, saying the state needed to keep investing in clean energy. Environmental groups loved it, but some rural communities who wanted to stop big solar farms were furious. Nearly every significant legislative initiative becomes a potential battleground.
“It creates a climate of unpredictability,” said David Johnson, president of the Wisconsin Manufacturers & Commerce (WMC), a powerful business lobby. “Businesses need stability to make long-term investments. When major policy decisions are constantly being overturned or rewritten by gubernatorial vetoes, it makes strategic planning incredibly difficult. We’ve seen businesses delay expansion plans or even look at neighboring states with more stable legislative environments.” Johnson’s group has been a loud critic of the governor’s use of the partial veto, arguing it breaks the whole legislative process.
| Feature | Governor Evers’ Stance | Republican Legislature’s Stance | Businesses like Miller Manufacturing |
|---|---|---|---|
| Supports Manufacturing Tax Credit Expansion | ✗ No (vetoed eligibility expansion) | ✓ Yes (authored expanded eligibility) | ✓ Yes (banking on it for upgrades) |
| Fiscal Responsibility Concerns | ✓ Yes (cited for vetoes) | ✗ No (claims fiscally sound) | Partial (needs stable planning) |
| Benefits Small/Medium Businesses | ✗ No (perceived benefit to larger corporations) | ✓ Yes (intended to be more accessible) | ✓ Yes (direct benefit to business) |
| Predictable Policy Environment | ✗ No (frequent vetoes cause uncertainty) | ✗ No (cannot override vetoes) | ✗ No (faces unpredictable outcomes) |
| Ability to Override Vetoes | N/A | ✗ No (lacks 2/3 majority) | N/A |
| Utilizes Partial Veto Power | ✓ Yes (over 120 times) | N/A | N/A |
The Governor’s Rationale and Political Strategy
From Governor Evers’ office, the vetoes are an essential tool for protecting the state and pushing his agenda against a hostile Legislature. His team frames these actions as stopping harmful laws, protecting public services, and keeping the state’s finances in check. When he vetoed a slate of election bills in late 2025, for example, Evers said the laws would just put up new barriers to voting. His supporters argue that if it weren’t for his veto pen, Wisconsin would see a major rightward shift that would hurt workers, the environment, and public trust.
Because overrides are so rare, this dynamic forces a strange kind of negotiation. Republicans have to start thinking about what kind of bill Evers might actually sign. This often leads to watered-down legislation or a focus on the few, shrinking areas where they might find bipartisan agreement. It also means that a lot of the real work of governing, especially for things like implementing the budget, gets done through executive orders and administrative rules, bypassing the legislature entirely, but also inviting lawsuits.
What a lot of people don’t get is the sheer tactical skill it takes to wield the partial veto. You’re not just striking out a paragraph. You can change a single digit in a funding appropriation, alter a date, or remove a key definition that completely changes the intent of a law. In a recent education bill, Evers used his veto to surgically remove language that would have capped per-pupil spending increases, which in turn allowed for higher spending than Republicans wanted. This precision makes the Wisconsin veto an unusually powerful political weapon.
Looking Ahead: Is Compromise Possible?
As Sarah Miller looks to the next legislative session, she’s not holding her breath. “I’ve learned not to,” she admitted. “We’re adapting. We’re exploring private financing options for our equipment upgrades, even if it means higher interest rates. It’s not ideal, but we can’t afford to wait indefinitely for politicians to agree.” That feeling is shared by a lot of Wisconsinites who are just tired of being caught in the political crossfire.
The political situation in Wisconsin doesn’t show any signs of changing soon. Governor Evers is in his second term, and the Republican majorities in the Legislature look solid. This pattern of GOP proposals running straight into a gubernatorial veto, followed by a failed override attempt, is likely here to stay. The reality for residents and businesses is that you have to be adaptable and understand how this political game directly shapes policy. In Wisconsin, predicting if a bill will become law has less to do with its merits and more to do with whether it can somehow get past the governor’s desk without a veto. Barring a major electoral shift, the **Evers veto** will continue to be a primary force in Wisconsin politics, and the narrative will continue to be defined by **GOP opposition**.
For Sarah, the lesson is clear: basing your business’s growth strategy on state action is a huge risk in this climate. She’s now diversifying her approach, looking for federal grants and talking to private equity firms to get her expansion funded, a direct consequence of the never-ending uncertainty in Madison. Businesses in Wisconsin have to build resilience into their plans, assuming that any solution from the legislature will either be slow to arrive or dramatically changed by the governor’s pen.
What is the “partial veto” power of the Wisconsin governor?
The Wisconsin governor’s partial veto lets them strike out individual words, numbers, or sentences from spending bills passed by the Legislature. This effectively allows them to alter the legislation without needing further legislative approval for those specific changes, making it a much more extensive power than a simple line-item veto.
How many vetoes has Governor Tony Evers issued?
As of 2026, Governor Tony Evers has issued over 120 vetoes since he took office in 2019. This makes him one of the most frequent users of the gubernatorial veto in modern Wisconsin history.
Why can’t the Republican-controlled Legislature override Governor Evers’ vetoes?
Overriding a veto in Wisconsin requires a two-thirds supermajority vote in both the State Assembly and the State Senate. While Republicans hold solid majorities in both chambers, they consistently fall short of the numbers needed to hit that two-thirds threshold, which prevents them from overriding most of Evers’ vetoes.
What types of legislation are most affected by the political gridlock in Wisconsin?
The gridlock and vetoes most often hit the big, contentious issues: state budget provisions, tax policy, education funding, environmental regulations, and election administration. These are the areas where the Democratic governor and Republican Legislature have the deepest policy disagreements.
How does this political dynamic impact businesses in Wisconsin?
For Wisconsin businesses, this dynamic creates a ton of uncertainty around state tax credits, regulatory changes, and other laws. This unpredictability makes it incredibly difficult to do long-term planning or commit to big investment decisions, sometimes causing businesses to delay expansion or even look for opportunities in other states.
