Tony Evers To Challenge Gov. Scott Walker In November

WISCONSIN — Democratic voters in Wisconsin have made their choice on who will challenge Gov. Scott Walker in November, and it will be none other than Department of Public Instruction chief Tony Evers.

The results of Tuesday night's primary election means voters will have a choice between the author and executor of Act 10, and the person in charge of public schools in the state.

Act 10 is considered Walker's 2011 law that limited collective bargaining rights for public-sector workers.

"We’re going to win because we're going to hold Scott Walker accountable for his reign of terror," Evers told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.

Walker fired back: “As the state’s top education official, Evers has consistently failed Wisconsin students, and opposed Governor Walker’s successful efforts to spur job growth throughout the state."

Walker Survives Rough Electoral Path

Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker's political path has seemingly never been easy.
He survived mass protests that consumed the state capitol building after proposing and passing Act 10, which limited the ability of public workers of the ability to collectively bargain drew mass protests and demonstrations.

The next year, Walker survived his own recall election by defeating Democratic Opponent Tom Barrett in a rematch of the 2010 election.

Walker put forward a proposal to bring Voter ID to Wisconsin in January 2011. After five years, Voter ID survived many legal challenges before becoming law.

In January 2015, Walker set up a presidential campaign called "Our American Revival." Facing eroding political support and dwindling expenses, Walker suspended his campaign by September, and threw his support behind presumptive nominee Donald Trump.

He survived two John Doe investigations, both of which went on for years as prosecutors investigated Walker's recall campaign financing and at-work campaign activity by Walker staff members when he was Milwaukee County Executive.

Battle Tested

As Walker gears up his 2018 gubernatorial campaign, Walker has assembled a list of accomplishments - some of which have been largely praised while others seem controversial.

"We've got an incredible organization," Walker said in a Washington Examiner report. "We're strong. We've been battle-tested."

First is his passing of a $3 billion incentive package to lure Taiwanese electronics manufacturer Foxconn to build and operate a $5 billion electronics plant in Racine County. It's the largest financial package ever doled out to a company, and it's not due to break even for 25 years.

Walker toured the state in December to tout his tax reform policies which eliminated the state portion of the property tax bill — the first year this has happened since 1931.
"Because of the growth we've had in the budget, because of the positive economy, the fact that more people are working than before - all those things put us in a good position. Not only to cover this, but, as I mentioned, to put more dollars in our classrooms than ever before, to make all the other investments we've done this budget."

In early January, Walker reportedly adopted a major idea from his Democratic opponents to propose $80 million in funding to overhaul the state's youth prison system.

When Patch asked Gov. Walker's campaign to prioritize his administration's accomplishments, they put together the following points:

• Making historic investments in state classrooms, with more actual dollars in K-12 education than ever before — $200 more per student this year and $204 more per student next year.
• Helping to stabilize health care and increase access to affordable health care, now, everyone living in poverty is covered under BadgerCare for the first time in Wisconsin's history.
• Balancing the state budget without raising taxes and turning Wisconsin's $3.6 billion deficit into a surplus.
• Leading Wisconsin's economic comeback, with more Wisconsinites working than ever before and near-record low unemployment.
• Cutting taxes some $8 billion since taking office, including the elimination of an entire tax – the state property tax.
• Reducing property and income taxes so they're lower in 2018 than in 2010.
• Taking Wisconsin from the Bottom 10 for business to the Top 10 for business, for the first time ever.
• Encouraging major job creation in Wisconsin, including the largest economic development project in state history – Foxconn Technology Group.
• Freezing University of Wisconsin tuition six years in a row to help students and hard-working Wisconsin families afford a quality education.

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