Scott Walker must stop Wisconsin Republican power grab, successor says

Martin Pengelly
Updated
Scott Walker was defeated by Democrat Tony Evers in November’s election.
Scott Walker was defeated by Democrat Tony Evers in November’s election. Photograph: Darren Hauck/Getty Images

Scott Walker’s legacy as governor of Wisconsin will depend on whether he vetoes Republican moves to limit the power of his successor, Governor-elect Tony Evers said on Sunday.

Evers defeated Walker in November’s election. Republicans controlling the state legislature then moved to pass in a lame-duck session a slate of measures aimed at transferring to the statehouse power from the governor and attorney general – another election won by a Democrat.

The bills passed and now await Walker’s signature as he comes to the end of his second term in office. He has indicated that he will sign. Amid similar moves by Republicans in Michigan and elsewhere, the situation in the Badger state has attracted national attention.

Writing for the Guardian on Sunday, the former Wisconsin senator Russ Feingold said Republicans were guilty of “a total betrayal of the people of Wisconsin and our nation’s democratic ideals”.

Speaking to NBC’s Meet the Press on Sunday, Evers said using the word “coup” to describe the Republican move “seems strong”. But he did not rule out seeking legal redress.

“I communicated with Governor Walker over the telephone a few days ago,” Evers said, “and laid out my position that vetoing the legislation was going to be an important thing to make sure what happened last November, the vote of the people of Wisconsin was actually upheld …

Walker, he said, “was noncommittal”.

Evers added that he was “not particularity encouraged at this point in time, but it’s on Scott Walker’s legacy” to veto the bill. Walker, who briefly ran for the 2016 presidential nomination, has had a transformative effect on Wisconsin, particularly in reducing the political power of unions.

“The entire thing is a mess,” Evers said, “it’s a hot mess, and I believe he should veto the entire package. At least three or four of the things that are in there now he has actually vetoed previously.”

Asked if he would sue if Walker did not stop the power grab, Evers said: “All issues are on the table. I’m not making any promises one way or another. I need to stand up for the people of Wisconsin. There’s 2.6 million people that voted in this last election and they expect me to do that. So we’re going to pursue this.”