Good morning.
Christmas Eve in Whitewater will be cloudy with a high of 43. Sunrise is 7:23 and sunset is 4:25 for 9 hours 2 minutes of daytime. The moon is a waxing crescent with 18.5 percent of its visible disk illuminated.
On this day in 1814, representatives of the United Kingdom and the United States sign the Treaty of Ghent, ending the War of 1812. (The treaty later takes effect on February 17, 1815.)
At the Journal Sentinel, Jessie Opoien writes a list of top Wisconsin political stories for 2026. Opoien sees six top stories: (1) control of the state government (legislative and executive branches), (2) possible congressional redistricting, (3) abortion, (4) large data center projects, (5) online sports betting, and (6) a Wisconsin Senate investigation of the state’s Department of Justice. See Jessie Opoien, The 6 big Wisconsin political stories to watch for in 2026, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, December 24, 2025.
I’d add one other, in front of all these: what do voters in Wisconsin think of federal policy? How do they feel about national issues now ever-present and intruding daily into their lives?
The answer will go far — very far — in determining control of the capitol, the intensity of the drive for redistricting, and what voters think of any WISGOP legislative investigations. The other issues Opoien lists, important in varying degrees, are slight as against the national political conflict that shrouds statewide politics.
See also It’s Who Was Missing from That Candidates’ Forum That Matters Most (11.9.25: “Our state politics is a proxy for national politics. There’s no evidence that this will change by next November, or for years afterward”) and Assessing Teasers and Speculation About Wisconsin Elections for 2026 (10.6.25: “There’s much about 2026 that’s yet to be decided, but one influence that’s certain. Wisconsin voters’ views of federal policy will shape the 2026 state races, whichever candidates are nominated”).
A Christmas light show in an 800-year-old cathedral in Brussels: