Good morning.
Sunday in Whitewater will be sunny with a high of 79. Sunrise is 6:49 and sunset is 6:40, for 11 hours, 52 minutes of daytime. The moon is a waxing crescent with 36.9 percent of its visible disk illuminated.
On this day in 1066, William the Conqueror lands in England, beginning the Norman Conquest.
The Wisconsin gubernatorial field for the August 2026 primary saw some changes over the last week.
Republican U.S. Rep. Tom Tiffany has officially entered Wisconsin’s 2026 race for governor, joining a field of GOP candidates hoping to win back control of the executive branch, held by Democratic Gov. Tony Evers since 2019.
During an appearance on WISN-AM’s Dan O’Donnell Show Tuesday, Tiffany laid any lingering doubts to rest.
“I’m here to announce on your show that I’m going to run for governor of the state of Wisconsin in the 2026 election,” Tiffany said. “It is a great challenge that is going to be before us, but it is also a great opportunity. And we are going to accept that challenge, and we’re in as of right now.”
See Rich Kremer, US Rep. Tom Tiffany enters race for Wisconsin governor (‘After months of teasing run, Tiffany makes his entrance into 2026 campaign official on conservative talk radio show’), Wisconsin Public Radio, September 24, 2025.
One of the candidates in the GOP primary for Wisconsin governor has dropped out of the race, days after it was reported that he once followed several authors of sexually explicit essays on social media.
New Berlin businessman Bill Berrien, who got into the race for governor in July, announced Friday that he was suspending his campaign.
…
When Berrien launched his campaign this summer, he began with an ad that framed himself as a businessman, ex-Navy SEAL and political outsider, not to mention a big supporter of President Donald Trump. Berrien financed his early ads with the help of a political action committee, whose biggest donors included the billionaire brothers known as the Winklevoss twins, made famous for their lawsuit against Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg.
…
The ads also criticized Gov. Tony Evers’ record on transgender issues, pledging to “keep boys out of our daughters’ sports and locker rooms.” Evers has vetoed multiple bills aimed at restricting trans kids from joining K-12 girls’ or university women’s sports teams.
While Berrien’s position is common in GOP politics, it came under new light when his social media history became public. The Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel reported that Berrien used the social media platform Medium to follow a transgender porn star named Jiz Lee. Berrien also followed publications like “Sexography,” which calls itself “an inclusive place for people to talk about and explore sexuality from all orientations, cultures, and perspectives,” and “Polyamory Today,” which promotes relationships with multiple partners.
See Shawn Johnson, Republican Bill Berrien ends campaign for Wisconsin governor (‘Berrien’s decision comes days after news surfaced that he followed authors of sexually explicit essays on social media’), Wisconsin Public Radio, September 26, 2025.
A former Democratic state lawmaker from Madison who has been investigated for various incidents of alleged misconduct and known for pulling stunts that have angered his own party at times is launching a new campaign for governor.
Brett Hulsey, 66, announced Wednesday he would join the Democratic primary for governor. It’s his second time pursuing the governor’s office after coming in a distant third in 2014.
See Molly Beck, A former Wisconsin Democratic lawmaker known for antics, investigations joins governor’s race, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, September 24, 2025.
What should one make of all this?
Tiffany is now the favorite in a WISGOP field that might still find (and needs) a younger and more dynamic candidate (as Tiffany is neither). Berrien was always a long shot, and the Winklevoss twins never had their fingers on the pulse of WISGOP trends in any event.1 While Brett Hulsey has entered the Democratic primary, no one without a microscope will be able to follow his campaign.
_____
- Berrien’s embrace of WISGOP orthodoxy was hypocritically out of step with his own private reading. The WISGOP position makes that private reading publicly unacceptable. Yesterday’s complaints about ‘cancel culture’ have become today’s imposition of that same culture inside and outside the party. ↩︎
James Webb Space Telescope captures Milky Way’s ‘largest star-forming cloud’: