MADISON — Wisconsin Governor Tony Evers announced on July 24 that he will not seek a third term in 2026.

Elected in 2018, Evers narrowly defeated two-term Republican Governor Scott Walker (49.54% to 48.44%), and followed that up with a win over Republican challenger Tim Michels in 2022 (51.15% to 47.75%).

“Whether I’d win or not has never been part of my calculus about running again,” Evers said. “I began my run for governor as a proud Plymouth Progressive, and that’s still who I am today. I’m a science teacher at heart who ended up running for office and winning five straight statewide elections,” Evers said.

Before becoming governor, Evers, a Democrat, served as the state’s Deputy Superintendent of Public Instruction from 2001 until winning the State Superintendent of Public Instruction election in 2009, a post he held until he swore his oath as governor in 2019. Born and raised in Plymouth, he graduated from UW-Madison and has a Ph.D. He was a teacher for several years, served as a principal and later a district superintendent.

“I’ve spent 50 years in public service. I’m damn proud I devoted my entire career — and most of my life — to working for you. And from Plymouth to Baraboo, Tomah to Oshkosh, Verona to Madison, and everywhere in between, Kathy and my family supported me all the way,” Evers said. “Marrying Kathy is the greatest accomplishment of my life because it gave me a lifetime with her, three amazing kids, and nine incredible grandkids. For five decades, my family has sacrificed to give me the gift of service. They’re my world. And I owe it to them to focus on doing all the things we enjoy and love doing together.”

Secretary Sarah Godlewski said Evers has been a steady hand and a true public servant for Wisconsin.

“Whether it was fighting for our kids, protecting our rights, fixing the damn roads, or making life more affordable, his leadership has made a real difference in the lives of Wisconsinites” she said. “He has governed with compassion and common sense — even in the face of relentless political opposition. And through it all, he hasn’t lost sight of what matters most: doing the right thing for the people of this state.”

Senator LaTonya Johnson (D-Milwaukee) said Governor Evers led Wisconsin through one of the most consequential periods in state history. A lifelong educator and public servant, he provided steady, principled leadership during a global pandemic, an unprecedented economic recovery, and a time of deepening political division. His decision to step away marks the close of a chapter defined by public investment, civic decency, and service to Wisconsin’s future.

During his time in office, Governor Evers worked to restore balance to Wisconsin’s political system and expand opportunity for children and families. He ended more than a decade of gerrymandering by signing fair legislative maps into law, invested heavily in K-12 education, expanded broadband access to rural communities, and enacted middle-class tax relief.

“(He) never lost sight of who he was fighting for. Nowhere is that more clear than in the City of Milwaukee. After years of disinvestment, he stood up for our communities and gave us the tools to build a better future. He pushed back when Republicans brought us to the edge of fiscal collapse, directed pandemic recovery funds to our businesses and nonprofits, and recognized Milwaukee’s role as the state’s economic engine,” Johnson said.

Among his accomplishments is channeling funding back into K-12 education and the UW System. In July 2023, he used a unique line-item veto to fund public schools by $325 a year increases for the next 400 years. The veto held up in a legal battle that went all the way to the Wisconsin Supreme Court, which ruled in his favor this past April that the line-item veto was constitutional.

“When the gerrymandered majority passed legislation that would have taken Wisconsin backward, he used his veto pen to protect public education, reproductive freedom, and voting access. At every turn, he used his office to prevent lasting harm to the state,” Johnson said.

Main Street Alliance released a statement shortly after Evers’ announcement, praising him for the work he did as governor to help the state’s small businesses not just get through the COVID-19 pandemic, but to grow and thrive. Main Street Alliance expanded to Wisconsin in August 2020. 

“It was a time of deep uncertainty and fear for entrepreneurs from Ashland to Racine, as they wondered what the future would hold,” the Main Street Alliance statement said.

Without his efforts many more small businesses would have closed, jobs would have been lost, and small towns would have been decimated, Main Street Alliance claimed.

“Gov. Tony Evers was there to support those businesses. On a per capita basis, more was spent to provide grant support and stabilization dollars than in any state in the country. (About) 118,500 small businesses were supported with $1.6 billion in support, including the forward-looking Main Street Bounce Back program that provided $10,000 grants to business owners taking over vacant storefronts,” the Main Street Alliance statement said. “Diverse chambers got an infusion of support to reach more new business owners in their early days. And when Main Street Alliance advocated for live event venues that were falling through the cracks, Gov. Evers listened, and the $33.25 million live event venue grant was launched, saving businesses across the state.”

Rep. Lisa Subeck (D-Madison) said that Evers has been a calm, steady and unifying leader that always put people over politics, especially in what has become a politically divisive time.

“His legacy as one of Wisconsin’s great progressive voices is secure — from defending democracy and expanding health care to investing in our schools and, of course, fixing the damn roads,” said Subeck, who is also the Chair of the Assembly Democratic Caucus. “Thank you, Tony, for your leadership, your decency, and your unwavering commitment to doing what’s right. You and Kathy have more than earned a lifetime of pickleball victories.”

 Evers said he is humbled to be governor and that it is “the best job” he’s ever had.

“And folks, we are not done yet,” Evers said. “There is, as always, much work to do. And, Wisconsin, I’ll be working just as hard as I have for the last six years to keep doing the right thing and deliver for you. I promised you when I ran for this office that I’d always work to do the right thing, that I’d always give it to you straight, and that I’d always try to be a governor for all of Wisconsin. And I work every day to keep those promises. That’ll never change.

“For the last six years, you’ve welcomed me into your churches, businesses, classrooms, farms, hospitals, and communities,” Evers continued. “I cherish every moment — every tour, visit, high five, question, and selfie. It’s the honor of my life to be able to give back to the state that raised me,” Evers said. “Here’s the truth: Wisconsin, the only thing I love more than being your governor is being a husband, a dad, and a grandpa.”