Reporting by Colby Lamb, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel / Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
Rep. Greta Neubauer, D-Racine, was widely expected to occupy the top Assembly leadership position after Democrats won control of the chamber in the Nov. 3 election. Democrats will assume control of the Assembly in January for the first time in 16 years.
“We have traveled a long road to get to this moment, and now stand on the cusp of what will be a transformative session, one where we will take long overdue action to fulfill our promises and make life more affordable for people in Wisconsin and ensure that everyone can thrive in our state,” Neubauer said in a Nov. 10 press conference inside the Assembly chamber.
“We are united, and we are ready to govern. I could not be more excited to work with this thoughtful and hardworking group of people from all across our state.”
Neubauer continued that the Democratic caucus is “ready to hit the gorund running in January and pass good policy that will change Wisconsinites’ lives.”
A week after the Nov. 3 election, the caucus held a closed-door meeting to decide who will lead the party for the next two years. The caucus announced the leadership positions on the Assembly floor in the Capitol.
Democrats have a 53-46 majority in the Assembly.
Also on Nov. 10, Sen. Dianne Hesselbein, D-Middleton, was named the next Senate majority leader. It will be the first time in state history that women will hold both top leadership roles in each house simultaneously.
In previous interviews with the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Hesselbein and Neubauer said the first bills that will likely be taken up are regarding addressing cost-of-living challenges through free school meals, capping prescription drug prices and expanding the homestead tax credit.
Additional priorities are repealing Act 10, repealing the 1849 abortion ban, gun control reform, marijuana legalization, increased funding for public schools, renewing the now-expired Knowles-Nelson Stewardship Program and expanding access to childcare.
Neubauer, who has been the Assembly minority leader since 2022, will be the first female Assembly Speaker and first openly bisexual speaker. She will be the first Democrat to be speaker since Rep. Michael Sheridan in 2010.
“We know that people will be counting on us to deliver, and we will deliver,” Neubauer said in a Nov. 3 statement after Democrats won the majority in the Assembly. “Alongside Governor David Crowley and our Democratic colleagues in the Senate, we will show that government can be a force for good and that things can be different with democrats in charge.”
Rep. Kalan Haywood, D-Milwaukee, will serve as the majority leader. He will be the first Black lawmaker and the youngest lawmaker to be the Assembly majority leader. He has served as assistant minority leader since 2022. He will be the first Democrat to hold the leadership role since Rep. Thomas Nelson in 2010.
He said he is “deeply honored” and it is “one of the greatest honors” of his lifetime to be chosen for the leadership position, and he is “especially proud” to become the first Black majority leader in Wisconsin.
“I know that this moment represents more than an individual achievement,” Haywood said. “It reflects the work, sacrifice, and determination of forebears who fought to ensure that future generations would have a seat at the table and a role in shaping the future of our state.”
Haywood was first elected to the Assembly in 2018, when he was 19 and a student at Cardinal Stritch University. He has represented the 16th Assembly District since then.
Rep. Mike Bare, D-Verona, will be assistant majority leader. He was first elected to the Assembly in 2022 and has been the minority caucus secretary since 2025.
“It is a tremendous honor to be chosen to serve as assistant majority leader of the Assembly Democratic Caucus,” Bare said in a statement on X. “Wisconsinites are trusting us to enact our vision to help them afford the basics, fix our democracy, restore our rights, and make investments in our public schools, higher education and our communities.”
Other leadership positions include Rep. Lisa Subeck, D-Madison, as Speaker pro-tempore; Rep. Clinton Anderson, D-Beloit, as caucus chair; caucus vice-chair Karen DeSanto, D-Baraboo; caucus secretary Rep. Ann Roe, D-Janesville, and Margaret Arney, D-Wauwatosa, serving as sergeant-at-arms.
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Greta Neubauer becomes Wisconsin’s first female Assembly speaker
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
