MADISON, Wis. (AP) — The latest fundraising numbers and campaign spending in Wisconsin's closely watched race for governor shed some light on how the contest is shaping up more than a year before voters will start casting ballots.
Democratic Gov. Tony Evers has yet to say whether he will seek a third term in 2026. Two Republicans have already launched campaigns and one of them started running ads this week. Many others are waiting in the wings.
Here’s a look at some of the numbers related to where the race stood as of Wednesday:
This is the amount Evers raised over the first six months of the year, based on a campaign finance report filed Tuesday. Four years ago, when he was midway through his first term, Evers had raised $5 million over the same period before launching his bid for reelection. The lower amount this year will fuel speculation that Evers might not run again. But Evers also had nearly three-times as many individual donors the past six months compared with the last six months of 2024. And if he decides to run, the Democratic Party could transfer him unlimited amounts of money.
This is how much cash on hand Evers had at the beginning of July. That compares with $7 million he had at this point in 2021, another sign of concern for those who want Evers to run again. But it's also more than any of the early announced Republican candidates.
If Evers runs again, he would be looking to make history as the first Democrat elected to a third four-year term as Wisconsin governor. Republican Tommy Thompson, who was elected governor four times, is the only person to have won more than two four-year terms. The last one to seek a third term, Republican Scott Walker, lost in 2018 to Evers.
This is how many Republican candidates have entered the race thus far. Washington County Executive Josh Schoemann was the first to get in, back in May. He's been busy traveling the state, meeting with Republicans and trying to get his name out. Milwaukee-area businessman Bill Berrien, who got in last week, is looking to make a bigger splash, running ads starting this week targeting conservative voters as he tries to pitch himself as the candidate most aligned with President Donald Trump.
That's how much Berrien's campaign says he's spending on radio, cable TV and online advertising starting this week. No other candidate has started spending on ads this far ahead of the election. The primary is 13 months away in August 2026.
That's how much Schoemann reported raising in two months since he launched his campaign in May. He had about $338,000 cash on hand as of July 1. Berrien launched his campaign after the most recent fundraising period closed. But a super PAC he created before he launched his bid raised nearly $1.2 million. That money can be spent to help his campaign.
Nearly all of that, $1 million, came from a pair of $500,000 donations from Tyler and Cameron Winklevoss.
The Winklevoss twice founded the Gemini cryptocurrency exchange and are most famous to the general public for suing Mark Zuckerberg over the creation of Facebook. They generally back Republicans, and gave both to Trump's campaign and to Elon Musk's political group.
That's how many Republicans and Democrats are considering running.
Evers would almost certainly be uncontested should he seek a third term. Several influential Democrats, including U.S. Rep. Mark Pocan and state party chair Devin Remiker, have said in recent days they hope he runs. Evers said he expects to announce his decision later this month.
Potential Republican candidates include Madison businessman and two-time losing U.S. Senate candidate Eric Hovde, U.S. Rep. Tom Tiffany and state Senate President Mary Felzkowski.
Democratic potentials include Attorney General Josh Kaul, Lt. Gov. Sara Rodriguez, Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley, Milwaukee Mayor Cavalier Johnson, Secretary of State Sarah Godlewski and state Sen. Kelda Roys, of Madison.
FILE - Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers gives the annual State of the State address Wednesday, Jan. 22, 2025, at the state Capitol in Madison, Wis. (AP Photo/Morry Gash, File)
INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — UConn starting guard Solo Ball limped from room to room Sunday at Lucas Oil Stadium, a protective boot on his sprained left foot. Michigan forward Yaxel Lendeborg didn't even do that much because of an injured left ankle and an injured left knee.
Just one day before the teams meet in Monday night's national championship game, the big question for both was the health of two key playmakers.
Neither was expected to practice Sunday as they focused instead on getting as much treatment as possible, even as teammates and the players themselves insisted the stars would play Monday night. The coaches, Dan Hurley and Dusty May, also tried to lighten the mood before college basketball's biggest game of the season.
“I’m sure he’ll give it a go tomorrow, but that will be entirely up to him and the medical staff,” May said as he updated the playing status of Lendeborg, a first team All-American. “He’ll tell me if he can go and we were laughing because he played the second half, but he played the second half like a 38-year-old at the YMCA — a really good 38-year-old at the YMCA. So whatever version we get of Yaxel we get, it’s going to be somebody that helps us play better basketball.”
Lendeborg played just five minutes of the first half before getting hurt in Saturday's 91-73 victory over Arizona, which sent Michigan (36-3) to its first title game since 2018. He finished with 11 points and three rebounds in 15 minutes and made two 3-pointers in the second half.
But he hardly resembled the guy who was named the Big Ten's Player of the Year.
When Lendeborg was asked whether missing Monday night's game was a possibility, Lendeborg emphatically told reporters in the locker room, “absolutely not.” He reinjured the ankle he initially hurt in the Big Ten Tournament championship game. The knee injury was a new one and Lendeborg said, at worst, he was told it was a sprained medial collateral ligament. May said MRI results came back clean Sunday.
Still, the combination prevented him from doing the traditional between-games media circuit.
While everyone saw Lendeborg's injury Saturday's, Ball's injury seemed to surprise everyone including Hurley, who said he saw Ball in a walking boot before being told what happened.
Ball has played a key role in helping UConn (34-5) reach its third title game in four years, averaging 12.9 points and starting all 38 games he appeared in this season.
He scored 10 of his 13 points in the second half of Saturday’s 91-72 victory over Illinois — after getting hurt in the first half — and told reporters played through the injury on pure adrenaline. The injury occurred when Ball and teammate Tarris Reed Jr. got tangled.
“I've just been doing everything I can to take care of it,” Ball said Sunday. “It's just a bump in the road, so you've got to keep moving forward. Pain is temporary. People say it pushes you through your toughest performance, so it's only what you're made of. This is the championship game.”
Hurley had other questions, though, as UConn attempts to win its third national championship in four years and the seventh in school history. The Huskies are tied with North Carolina for the third-highest total of national championships, behind UCLA (11) and Kentucky (eight).
UConn has won all six of its titles since 1999 and remains hopeful Ball will be a go on Monday.
“I think we’ll see whether this turns into — it’s going to be tough to get an MRI on Easter, on a Sunday,” Hurley said. “I don’t know what the hospitals are like in Indiana. Hospitals stay open.”
Michigan, apparently, had already resolved that issue.
But the Wolverines don't expect Lendeborg's injury to change their mission, snapping a four-game losing streak in NCAA Tournament title games and capturing the school's first national title since 1989 and the second in program history. Nor do they expect it to change their game plan.
“I'll still play the four outs,” Michigan forward Morez Johnson Jr. said. “And Yax is fine.”
AP March Madness bracket: https://apnews.com/hub/ncaa-mens-bracket and coverage: https://apnews.com/hub/march-madness
Michigan forward Yaxel Lendeborg (23) falls after play against Arizona during the first half of an NCAA college basketball tournament semifinal game at the Final Four, Saturday, April 4, 2026, in Indianapolis. (AP Photo/Abbie Parr)
UConn guard Solo Ball (1) celebrates his basket as Illinois guard Andrej Stojakovic (2) looks on during the second half of an NCAA college basketball tournament semifinal game at the Final Four, Saturday, April 4, 2026, in Indianapolis. (AP Photo/Abbie Parr)
Michigan forward Yaxel Lendeborg reacts after an injury on the court during the first half of an NCAA college basketball tournament semifinal game against Arizona at the Final Four, Saturday, April 4, 2026, in Indianapolis. (AP Photo/Abbie Parr)
UConn's Solo Ball (1) dunks as Illinois' Andrej Stojakovic, left, watches during the second half of an NCAA college basketball tournament semifinal game at the Final Four, Saturday, April 4, 2026, in Indianapolis. (AP Photo/Michael Conroy)
