Governor Tony Evers greets legislators prior to his second State of the State address in Madison, Wis., at the State Capitol building on Jan. 22, 2020. Coburn Dukehart / Wisconsin Watch
Reading Time: 3minutes
Wisconsin Watch is a nonprofit and nonpartisan newsroom. Subscribe to our our newsletter to get our investigative stories and Friday news roundup.
As Gov. Tony Evers delivered his second State of the State address to lawmakers Wednesday, I positioned myself to the right of the Democrat’s podium, squeezing between a television camera and a cold marble wall.
Most members of the press arrived a few hours before the 7 p.m. speech to claim a perch. Mine offered a side view of the governor and a front-row view of the Legislature. Once there, I could not move for the duration of the speech in which Evers proposed to aid struggling dairy farmers and create a commission to redraw political maps free of gerrymandering.
As members of the Assembly and Senate entered the room, many hugged or shook hands with State Treasurer Sarah Godlewski, Attorney General Josh Kaul and State Superintendent Carolyn Stanford Taylor. They sat about eight inches in front of me. Republicans and Democrats hugged and glad-handed across the aisle at a time when they are struggling to find common ground in addressing Wisconsin’s biggest challenges.
I looked for moments that captured the spirit of the pomp and circumstance of the event and any camaraderie between all those lawmakers gathered in one place.
Here is what I saw.
Attorney General Josh Kaul is seen with State Treasurer Sarah Godlewski and State Superintendent Carolyn Stanford Taylor before Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers delivered his second State of the State address on Jan. 22, 2020 at the State Capitol in Madison, Wis. Coburn Dukehart / Wisconsin WatchWisconsin Supreme Court Justice Brian Hagedorn is seen before Gov. Tony Evers delivered his second State of the State address on Jan. 22, 2020 at the State Capitol in Madison, Wis. Coburn Dukehart / Wisconsin WatchLt. Gov. Mandela Barnes hugs State Treasurer Sarah Godlewski, while State Superintendent Carolyn Stanford Taylor looks on. They are seen before Gov. Tony Evers delivered his second State of the State address on January 22, 2020 at the State Capitol in Madison, Wis. Coburn Dukehart / Wisconsin WatchRabbi Hannah Wallick of the Milwaukee Jewish Federation offers a prayer before Gov. Tony Evers delivered his second State of the State address on Jan. 22, 2020 at the State Capitol in Madison, Wis. Coburn Dukehart / Wisconsin WatchLegislators listen as Rabbi Hannah Wallick of the Milwaukee Jewish Federation offers a prayer before Gov. Tony Evers delivered his State of the State address on Jan. 22, 2020 at the State Capitol in Madison, Wis. Coburn Dukehart / Wisconsin WatchLt. Gov. Mandela Barnes is seen before Gov. Tony Evers delivered his second State of the State address on Jan. 22, 2020 at the State Capitol in Madison, Wis. Coburn Dukehart / Wisconsin WatchMarlon WhiteEagle, president of the Ho-Chunk Nation, receives recognition before Gov. Tony Evers’ State of the State address on Jan. 22, 2020 at the State Capitol in Madison, Wis. Coburn Dukehart / Wisconsin WatchGov. Tony Evers gives his second State of the State address at the State Capitol on Jan. 22, 2020 in Madison, Wis. He addressed a joint meeting of the Assembly and the Senate. Coburn Dukehart / Wisconsin WatchFrom left: Speaker Pro Tem Rep. Tyler August, R-Lake Geneva, Assembly Speaker Robin Vos, R-Rochester, and President of the Senate Roger Roth, R-Appleton are seen during Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers’ second State of the State address on Jan. 22, 2020 at the State Capitol in Madison, Wis. Coburn Dukehart / Wisconsin WatchGov. Tony Evers gives his second State of the State address in Madison, Wis., at the State Capitol on Jan. 22, 2020. Here, many members of the Legislature clap. Coburn Dukehart / Wisconsin WatchAssembly Minority Leader Gordon Hintz, D-Oshkosh, claps during Gov. Tony Evers’ second State of the State address on Jan. 22, 2020 at the State Capitol in Madison, Wis. Coburn Dukehart / Wisconsin WatchMembers of the UW Marching Band perform in the Assembly Chambers after Gov. Tony Evers’ State of the State Address on Jan. 20, 2020 in Madison, Wis. Coburn Dukehart / Wisconsin WatchA member of the UW Marching Band plays the cymbals in the Assembly Chambers after Gov. Tony Evers’ State of the State Address on Jan. 20, 2020 in Madison, Wis. Coburn Dukehart / Wisconsin WatchSen. Patrick Testin, R-Stevens Point, left, talks with Senate Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald, R-Juneau, after Gov. Tony Evers’ second State of the State address on Jan. 22, 2020 at the State Capitol in Madison, Wis. Coburn Dukehart / Wisconsin WatchSecond from left, State Treasurer Sarah Godlewski and Sen. Chris Larson, D-Milwaukee, talk with Wisconsin Supreme Court Justice Rebecca Dallet after Gov. Tony Evers’ second State of the State address on Jan. 22, 2020 at the State Capitol in Madison, Wis. Coburn Dukehart / Wisconsin Watch
The nonprofit Wisconsin Center for Investigative Journalism (wisconsinwatch.org) collaborates with Wisconsin Public Radio, PBS Wisconsin, other news media and the UW-Madison School of Journalism and Mass Communication. All works created, published, posted or disseminated by the Center do not necessarily reflect the views or opinions of UW-Madison or any of its affiliates.
Republish our articles for free, online or in print, under a Creative Commons license.
Scroll down to copy and paste the code of our article into your CMS. The codes for images, graphics and other embeddable elements may not transfer exactly as they appear on our site.
You are welcome to republish our articles for free using the following ground rules.
Credit should be given, in this format: “By Dee J. Hall, Wisconsin Watch”
If published online, you must include the links and link to wisconsinwatch.org
If you share the story on social media, please mention @wisconsinwatch (Twitter, Facebook and Instagram)
Don’t sell the story — it may not be marketed as an individual product.
Don’t sell ads against the story. But you can publish it with pre-sold ads.
Your website must include a prominent way to contact you.
Additional elements that are packaged with our story must be labeled.
Users can republish our photos, illustrations, graphics and multimedia elements ONLY with stories with which they originally appeared. You may not separate multimedia elements for standalone use.
If we send you a request to change or remove Wisconsin Watch content from your site, you must agree to do so immediately.
For questions regarding republishing rules please contact Andy Hall, executive director, at ahall@wisconsinwatch.org
Photo Essay: Pomp, circumstance and proposals as Gov. Tony Evers delivers State of the State
by Coburn Dukehart / Wisconsin Watch, Wisconsin Watch January 23, 2020
Coburn Dukehart is an Associate Director at Wisconsin Watch. She joined the organization in 2015 as the Digital and Multimedia Director. She is currently head of product and audience, directs visual and digital strategy; creates visual content; manages digital assets and trains student and professional journalists. Dukehart previously was a senior photo editor at National Geographic, picture and multimedia editor at NPR, and a photo editor at USATODAY.com and washingtonpost.com. She has received numerous awards from the Milwaukee Press Club, National Press Photographers Association, Pictures of the Year International and the White House News Photographers Association.