Yes. In 2021 Mandela Barnes tweeted his support for a Green New Deal: “It may look different depending on the state, but with the right approach, it would be the climate and jobs solution Wisconsin needs.”
Category: Fact briefs
Wisconsin Watch is partnering with Gigafact to produce fact briefs — bite-sized fact checks of trending claims.
Read more about how Wisconsin Watch checks claims for the fact briefs, and contact us at factbriefs@wisconsinwatch.org
Posted inFact briefs
Is a conservative Wisconsin law firm arguing that Biden’s student debt relief plan is unconstitutional in part because it aims to ‘narrow the racial wealth gap’?
Yes. The conservative law firm Wisconsin Institute for Law and Liberty filed a lawsuit against the Biden administration’s student loan forgiveness plan on Oct. 4, claiming the plan would be unconstitutional.
Posted inFact briefs
Is Wisconsin House of Representatives candidate Derrick Van Orden on probation for carrying a loaded gun into an airport?
Yes. In August 2021, Wisconsin House candidate Derrick Van Orden was cited for carrying a loaded gun into an Iowa airport. Court records show he had a loaded 9 mm handgun in his carry-on bag at the security checkpoint at the Cedar Rapids airport.
Posted inFact briefs
Did Wisconsin repeal the 48-hour waiting period to purchase a handgun in 2015?
Yes. On June 24, 2015, former Gov. Scott Walker signed into law a bill repealing Wisconsin’s 48-hour waiting period for purchasing a handgun.
Posted inFact briefs
Has Gov. Tony Evers expressed that he wants to cut Wisconsin’s prison population in half?
Yes. During his 2018 campaign, Gov. Tony Evers set a goal to reduce Wisconsin’s prison population by half, although he has never provided a time frame for implementing that plan.
Posted inFact briefs
Were income taxes reduced by 15% for most taxpayers under Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers?
Yes.
Under tax cuts signed by Wisconsin Democratic Gov. Tony Evers, 86% of taxpayers saw a 15% decrease in income taxes. It is estimated that the 2021-23 biennial budget signed by Evers provided tax relief to 2.4 million Wisconsinites — marking one of the largest tax cuts in the state’s history.
Posted inFact briefs
Is the Republican Party of Wisconsin suing the mayor and election commission of Milwaukee for encouraging residents to vote?
No. On Sept. 26, 2022, the Republican Party of Wisconsin and the National Republican Senatorial Committee filed a lawsuit against the city of Milwaukee’s mayor and election commission for failing to release public records related to the administration of the upcoming midterm elections.
Posted inFact briefs
Did Wisconsin Sen. Ron Johnson visit Russia on the Fourth of July?
Yes. In 2018, Republican Sen. Ron Johnson visited Moscow, Russia with a group of seven other members of Congress on the Fourth of July. During the visit, the group warned Russia to not interfere with the U.S. 2018 midterm elections.
Posted inFact briefs
Have some violent crimes risen during Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers’s tenure?
Yes. Homicide and aggravated assault in Wisconsin rose between 2018—the year before Gov. Tony Evers took office—and 2021, although the rates of rape and robbery in the state did not. Between 2019 and 2021, homicides rose by 70% — reaching 315 in 2021.
Posted inFact briefs
Did Wisconsin US Sen. Ron Johnson say he wants to end Social Security and Medicare?
No. In August, Wisconsin’s incumbent Republican U.S. Sen. Ron Johnson stated his stance in an interview that the government should make all federal spending—including budget items currently “on automatic pilot” like Medicare and Social Security—discretionary. He argued that this change would allow the government to evaluate and “fix” broken programs.
Posted inFact briefs
Did the wife of US Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas push Wisconsin lawmakers to throw out votes from the 2020 election?
Yes. Virginia “Ginni” Thomas, the conservative activist and wife of U.S. Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, emailed at least three Wisconsin state lawmakers on Nov. 9, 2022, in an attempt to persuade them to overturn the results of the presidential election, in which Democrat Joe Biden defeated Republican President Donald Trump.
Posted inFact briefs
Did U.S. Sen. Ron Johnson say Wisconsin has ‘enough’ jobs?
Yes. In February, Wisconsin’s incumbent Republican U.S. Sen. Ron Johnson stated that, “Obviously I am always supportive of manufacturing here in Wisconsin, but at the same time, I recognize that manufacturers have different capabilities elsewhere.”