Badger Institute unveils 2026 Wisconsin policy agenda

The Badger Institute launched its 2026 Mandate for Madison on Thursday, unveiling a comprehensive policy agenda to guide Wisconsin lawmakers and voters ahead of November's elections. The nonpartisan think tank's project offers evidence-based recommendations on taxes, public finances, education, healthcare, housing, energy, regulation, and government accountability, with research released incrementally through October. Institute President Mike Nichols emphasized that the agenda aims to shift focus from campaign insults to substantive issues, promising a full report on every elected official's desk by January 2027.[1][2][3]

This builds on the institute's 2022 Mandate, a 300-page blueprint that influenced bipartisan reforms including dental therapy authorization, restoring school resource officers in Milwaukee Public Schools, faster justice for crime victims, and boosted funding for choice and charter schools. The new edition warns that Wisconsin's progress toward greater economic freedom—rising in national rankings over 15 years—remains fragile amid proposals for higher taxes, repealing Act 10 and right-to-work laws, and increased regulations. Early chapters, like economist Jim Bohn's analysis of border counties with Illinois and Minnesota, link economic freedom to local prosperity.[1][5][6][9]

For Milwaukee residents, these ideas hit close to home: school safety reforms directly aided city districts, while housing and education proposals could ease affordability pressures and expand family options in a tight market. Protecting recent gains means resisting rollbacks that could hike costs or stifle jobs in the region's manufacturing hub.[2][9][14]

More essays will roll out monthly, fueling debates as candidates engage the research to shape the 2027 legislative session.[1][7][9]