Wisconsin governor race: Democrat Missy Hughes launches bid

MADISON, Wis. - Another candidate wants their name on your ballot for Wisconsin governor.

Meet Missy Hughes

What we know:

Missy Hughes worked as a dairy executive and in the Evers Administration.

While several of the democratic candidates have called republicans and the president "extremist," she hasn’t. But she is critical of some of his policies.

She says she's not looking for a fight, but will stand up to anyone, including the White House, if they come for rights.

That’s one reason political insiders suggest Missy Hughes could have an opening more in the middle of a more left-leaning Democratic primary field.

Missy Hughes says she's not a politician.

Weeks ago, she resigned from Governor Tony Evers' administration. She has led the Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation since 2019.

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Missy Hughes 1-on-1

What they're saying:

Before joining the Evers Administration, Hughes was an executive with Organic Valley which sells milk, cheese and butter.

She says as governor, she' ll focus on the economy and jobs.

She brings up big investments like Microsoft's announcing more than $7 billion in Mount Pleasant.

Evers' endorsement

Jason: "You worked in Governor Evers' administration since 2019. Is he going to endorse you?"

Hughes: "Governor Evers is an amazing human being. I'm so proud to have worked for him for the last six years, and I got to spend the second to the last day of work with him celebrating Microsoft's big expansion in Racine. And I believe that he's very proud of the work that we did together. He's going to stay out of the primary for right now."

Jason: "Have you asked for his endorsement yet?"

Hughes: "I have not asked for his endorsement because I really want to respect how he wants to approach these things."

Missy on Trump

While other democratic candidates have used their launch videos to criticize President Trump—she didn’t.

Hughes: "When I talk to Wisconsinites, they don't want name-calling. They don't want the division to continue. They're looking for someone who's positive about the future. That's what I represent in this campaign, and that's what I want to bring forward to Wisconsinites is a positive, optimistic view of the future. Sure, there are things that might feel like storm clouds on the horizon, but together, we can work through those things. And I want to be a leader who looks past all of this and says, How do we look for our future? How do we create that future together?"

On the president's tariffs—Hughes says she's opposed.

She says she’d also oppose the president bringing the national guard into Wisconsin, calling it a "political stunt."

Hughes: "Tariffs are raising prices for Wisconsinites in grocery stores, in small businesses at the gas pump. They are just adding unpredictability. As I talk to businesses, they are ready to grow and ready to move forward, but when they're concerned about the future, they don't hire, they don't make investments, and so all of the unpredictability around tariffs is not what we need right now. We were on a good path, and we want to continue on that path of growing our economy, of creating good jobs. We can do that, but the tariffs just add crazy and unpredictability."

Data centers

Jason: "What do you say to people that are worried about the environmental impact of these data centers?"

Hughes: "You know what I've experienced in talking to these companies is they're actually really concerned about how to make sure their energy is renewable energy. The water usage is actually quite small compared to what we've heard about in the past. And so I'm very encouraged that these companies are really thinking about the future. That's why it's exciting that Microsoft is building the largest AI center in the country, in Wisconsin. It's bringing great, paying jobs, union-supporting jobs."

Path to victory

Jason: "What is your path to victory? Right now, the field of Democrats is seven candidates. What's your path?"

Hughes: "You know, I think I present a really unique opportunity for Wisconsinites to consider. I've got public sector and private sector experience. I worked for 17 years in the dairy industry, which is with one of Wisconsin's biggest industries, and I've worked all across the state in 72 counties. So I think I really represent an opportunity for Wisconsinites to see something different. That's what I'm trying to present myself as. I'm not a divisive candidate. I’m someone who's here to stand up for Wisconsin and build a really strong economy."

National Guard to cities?

Jasno: "If the National Guard was called into one of our cities, Milwaukee, for example, and you're the governor, what would you tell President Trump?"

Hughes: "I would say please stop with the political stunts. We're talking about law enforcement. We're talking about safety here in Milwaukee and across the state, and we're managing that on our own. National Guard is here to protect us in times of emergency, in times of crisis, in times of natural disasters. We're pulling people away from their families and their work forces and their businesses in order to support these political stunts. Let's stop, stop the nonsense, and just focus on what we need to do, which is making sure Wisconsinites have an economy where they can succeed, where they have access to child care and health care and education. These are the things that are important to us."

Wisconsin state budget surplus

Jason: "On the surplus. As Governor, you know, you're going to have to decide where this money goes. In the past, Democrats have said most of that money should go to public schools. Republicans have said property tax cuts. Governor signed bills that kind of split it. What would you put most of that surplus in the schools, property taxes, or somewhere in the middle?"

Hughes: "You know, what? Wisconsinites have invested by paying taxes, and they expect those dollars to get used to support our schools, to support strong roads and transportation infrastructure. They want to see those dollars spent smartly, and we need to be able to have conversations in the Capital that then work for the rest of Wisconsin. What I'm going to do is sit down with folks at the table and say, Okay, this surplus is here. How do we invest it as smart as we can in order to serve Wisconsin?" 

School vouchers

Jason: "On school vouchers, would you sign a bill that expanded vouchers to all eligible students in Wisconsin?"

MISSY HUGHES 6:40-First and foremost, we need to make sure that our public schools are delivering for our students. That's the first thing we need to do. By building a strong economy, we start to bring in the ability to have the resources to do that. As we talk about vouchers, it's a really complicated conversation. We have vouchers that are working around the state and that we can't just necessarily undo all of that very easily. So we need to be around the table. But first and foremost, we need to be funding our public schools as best we can to make sure that our students are getting what they need."

Jason: "One of the Democratic competitors wants to see a wind down of the voucher program. Would you support winding it down so that it goes away in, I don't know, X amount of years?"

Hughes: "You know, again, what we want to make sure is today we are delivering for our public school students, and we look to the future to have a plan for that. I'm not going to say right away what that solution is. All I want to say is we need to build a strong economy so that we can support our public schools. We can support our universities and our tech colleges. We've made these investments for decades and decades, and we need to make sure that we're supporting those investments and not letting them just be diminished."

Taxes

Jason: "On taxes, would you support raising the taxes for the wealthiest Wisconsinites?"

Hughes: "Listen, everybody needs to pay their fair share. Right now, we're seeing Wisconsin families with a lot of burdens. They are really concerned about paying their grocery bills. I don't want to see taxes increase for them. I want to make sure that everybody's paying their fair share. I think folks are ready to pay taxes when they see that it's being invested really smartly. So I want to bring smart decision-making to the Capitol and make sure that we're all working together and we have a vision for the future that all comes back to a strong economy. I'm going to sound, Jason, like a broken record on this, that that's the foundation, and that's where I can bring my expertise to play."

Jason: "So it sounds like a definite maybe on higher taxes for the wealthiest?"

Hughes: "A definite maybe."

Abortion

Jason: "On abortion. If Republicans give you a bill that puts new restrictions on abortion, what would be your stance on that?"

Hughes: "I’ll veto it."

Jason: "If Democrats bring you a bill that gets rid of the 20-week abortion ban. Would you veto or sign that?"

Hughes: "I want a bill. I want abortion rights in Wisconsin that are decisions made by the women who are pregnant and facing that challenge and thinking about what's best for themselves and for their family and working with their doctors. That's the premise of the right way to approach abortion for the state of Wisconsin.

Jason: "So Democrats bring you that bill that gets rid of the 20-week abortion ban, allows abortion after that point, you would sign that bill?"

Hughes: "I want abortion that is decided by the women and their doctors and the healthcare. If that's what that bill says, then that's what I would support."

Marijuana legalization

Jason: "Marijuana legalization, recreational, would you sign that bill?"

Hughes: "Marijuana legalization is something we should definitely have on the table. What I want to do is look at the other states that have done that and find the best method, the best way to approach it for Wisconsin, I think we can do this in a really smart way that benefits Wisconsin, that solves some of the issues that we've seen in other states when it comes to how you regulate and things like that. There are other states that have done it. They've done it well, and we just need to mirror something like that."

Committing to stay in the primary race

Jason:  "In 2022, Democrats had a wide open primary for US Senate. A lot of Democrats felt upset because they didn't actually have a lot of the candidates got out pretty much right before the primary. Do you commit to stay in this race through the primary?"

Hughes: "I commit to stay in this race until I win in November."

2020 Safer-At-Home order

Jason: "And final question is, is, you know, looking back at your term as economic development director in Wisconsin, safer at home, I mean, that was something in 2020 during the pandemic, where the state shut down a lot of businesses that were deemed not essential. Would you still go forward with that, knowing what you know now, in 2025 would you still support have supported safer home in 2020?

Hughes: "You know, knowing what I know is a lot of rear view mirror and background quarterbacking. In that moment, we were facing a real challenge of how to keep everybody in Wisconsin safe. I think we made the best decisions that we could with the knowledge that we had. And I think going forward, it's always about, what do we know, and how can we make sure that we keep Wisconsin safe? We make good decisions, then will we make decisions differently now knowing what we know? Yeah, sure, there's always Monday morning quarterbacking looking back at that, but I'm proud of how Wisconsin came out of the pandemic with a really strong economy. I was a key part of that. Governor Evers was a key part of that. And I think we know that always keeping an eye on the future and how to keep things moving forward is the best thing we can do."

Who else is in the running?

What we know:

Also running are Lt. Gov. Sara Rodriguez, Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley, State Rep. Francesca Hong, State Sen. Kelda Roys, Former Wisconsin Democrat State Representative Brett Hulsey and beer vendor Ryan Strnad.

The Republican field includes Republican Congressman Tom Tiffany and Washington County Executive Josh Schoemann. 

What's next:

The Wisconsin party primaries are 11 months away – set for August 2026.

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