Wisconsin Gubernatorial Candidates on Child Care
- Nanci Bradley
- Nov 15
- 5 min read
Updated: Nov 18
The following candidates are officially in the race for Governor of Wisconsin. We'll try to keep up with changes as they occur. The candidates are listed in no particular order. We tried to include as much information on each candidate's child care ideas as we could find at the time of publication.
Josh Schoemann (R)
from his official website:
Wisconsin doesn’t need more politics. We need more neighbors. That means fighting for working families, cutting red tape, restoring faith in our institutions, and building a state where our kids and retirees want to stay—and can afford to.
WI Examiner
Washington County Executive Josh Schoemann speaks at the first candidate forum of the campaign cycle. He said “affordability” is the greatest threat and expressed concerns about young people and retirees leaving the state to live elsewhere.
“The average price of a home in Wisconsin right now is almost $350,000… A brand new teacher and a brand new cop who are married with a dual income can’t afford to qualify for the mortgage for that one. If they have a child, they’re trying to pay for child care, and they have utility bills that are going through the roof, and Verizon just had another increase in prices, and not to mention Netflix,” Schoemann said to some chuckles from the audience. “I know we laugh, but it’s a problem. It’s a massive problem.”
David Crowley (D)
from his official website:
Crowley believes every family deserves access to safe, affordable, high-quality child care. As Governor, he will champion long-term investments that stabilize providers, expand early childhood programs, and ensure working parents never have to choose between earning a paycheck and caring for their children. Crowley will prioritize raising subsidy rates so families can afford care, supporting providers so they can keep their doors open, and growing pre-K readiness programs that give every child a strong start. By making child care more accessible and dependable, Crowley will strengthen Wisconsin’s workforce, support parents, and give every child the foundation to thrive.
“We know providing children a strong start in life will contribute to their future success. I believe it’s critically important to invest in early childhood development and make sure Milwaukee County families have the support they need to realize the bright futures they all deserve,” said County Executive Crowley.
Sara Rodriquez (D)
Official website
She's focused on real, common sense solutions: cutting costs, easing everday burdens, and expanding opportunity across the state. Sara will fight to make healthcare and child care more affordable.
In an interview with the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Rodriguez said she's seeking office to help families navigate economic pressures.
"I'm a daughter of a veteran and a union member, and I can see within Wisconsin how families are being squeezed. They are having a difficult time being able to make ends meet, and they need somebody who can lead the state, who can fight for them — just everyday working families," she said.
Green Bay Press Gazette
Her main priorities as governor would be on housing and childcare, the two things she was hearing people bring up the most.
Rodriguez has a bachelor's degree in neuroscience from Illinois Wesleyan University and master's degrees in public health and nursing from Johns Hopkins University
Tom Tiffany (R)
Tom om will
From the official website
Alongside President Trump, Tom delivered the largest tax cut in history for working families, seniors, and small businesses. He ended taxes on tips, overtime, and Social Security. He expanded affordable childcare, opened more pathways to trade schools, and created real opportunities for workers to get ahead.
Capital Times
My vision as governor is to make sure every kid gets a great education that sets them up for success — one that isn’t predetermined by their zip code. I’m a public-school kid, and public school was the right choice for my three daughters. I understand how important our schools are to families and communities across our state, but we cannot accept failure as normal.
I vow to make our schools a source of pride again. It’s time to do better for our kids and for Wisconsin’s future.
Francesca Hong (D)
from her official website
Francesca Hong is a mom, service worker, chef, and community organizer. The daughter of immigrants and a proud Madisonian; a Democratic state representative and democratic socialist; she built her life from the dish pit to the State Legislature—always fighting for working families like hers.
Now she’s running for governor to build a Wisconsin where everyone has a seat at the table.
Capital Times
During her campaign announcement, Hong cited her working-class perspective as the center of what she dubs her “Wisconsin vision.” Her platform outlines goals to better fund public schools, ensure universal child care and more affordable health care, and invest in “care infrastructure,” including improving working conditions and wages for health care workers in a state facing an increasingly aging population.
Kelda Roys (D)
From the official website
As a small business owner and working mom/stepmom of 5, Kelda understands the struggles confronting Wisconsin families and small businesses. Wages are not keeping up with the rising costs of groceries, rent and housing expenses, healthcare, prescription drugs, utilities, transportation, or childcare. Middle class and working Wisconsinites are struggling to keep up, while low income families are left behind altogether.
In Business
State Sen. Kelda Roys, D-Madison, a co-sponsor of SB 322 and a 2026 gubernatorial candidate, said the bill would remodel the existing Wisconsin Shares tuition reimbursement program into a program that more closely resembles the Child Care Counts program that existed during the COVID-19 pandemic and ran out of money July 1 — when the new state budget went into effect.
Roys said SB 322 is an attempt to establish a sustainable child care industry in a manner that the current configuration of the government — a Democratic governor and a Republican-controlled Legislature — could potentially support.
She said Child Care Counts was started with federal pandemic funds, it proved extremely effective at keeping child care centers open through the pandemic, and it helped slow the child center closures the state experienced over the previous 20 years.
“The child care crisis is not new, and it's not a COVID problem,” said Roys, who said she will make greater state investment in early child care a centerpiece of her campaign for governor. “We've lost over half of our providers over the last 20 years, even prior to COVID, so Child Care Counts really stemmed the bleeding and helped provide some stability in that very critical industry.”
Brett Hulsey (D)
MADISON, Wis. (WMTV)
“I am running for governor to make Wisconsin better for my family and yours. My grandkids and yours deserve the best schools, roads and clean lakes and beaches,” Hulsey wrote in a statement. “You should not have check a website to see if your beach is safe to swim.”
“I am running as a Democrat because that is the best way to stop the assault on our families. We must unite to stop these viscous attacks on America,” Hulsey wrote.
Missy Hughes (D)
from her official website
Ensure Wisconsinites have higher wages and housing they can afford
Allows for family to pay for childcare, healthcare and have a bit leftover for t-ball registration — and a beer.
Ryan Strnad (D)
from his official website
Improve the working class in Wisconsin
Quality education at all levels
Thanks for reading and caring. Check back to this blog for updates and information on races in other states.
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Nanci J Bradley is an early childhood and family educator, author, teacher, family aerobics instructor, and an all-around fun-loving person. She believes in the power of sleep, healthy eating, lifelong learning, and most of all, PLAY! (click on the word) She studied early childhood ed at Triton College and received her BS in education in 1986 from NIU. She received her MA in human development from Pacific Oaks College in 2011. She lives and teaches in Madison WI.
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