Multiple Republican leaders in Wisconsin State Legislature to retire this year

The Republican-dominated state legislature will see multiple prominent leaders retire and not seek reelection this November.

The flurry of departures began last month when longtime Assembly Speaker Robin Vos (R-Rochester), who is the longest serving speaker in Wisconsin history at 13 years, announced his retirement. Vos said a heart attack he suffered last November factored into the decision. 

Vos’s announcement was already a major blow to the Republican hold on the State Legislature, which has been in place since 2010. The 57-year-old was instrumental in holding the Republican caucus together as it executed an aggressive conservative agenda, including limiting labor rights, significantly reducing campaign finance restrictions and attempting to preserve gerrymandered legislative maps.

But on Tuesday, both Assembly Speaker Pro Tempore Kevin Peterson (R-Walworth) and Senate Majority Leader Devin LeMahieu (R-Oostburg) also announced they would not be seeking reelection in 2026.

NEW: Senate Majority Leader Devin LeMahieu won’t seek another term.

“I am looking forward to spending more time with my wife in our new Madison-area home and, for the first time since 2006, rooting for bold conservative reform from the sidelines.”

— Molly Beck (@MollyBeck) March 19, 2026

Democrats have high hopes for 2026

These retirements represent a remarkable void in GOP leadership in the same year where Democrats have the best chance to secure majorities in both chambers now that new maps drawn by Democrats are in place.

Liberals also hold a 4-3 majority on the state Supreme Court, which they can expand next month if conservative Maria Lazar loses to liberal candidate Chris Taylor. The Wisconsin Democratic Party is also enjoying a prosperous fundraising period that has outpaced its GOP counterpart in recent years.

Democrats under Gov. Tony Evers’ (D) tenure have been unable to pass much of their agenda with Republicans controlling the state Assembly and Senate. Policies that have gone nowhere under GOP leadership include legislation for free school meals, stricter gun control, increased child care funding, a paid family leave program, recreational marijuana legalization and expanded early voting.

To enact these policies, Wisconsin Democrats would likely have to achieve a trifecta in the state, meaning that they will have to secure majorities in both chambers and keep the governorship with Evers also retiring. Democrats would need to flip two seats in the Senate and five seats in the Assembly to attain majorities. 

“It’s a difficult time in national politics,” Assembly Minority Leader Greta Neubauer (D-Racine) told the Associated Press in January, “but we’re hopeful about the future and have been working for many years to be in a position where a Democratic trifecta is possible in Wisconsin and our state is able to go in a new direction.”