The Nov. 3 election gave Democrats control of the Wisconsin Assembly, the Senate and the governor's office at the same time. That change, part of a broader Democratic wave nationally, could have major effects on the state's public universities and technical colleges, which have already faced federal funding shifts and leadership changes.

Assembly leader Greta Neubauer of Racine told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel on Nov. 4 that lawmakers plan to be ambitious. She and Senate leader Dianne Hesselbein of Middleton named repealing Act 10 as a priority. The 2011 law ended collective bargaining rights for most public employees, and Governor-elect David Crowley has also backed repeal.

Jon Shelton, a UW-Green Bay professor and president of AFT-Wisconsin, said restoring bargaining would let faculty and staff press their needs through the state budget process. That budget takes shape in summer 2027, and the UW Board of Regents has already approved a request for a $730 million funding increase. Crowley has also backed ideas to help student renters, expand dual enrollment and apprenticeships, and repay loans for workers in high-need careers, though his team declined to detail the plans while he builds a transition team.

Voters also approved a statewide referendum meant to ban affirmative action and diversity, equity and inclusion programs in government. That could affect public university scholarships that consider race, among other programs.

UW-Madison was already in that debate. Its partnership with the PhD Project, a nonprofit that encourages people of color to pursue graduate degrees, drew a federal investigation last year, and the university later ended the partnership. A February 2026 agreement closed that investigation, with UW-Madison pledging to review, within 60 days, memberships and partnerships that could restrict participation based on race. The university is also facing a lawsuit from the Wisconsin Institute for Law and Liberty over race-based scholarships and grants.

The Board of Regents itself could change. Regents Ed Manydeeds and Karen Walsh, appointed by outgoing Gov. Tony Evers in 2019, are still serving even though their seven-year terms expired May 1. The board recently approved a new Universities of Wisconsin president, Tonjanita Johnson, and is choosing a new UW-Madison chancellor. Manydeeds said Nov. 6 he had not heard from Crowley about reappointment, and he expected the system's budget request to matter more than who sits on the board.