Before Dec. 15, 2025, the federal government, all 50 states and multiple territories used to broadcast legislature floor proceedings—the daily debates, actions and votes. After that, the Wisconsin Eye, the organization who broadcasted legislature floor proceedings in Wisconsin, went dark. However, the Wisconsin Eye has temporarily returned for the month of February after an emergency infusion of $50,000 from the Wisconsin state legislature.
The Wisconsin Eye initially closed due to a lack of funding, even though the state has set aside $10 million for the organization provided it can match that amount. For the duration of the Wisconsin Eye’s 18-year tenure, it has relied on private donations to support their operations. However, recent economic uncertainty, substantial increases in political spending and competition with other non-profits have led to consistent fundraising failures.
After the Wisconsin Eye shutdown, many politicians and political organizations voiced concern about transparency in the Wisconsin legislature. Bill Leuders, the president of the Wisconsin Freedom of Information Council who advocates for citizens’ access to information, said that the loss of the Wisconsin Eye took away an important resource for participating and understanding Wisconsin’s state democracy.
Bipartisan efforts to save the Wisconsin Eye began almost immediately. After the Legislature’s Joint Committee on Legislative Organization voted to give $50,000 to the Wisconsin Eye, they resumed operations for the month of February.
The shutdown comes after a series of record-breaking electoral campaigns in Wisconsin whose fundraising competes directly with the Wisconsin Eye’s. In 2022, $163 million was spent on the election for Wisconsin’s governor, 75% greater than the previous record. In 2023, the Wisconsin Supreme Court race cost $51 million and was in itself record breaking. However, it’s roughly half what was spent in the 2025 Supreme Court race.
The amount of interest generated by Wisconsin elections stems from its position as a swing state. On paper, all the states have a similar, yet semi-proportional influence on federal elections; however, as a state that is roughly split between Republicans and Democrats, Wisconsin and the few other swing states often end up deciding the outcome of federal elections.
People trying to influence federal elections often first try to shift the political make-up of swing states. The result is that as certain candidates increase spending others must do the same just to stay in the race, which ends up siphoning funds away from other causes like the Wisconsin Eye.
As of now, it is unclear whether the broadcasts will continue in March, however, a bill written primarily by Republican Julian Bradley recently passed in both chambers of the Wisconsin State legislature, allowing networks to apply to take the place of the Wisconsin Eye. The Wisconsin Eye will be submitting its own bid to keep its place. Additionally, the bill also included a provision that, if approved by the Joint Committee on Finance, would give the Wisconsin Eye about $600,000 spread across the next twelve months.
