FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Media contact: Nadir Carlson, NASW-Wisconsin | ncarlson.naswwi@socialworkers.org | (608) 257-6334
Wisconsin Social Workers Endorse David Crowley for Governor and Josh Kaul for Attorney General
NASW-Wisconsin’s PAC backs Crowley’s plan to build a statewide mental health system and Kaul’s record fighting the opioid epidemic
MADISON, Wis. (Oct. 5, 2026) - The Wisconsin Social Workers Political Action Committee (WSWPAC), the political arm of the National Association of Social Workers, Wisconsin Chapter (NASW-Wisconsin), today endorsed Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley for governor and Attorney General Josh Kaul for a third term. Both races are on the Nov. 3 general election ballot.
The governor’s race is the first open seat in 16 years, following Gov. Tony Evers’ decision not to seek a third term. For the social workers who staff Wisconsin’s crisis lines, county human services departments, schools, hospitals, and child welfare offices, the next governor will decide whether the state’s mental health system gets built out or keeps running on patchwork funding.
Governor: David Crowley
Crowley has spent six years running Wisconsin’s most populous county, and the PAC’s endorsement rests on what he delivered there. As Milwaukee County Executive, he moved the Mental Health Emergency Center to the King Park neighborhood, closer to the people who use it, through a public-private partnership with regional health systems. The center served more than 7,000 people in a mental health or substance use crisis in its first year of operation. He expanded crisis stabilization services and opened the Marcia P. Coggs Health and Human Services Center, the first building in county history designed specifically to deliver health and human services.
His administration used opioid settlement dollars to fund prevention, harm reduction, treatment, and recovery programs, and opioid overdose deaths in the county fell by more than half from 2022 to 2025. His expansion of Housing First gave Milwaukee County one of the lowest per capita rates of unsheltered homelessness in the country. His administration has also committed nearly $50 million to affordable housing developments, including county investments in suburban communities for the first time.
Crowley’s plan for the state would take that work statewide. It calls for a No Wrong Door mental health system, so a person seeking help gets connected to care wherever they first ask, and puts mental health navigators in all 72 counties. It would open BadgerCare as a public option for every household, guarantee a subsidized child care slot for every family with a child under five, cap child care costs at 7 percent of household income, and close the special education funding gap.
Crowley grew up in Milwaukee’s 53206 ZIP code without stable housing or health insurance. Social workers recognize that story. Many of them work with families living it right now.
“Social workers don’t need a candidate to explain the mental health crisis to us. We need one who has already done something about it,” said Joel Rubin, CAE, Executive Director for NASW’s Wisconsin, Illinois, and Missouri chapters. “David Crowley opened a crisis center, cut opioid overdose deaths in half, and got people off the street and into housing. His plan to put a mental health navigator in every county is the kind of practical fix our members have been asking for, and he has the record to show he can deliver it.”
Attorney General: Josh Kaul
Kaul has led the Wisconsin Department of Justice since 2019, and his work on the opioid epidemic sits at the center of the PAC’s endorsement. His office has secured more than $874 million in opioid settlement funds for Wisconsin, with 70 percent flowing directly to county and local governments. That money pays for residential treatment, naloxone in the hands of first responders, prevention programs, and recovery services that social workers help deliver every day. Opioid overdose deaths in Wisconsin dropped more than 40 percent from 2023 to 2024.
Kaul has fought to secure permanent funding for DOJ’s Office of School Safety, championed the 2021 law that sets clear procedures for handling sexual assault kits so Wisconsin never builds another backlog, and launched DOJ’s Clergy and Faith Leader Abuse initiative. He won the state Supreme Court case that struck down Wisconsin’s 1849 abortion ban, and his office has joined multistate lawsuits challenging federal cuts to grants and programs that communities depend on.
“Just about every social worker in substance use treatment in this state has seen what settlement dollars can do when they reach the counties,” Rubin said. “Josh Kaul went after the companies that fueled this epidemic and made sure the money came home to the communities hit hardest. He has protected survivors, protected reproductive freedom, and defended the programs our clients rely on. He’s earned a third term.”
About the endorsements
WSWPAC endorses candidates for state and local office based on their support for NASW policy positions and their record on issues affecting social workers and the people they serve. National NASW PACE handles federal races. NASW-Wisconsin members can find the chapter’s full list of 2026 endorsements and voting information at naswwi.socialworkers.org. Voters can check registration and find their polling place at myvote.wi.gov.
The National Association of Social Workers, Wisconsin Chapter, represents professional social workers across the state. NASW-Wisconsin works to advance the profession, set and maintain practice standards, and advocate for policies that improve the lives of Wisconsin residents. Learn more at naswwi.socialworkers.org.
###
Paid for by the Wisconsin Social Workers Political Action Committee.