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Republican · Wisconsin House, district 88

Serving since Jan 6, 2025WI 2025–26 session

Portrait of Ben Franklin, rendered as a two-tone print
Official portrait
$737.9K
in itemized contributions in the 2026 cycle, in the top 5% of State House Republicans

The median for State House Republicans is $33.7K. Ranks 41st of 2,521, where 1st raised the most. 110 itemized donors.

Itemized contributions reported to the state in the 2026 cycle, ranked among State House Republicans. State filings leave small gifts out, and totals depend on whether the seat is up this cycle.

At a glance

6 measures against State House Republicans. Franklin sits at +0.79 on the CSIP scale, more conservative than 96% of State House Republicans. 73% of the 100 bills Franklin sponsored got out of committee, in the top quarter of the Wisconsin House.

The measures on which Franklin sits furthest from the middle of State House Republicans, each against the same group, with the CSIP score when there is one. Every number is explained in its own section below.

Itemized, 2026

$737.9K

State House Republicans’ median $33.7K · ranks 41st of 2,521

CSIP ideology

+0.79

More conservative than 96% of State House Republicans · ± 0.08

Out of committee

73%

Wisconsin House average 45% · ranks 21st of 99

Party unity

100%

Wisconsin House average 97.6% · ranks 25th of 98 · 0 votes against the majority of Wisconsin House Republicans

Attendance

100%

Wisconsin House average 97.7% · ranks 29th of 98 · 245 roll calls

From Wisconsin, 2026

94%

Of itemized individual dollars · ranks 1398th of 2,335 State House Republicans

Peer group: State House Republicans. Rank 1 is the highest value in the group; the thick bar is Franklin, the thin grey bar the peer average. The headline is the measure on which Franklin is most unusual among peers (Methods, §08).

Back to topNext: What politicians say

What Franklin says

Franklin claims credit less than 96% of State House Republicans. Credit claiming in 0% of 6 statements, against 13% for the average State House Republican; 764th of 792.

An AI model reads each of Franklin’s 6 statements in the WI 2025–26 session (6 posts on X) and marks the kinds of statement it contains: a personal attack, criticism of a policy, discussion of policy, bipartisanship, credit claiming, and extreme labels. A statement can carry several. Every rate is compared with the average for State House Republicans and ranked among them.

Kinds of statement

Share of statements carrying each label, the WI 2025–26 session

0%80%
Franklin
Peers
Rank
Policy discussion2 statements
33%
32%
355th of 792
Personal attacks0 statements
0%
3%
643rd of 792
Policy criticism0 statements
0%
9%
736th of 792
Bipartisanship0 statements
0%
2%
678th of 792
Credit claiming0 statements
0%
13%
764th of 792
Show the data
Franklin's share of statements in each category against the State House Republicans average.
RowFranklinPeers
Policy discussion33%32%
Personal attacks0%3%
Policy criticism0%9%
Bipartisanship0%2%
Credit claiming0%13%
6

statements classified

6 posts on X.

posts on X: 6 (100.0%)posts on X 6
Show the data
Franklin's statements by source
PartValue
posts on X6
How to read the bars

The thick bar is Franklin; the thin grey bar is the average State House Republicans. A longer thick bar means Franklin does this more than peers. Rank 1 is the highest rate in the group.

Extreme labels

Franklin used no extreme labels in 6 statements. The peer average is 1.4%.

No extreme labels in this window.

Who gets the labels

Targets named alongside an extreme label, by number of statements

No targets recorded.

What an extreme label is

Calls a politician, a party or a policy “far left”, “far right”, “MAGA”, “extreme”, “radical”, “woke”, “fascist” or “communist”. The target is who or what the label was aimed at. The lists show the five most used labels and targets; the toggle shows the rest.

Month by month

Share of statements per month, the WI 2025–26 session

No month in this window has 10 or more statements, too few to chart month by month.

How to read the strips

Each row is one kind of statement; each cell is a month, shaded against that row’s own peak (darker = closer to the peak), with the peak and the latest value written at the right. The top row counts statements. The strip covers every month of the WI 2025–26 session, the same span as the rates above, including months with no statements. A month with fewer than 10 statements is hatched, not shaded: one or two posts would swing its rate to 0% or 100%. 22 months are hatched here; 19 of them have no statements.

In Franklin’s words

Real statements from the classifier’s example set, with the labels it assigned

Policy discussion

The text of this post is on X; follow the source link to read it.

Apr 28, 2026 · Posts on X (state legislators) · policy discussion; Government Operations and Politics · Source

Examples by category

Up to five recent statements in each category

Category

Overtly questions a named person’s character, integrity or loyalty, or calls them names. Criticising a record or a policy does not count.

No statements in this category in this window.

All 6 statements

Newest first, the WI 2025–26 session

The full feed

Five statements at a time, newest first; filters apply to the statements loaded so far. Export saves the statements that match. Sources: 6 posts on X.

Back to topNext: Policy

Policy

Government Operations and Politics is what Franklin talks about most: 100% of policy statements, 5.7 times the peer share. Peers give it 18%. Agreement with legislation needs at least 20 policy statements and 5 bills.

Each policy statement is tagged by the AI model with one or more of 25 policy areas from the Congressional Research Service list, so the shares say what Franklin talks about. The bills Franklin sponsors and cosponsors carry the same areas, so the two can be compared.

What Franklin talks about

Share of policy statements by area, the WI 2025–26 session

0%100%
Franklin
Peers
Government Operations and Politics2 statements
100%
18%
Agriculture and Food0 statements
0%
4%
Armed Forces and National Security0 statements
0%
5%
Civil Rights and Liberties, Minority Issues0 statements
0%
6%
Commerce0 statements
0%
4%
Show the data
Policy areas Franklin talks about, as a share of policy statements, against the State House Republicans average.
RowFranklinPeers
Government Operations and Politics100%18%
Agriculture and Food0%4%
Armed Forces and National Security0%5%
Civil Rights and Liberties, Minority Issues0%6%
Commerce0%4%
How to read the bars

The thick bar is the share of Franklin’s policy statements in an area; the thin grey bar is the average share for State House Republicans. A statement counts once in each of its areas, so shares can add to more than 100%. The five largest areas are shown; the toggle shows the rest.

Talks about · legislates on

Left: share of statements by policy area. Right: share of bills. Areas in order of their share of statements; both sides run from 0 to 100%. Grey ticks are the State House Republicans averages.

Talks aboutLegislates onGovernment Operations andPoliticsGovernment Operations and Politics, talks about: 100% (State House Republicans 18%)100%Government Operations and Politics, legislates on: 7% (State House Republicans 12%)7%Armed Forces and NationalSecurityArmed Forces and National Security, talks about: 0% (State House Republicans 5%)0%Armed Forces and National Security, legislates on: 11% (State House Republicans 2%)11%Civil Rights and Liberties,Minority IssuesCivil Rights and Liberties, Minority Issues, talks about: 0% (State House Republicans 6%)0%Civil Rights and Liberties, Minority Issues, legislates on: 1% (State House Republicans 4%)1%CommerceCommerce, talks about: 0% (State House Republicans 4%)0%Commerce, legislates on: 2% (State House Republicans 3%)2%Crime and Law EnforcementCrime and Law Enforcement, talks about: 0% (State House Republicans 11%)0%Crime and Law Enforcement, legislates on: 10% (State House Republicans 11%)10%
Show the data
Franklin's share of statements against share of bills in each policy area.
AreaTalks aboutState House Republicans, talks aboutLegislates onState House Republicans, legislates on
Government Operations and Politics100%18%7%12%
Armed Forces and National Security0%5%11%2%
Civil Rights and Liberties, Minority Issues0%6%1%4%
Commerce0%4%2%3%
Crime and Law Enforcement0%11%10%11%

No agreement score.Needs at least 20 policy statements and 5 bills in the window.

What agreement means, and what it doesn’t

Agreement is 1 minus the distance between the two distributions (Jensen–Shannon): 1 means Franklin legislates on exactly the areas Franklin talks about, in the same proportions; 0 means no overlap. It does not say whether the bills match the positions in the statements, only the subjects. Bills Franklin sponsored count fully, cosponsored bills a quarter. Shown with at least 20 policy statements and 5 bills.

Back to topNext: Ideology

Ideology

Franklin sits at +0.79 on the CSIP scale, right of 0, more conservative than 96% of State House Republicans. Approximate range +0.72 to +0.87, which understates the uncertainty; from 165 donors and 196 roll calls.

CSIP, the lab’s Common-Space Ideal Point, places every official, federal and state, on one left–right scale, estimated from roll-call votes, who gives money to whom, and the text of statements. Negative is left of 0, positive right of it; 0 is the centre of the scale, not a definition of “moderate”.

+0.79

CSIP ideal point

Approximate range +0.72 to +0.87. From 165 donors and 196 roll calls. Run 2026-10-25T215945. Blue is left of 0, red right of 0.

← More liberalMore conservative →0Franklin +0.8State House Republicans +0.4Wisconsin House +0.5All State House +0.1

The outlined dot is Franklin, coloured by its side of 0 (blue left, red right, deeper further out); the bar through it is the approximate range (±1.96 standard errors), which understates the uncertainty; the grey ticks below are the medians of Franklin’s groups. 0 is the centre of the scale, not “moderate” by definition.

What this means, and what it doesn’t

The score summarises how an official votes, who funds them and how they talk, relative to everyone else. It does not grade positions as good or bad, and two officials with the same score can differ on any single issue. The ± range is 1.96 standard errors, which understates the uncertainty: scores whose ranges overlap may not differ at all, and even scores whose ranges do not overlap may not differ.

Where Franklin sits

Every official in each group, on the CSIP scale

−2.0−1.00.0+1.0+2.0← More liberalMore conservative →State House Republicansmedian +0.4Franklin +0.8Wisconsin Housemedian +0.5All State Housemedian +0.1
Show the data
Franklin's CSIP score of +0.79 placed against State House Republicans, Wisconsin House, All State House.
GroupOfficialsMedianShare left of Franklin
State House Republicans2917+0.496%
Wisconsin House99+0.587%
All State House5324+0.198%
How to read the strips

Every small dot is one official on the same scale, coloured by its own score (blue left of 0, red right of 0, grey at 0, deeper further out) and spread up and down only to keep dots apart; where a group is crowded the dots overlap, and darker patches mean more officials. The large outlined dot is Franklin in every row; the rule is each group’s median. The table under the figure gives the share of each group to the left of Franklin.

Back to topNext: Money

Money

Franklin reported $737.9K in the 2026 cycle, 21.9 times the State House Republicans’ median of $33.7K. State filings report no small-donation total. 94% of itemized individual money came from Wisconsin.

Campaign money from state campaign-finance filings, as aggregates only; the lab never shows an individual donor. Campaigns must report by name every person who gives them more than $200 in a cycle (“itemized”); smaller gifts are reported only as one total (“unitemized”), so donor counts, donor states, employers and occupations describe itemized donors only. State filings report no small-gift total, so these figures add up itemized contributions only.

Election cycle
$737.9K

itemized in the 2026 cycle

From 110 itemized donors. State House Republicans’ median $33.7K.

Where the money came from

Each square is one percent of itemized contributions in the 2026 cycle.

Individuals (itemized): $29.5K (4.0%)Individuals (itemized): $29.5K (4.0%)Individuals (itemized): $29.5K (4.0%)Individuals (itemized): $29.5K (4.0%)PACs and other committees: $579.7K (78.6%)PACs and other committees: $579.7K (78.6%)PACs and other committees: $579.7K (78.6%)PACs and other committees: $579.7K (78.6%)PACs and other committees: $579.7K (78.6%)PACs and other committees: $579.7K (78.6%)PACs and other committees: $579.7K (78.6%)PACs and other committees: $579.7K (78.6%)PACs and other committees: $579.7K (78.6%)PACs and other committees: $579.7K (78.6%)PACs and other committees: $579.7K (78.6%)PACs and other committees: $579.7K (78.6%)PACs and other committees: $579.7K (78.6%)PACs and other committees: $579.7K (78.6%)PACs and other committees: $579.7K (78.6%)PACs and other committees: $579.7K (78.6%)PACs and other committees: $579.7K (78.6%)PACs and other committees: $579.7K (78.6%)PACs and other committees: $579.7K (78.6%)PACs and other committees: $579.7K (78.6%)PACs and other committees: $579.7K (78.6%)PACs and other committees: $579.7K (78.6%)PACs and other committees: $579.7K (78.6%)PACs and other committees: $579.7K (78.6%)PACs and other committees: $579.7K (78.6%)PACs and other committees: $579.7K (78.6%)PACs and other committees: $579.7K (78.6%)PACs and other committees: $579.7K (78.6%)PACs and other committees: $579.7K (78.6%)PACs and other committees: $579.7K (78.6%)PACs and other committees: $579.7K (78.6%)PACs and other committees: $579.7K (78.6%)PACs and other committees: $579.7K (78.6%)PACs and other committees: $579.7K (78.6%)PACs and other committees: $579.7K (78.6%)PACs and other committees: $579.7K (78.6%)PACs and other committees: $579.7K (78.6%)PACs and other committees: $579.7K (78.6%)PACs and other committees: $579.7K (78.6%)PACs and other committees: $579.7K (78.6%)PACs and other committees: $579.7K (78.6%)PACs and other committees: $579.7K (78.6%)PACs and other committees: $579.7K (78.6%)PACs and other committees: $579.7K (78.6%)PACs and other committees: $579.7K (78.6%)PACs and other committees: $579.7K (78.6%)PACs and other committees: $579.7K (78.6%)PACs and other committees: $579.7K (78.6%)PACs and other committees: $579.7K (78.6%)PACs and other committees: $579.7K (78.6%)PACs and other committees: $579.7K (78.6%)PACs and other committees: $579.7K (78.6%)PACs and other committees: $579.7K (78.6%)PACs and other committees: $579.7K (78.6%)PACs and other committees: $579.7K (78.6%)PACs and other committees: $579.7K (78.6%)PACs and other committees: $579.7K (78.6%)PACs and other committees: $579.7K (78.6%)PACs and other committees: $579.7K (78.6%)PACs and other committees: $579.7K (78.6%)PACs and other committees: $579.7K (78.6%)PACs and other committees: $579.7K (78.6%)PACs and other committees: $579.7K (78.6%)PACs and other committees: $579.7K (78.6%)PACs and other committees: $579.7K (78.6%)PACs and other committees: $579.7K (78.6%)PACs and other committees: $579.7K (78.6%)PACs and other committees: $579.7K (78.6%)PACs and other committees: $579.7K (78.6%)PACs and other committees: $579.7K (78.6%)PACs and other committees: $579.7K (78.6%)PACs and other committees: $579.7K (78.6%)PACs and other committees: $579.7K (78.6%)PACs and other committees: $579.7K (78.6%)PACs and other committees: $579.7K (78.6%)PACs and other committees: $579.7K (78.6%)PACs and other committees: $579.7K (78.6%)PACs and other committees: $579.7K (78.6%)PACs and other committees: $579.7K (78.6%)Party committees: $128.7K (17.4%)Party committees: $128.7K (17.4%)Party committees: $128.7K (17.4%)Party committees: $128.7K (17.4%)Party committees: $128.7K (17.4%)Party committees: $128.7K (17.4%)Party committees: $128.7K (17.4%)Party committees: $128.7K (17.4%)Party committees: $128.7K (17.4%)Party committees: $128.7K (17.4%)Party committees: $128.7K (17.4%)Party committees: $128.7K (17.4%)Party committees: $128.7K (17.4%)Party committees: $128.7K (17.4%)Party committees: $128.7K (17.4%)Party committees: $128.7K (17.4%)Party committees: $128.7K (17.4%)
  • Individuals (itemized)4 squares$29.5K
  • PACs and other committees79 squares$579.7K
  • Party committees17 squares$128.7K
Show the data
Sources of Franklin's money, 2026 cycle, one square per percent
SourceAmountShare
Individuals (itemized)$29.5K4.0%
PACs and other committees$579.7K78.6%
Party committees$128.7K17.4%
What this means, and what it doesn’t

Totals say how much a campaign took in, not how it was spent, and they rise sharply when a seat is up for election; compare cycles with that in mind.

Receipts by cycle

Itemized contributions, 2024 to 2026. The grey line is the State House Republicans’ median for 2026.

2024 cycle: $814.2K$814.2K20242026 cycle: $737.9K$737.9K2026State House Republicans median $33.7K
Show the data
Franklin's receipts by cycle against the 2026 State House Republicans median.
ItemValue
2024 cycle$814.2K
2026 cycle$737.9K

Top donor states, 2026

Itemized contributions by donor state. 94% came from Wisconsin.

  1. Wisconsin$27.8K
  2. New Hampshire$500
  3. Utah$500
  4. Kansas$480
  5. Florida$200

Small donations

State filings report no total for small gifts.

Not reported in state filings.

Where itemized donors live

Individuals who gave more than $200, by donor state

Alaska: no dataAKMaine: no dataMEVermont: no dataVTNew Hampshire: $500NHWashington: no dataWAIdaho: no dataIDMontana: no dataMTNorth Dakota: no dataNDMinnesota: no dataMNIllinois: no dataILWisconsin: $27.8KWIMichigan: no dataMINew York: no dataNYRhode Island: no dataRIMassachusetts: no dataMAOregon: no dataORNevada: no dataNVWyoming: no dataWYSouth Dakota: no dataSDIowa: no dataIAIndiana: no dataINOhio: no dataOHPennsylvania: no dataPANew Jersey: no dataNJConnecticut: no dataCTCalifornia: no dataCAUtah: $500UTColorado: no dataCONebraska: no dataNEMissouri: no dataMOKentucky: no dataKYWest Virginia: no dataWVVirginia: no dataVAMaryland: no dataMDDelaware: no dataDEArizona: no dataAZNew Mexico: no dataNMKansas: $480KSArkansas: no dataARTennessee: no dataTNNorth Carolina: no dataNCSouth Carolina: no dataSCDistrict of Columbia: no dataDCOklahoma: no dataOKLouisiana: no dataLAMississippi: no dataMSAlabama: no dataALGeorgia: no dataGAHawaii: no dataHITexas: no dataTXFlorida: $200FL
Show the data
Franklin's itemized individual contributions by donor state, 2026 cycle
StateValue
Wisconsin$27.8K
New Hampshire$500
Utah$500
Kansas$480
Florida$200
AlaskaNo data
MaineNo data
VermontNo data
WashingtonNo data
IdahoNo data
MontanaNo data
North DakotaNo data
MinnesotaNo data
IllinoisNo data
MichiganNo data
New YorkNo data
Rhode IslandNo data
MassachusettsNo data
OregonNo data
NevadaNo data
WyomingNo data
South DakotaNo data
IowaNo data
IndianaNo data
OhioNo data
PennsylvaniaNo data
New JerseyNo data
ConnecticutNo data
CaliforniaNo data
ColoradoNo data
NebraskaNo data
MissouriNo data
KentuckyNo data
West VirginiaNo data
VirginiaNo data
MarylandNo data
DelawareNo data
ArizonaNo data
New MexicoNo data
ArkansasNo data
TennesseeNo data
North CarolinaNo data
South CarolinaNo data
District of ColumbiaNo data
OklahomaNo data
LouisianaNo data
MississippiNo data
AlabamaNo data
GeorgiaNo data
HawaiiNo data
TexasNo data
110

itemized donors

People who gave more than $200

94%

from Wisconsin

Of itemized individual dollars

How to read the map

Every state the same size. Darker states gave more itemized money; hatched states had no itemized donors; the outlined state is Wisconsin. Gifts of $200 or less carry no address and are left out.

Top donor occupations

Itemized, 2026 cycle.

  1. RETIRED$6,014 33 donors
  2. REALTOR$2,890 29 donors
  3. OWNER$2,750 4 donors

Top committees

PAC and committee contributions, 2026 cycle.

  1. REP ASSEMBLY CAMPAIGN COM RACC -> MEDIUM BUYING$526.8K
  2. REP ASSEMBLY CAMPAIGN COM RACC$72.5K
  3. REP ASSEMBLY CAMPAIGN COM RACC -> ARENA MAIL & DIGITAL$27.5K
  4. REPUBLICAN PARTY OF WISCONSIN$24.4K
  5. REPUBLICAN PARTY OF WISCONSIN -> ART & COPY PARTNERS$23.9K

Top employers

Itemized, 2026 cycle.

No employers reported.

Aggregates only. Individual donors are never named.

Back to topNext: Votes

Votes

Franklin voted with the majority of Wisconsin House Republicans on 100% of party-line votes and missed none of 245 roll calls. Wisconsin House on average: 97.6% party unity, 97.7% attendance. Across all roll calls, Franklin never voted against the majority of Wisconsin House Republicans.

245 roll calls Franklin could vote on in the WI 2025–26 session, compared with Wisconsin House. Attendance is the share with a vote recorded. Party unity counts only party-line roll calls, where most Democrats and most Republicans voted on opposite sides, and is the share of those where Franklin voted with the majority of Wisconsin House Republicans. The count of votes against that majority covers every roll call where the majority took a side.

0

votes against the majority of Wisconsin House Republicans

Party unity 100%, Wisconsin House average 97.6%, ranks 25th of 98. 245 roll calls in the WI 2025–26 session.

Attendance and party unity

The thick bar is Franklin, the thin grey bar the Wisconsin House average. The scale runs from 80% to 100% to show the gap.

80%100%
Franklin
Peers
Rank
Attendance
100%
97.7%
29th of 98
Party unity
100%
97.6%
25th of 98
Show the data
Franklin's attendance and party unity against Wisconsin House.
RowFranklinPeers
Attendance100%97.7%
Party unity100%97.6%
What this means, and what it doesn’t

A missed roll call has many causes, from illness to campaigning, so attendance says how often, not why. A vote against the majority can be on procedure as well as substance, and many fall on roll calls where both parties split; the key votes below show the ones that decided something.

Key votes

25 roll calls the lab flagged as key in the WI 2025–26 session

Key votes
Party split (yea–nay)Why it’s key
May 13, 2026
AB 1
Relating to: an income tax subtraction for qualified tips and for qualified overtime compensation; state aid for school districts; surplus refund payments; increasing funding for special education and school age parents programs; state aid to technical colleges and the technical college district rev
PASSAGE
YeaWith majoritypassD 10–32 · R 50–0Democrats 10 yea, 32 nay; Republicans 50 yea, 0 nayparty crossover · much discussed
Feb 19, 2026
SB 181
Relating to: a levy limit exemption for regional emergency medical systems and eligibility for the expenditure restraint incentive program. (FE)
CONCURRENCE
YeaWith majoritypassD 40–0 · R 51–1Democrats 40 yea, 0 nay; Republicans 51 yea, 1 naybecame law
Feb 19, 2026
AB 659
Relating to: tuition and fee remission or grants for certain veterans and their dependents enrolled in the University of Wisconsin System, a technical college, or a private nonprofit institution of higher education; and the University of Wisconsin System nonresident tuition exemption for certain vet
PASSAGE
YeaWith majoritypassD 40–2 · R 53–0Democrats 40 yea, 2 nay; Republicans 53 yea, 0 naybecame law
Feb 19, 2026
AB 997
Relating to: funding for the Department of Financial Institutions for contributions to Trump accounts and making an appropriation. (FE)
PASSAGE
YeaWith majoritypassD 9–34 · R 52–1Democrats 9 yea, 34 nay; Republicans 52 yea, 1 nayparty crossover
Feb 19, 2026
SB 439
Relating to: levy increase limit for the village of Oregon and the towns of Oregon and Rutland. (FE)
CONCURRENCE
YeaWith majoritypassD 42–0 · R 53–0Democrats 42 yea, 0 nay; Republicans 53 yea, 0 naybecame law
How key votes are chosen

Automatically: a final-passage or override vote where the measure became law, the margin was under 10%, at least 10% of either party voted against its majority, or the bill was among the 25 most mentioned in officials’ own statements. Up to 25 per window, most recent first; five are shown. Bars show yea on the left, nay on the right, per party.

Votes most often with

The colleagues who voted the same way as Franklin most often

  1. Barbara DittrichR245 shared votes100%
  2. Treig PronschinskeR245 shared votes100%
  3. Karen HurdR245 shared votes100%
  4. Cindi DuchowR245 shared votes100%
  5. Ron TuslerR245 shared votes100%

Votes least often with

The colleagues who voted the same way as Franklin least often

  1. Francesca HongD242 shared votes21%
  2. Darrin MadisonD245 shared votes22%
  3. Christian PhelpsD244 shared votes22%
  4. Ryan ClancyD236 shared votes22%
  5. Angelina CruzD235 shared votes25%
How to read the agreement lists

The share of roll calls both members voted on where they voted the same way, among colleagues sharing at least 50 such votes. High agreement with members of the other party is common on routine votes.

Full voting record

WI 2025–26 session, loads in batches

Back to topNext: Legislation

Legislation

Franklin sponsored 100 bills in the WI 2025–26 session; 22 became law. Cosponsored 0 others. 73% of sponsored bills got out of committee (Wisconsin House average 45%; 21st of 99).

The bills Franklin sponsored and cosponsored in the WI 2025–26 session, from the official bill records, and how far each got: introduced, referred to or acted on in committee, passed one chamber, passed both, became law. A bill counts at every stage it has reached, so the blocks only shrink to the right.

Bills by stage

Counts for the WI 2025–26 session

Sponsored100 billsSponsored, Introduced: 100100Sponsored, In committee: 100100Sponsored, Passed one chamber: 4444Sponsored, Passed both chambers: 2828Sponsored, Became law: 2222Cosponsored0 billsCosponsored, Introduced: 00Cosponsored, In committee: 00Cosponsored, Passed one chamber: 00Cosponsored, Passed both chambers: 00Cosponsored, Became law: 00IntroducedIncommitteePassed onechamberPassed bothchambersBecamelaw
Show the data
Bills Franklin sponsored and cosponsored, by furthest stage reached
RoleIntroducedIn committeePassed one chamberPassed both chambersBecame law
Sponsored100100442822
Cosponsored00000
How to read the blocks

Ink blocks are bills Franklin sponsored, ochre blocks bills Franklin cosponsored; the figure above each block is the count. Most bills in any legislature never leave committee, so a short staircase is the norm.

73%

of sponsored bills got out of committee

Wisconsin House average 45%. Ranks 21st of 99.

Cosponsorship partners

Colleagues who most often cosponsor with Franklin, by number of shared bills in the WI 2025–26 session; the square shows their party.

  1. Jeff Mursau53
  2. Jerry O'Connor49
  3. Barbara Dittrich48
  4. Elijah Behnke48
  5. Dan Knodl45
What this means, and what it doesn’t

The score is the share of sponsored bills that a committee reported out or a chamber passed, with at least 5 sponsored bills, ranked within the peer group. Members of the majority party and committee chairs move more bills, so the rank reflects position in the chamber as well as effort. Cosponsorship partners are the five colleagues who share the most of Franklin’s bills; the toggle shows more.

Bill list

Sponsored and cosponsored, with status and policy area; five are shown, the toggle shows the rest

Bills sponsored and cosponsored
AR 17Relating to: recognizing the life and extraordinary leadership of Bob Harlan.SponsorMar 19, 2026In committeeUnassignedFailed to adopt pursuant to Senate Joint Resolution 1 Mar 23, 2026
AB 1107Relating to: requiring carbon monoxide detectors in child care centers and schools, grants for placing carbon monoxide detectors in schools, and making an appropriation. (FE)SponsorMar 13, 2026In committeeHealth(model)Failed to pass pursuant to Senate Joint Resolution 1 Mar 23, 2026
AB 1121Relating to: health insurance coverage of prosthetic limbs and custom orthotic braces. (FE)SponsorMar 13, 2026In committeeHealth(model)Failed to pass pursuant to Senate Joint Resolution 1 Mar 23, 2026
AJR 139Relating to: reaffirming Wisconsin’s commitment to the strengthening and deepening of the sister ties between the State of Wisconsin and Taiwan, reaffirming Wisconsin’s support for the Taiwan Relations Act, supporting Taiwan’s signing of a Bilateral Trade Agreement with the United States, and continSponsorFeb 13, 2026In committeeInternational Affairs(model)Failed to adopt pursuant to Senate Joint Resolution 1 Mar 23, 2026
AB 1006Relating to: the definition of “veteran” for purposes of certain state veterans benefits.SponsorFeb 6, 2026In committeeArmed Forces and National Security(model)Failed to pass pursuant to Senate Joint Resolution 1 Mar 23, 2026

Back to topNext: Online

Online

A site that changed 3 times in 90 days. Franklin’s official site had 1 page when last crawled on Oct 1, 2026.

The lab crawls Franklin’s official and campaign websites (weekly for Congress, monthly for the states) and keeps every page’s text, so changes can be read later; it also records social accounts and describes the images Franklin posts with a vision model.

Websites

How to read the counts

“Pages crawled” is the size of the site at the last crawl; “changes in 90 days” counts pages whose text differed from the previous crawl. Sites change for many routine reasons, such as new press releases, so a high count is not by itself notable.

Images Franklin posted

No images from Franklin’s posts have been described.

About the descriptions

Written by a vision model and may be wrong. Open the post to see the original. Five are shown; the toggle shows the rest.

State floor speeches

No transcribed state floor speeches are matched to this legislator yet.

Floor speeches

Transcribed from chamber video or captions by the lab. They are not classified for kinds of statement.

Back to topNext: Methods and sources

Methods and sources

How this page was made. Profile built Oct 28, 2026; site last built Oct 28, 2026. Every number on the page is computed from the sources listed here, by the same rules for every official; nothing is written by hand.

The headline

The headline is the measure on which Franklin is most unusual among State House Republicans, chosen by one rule for every official of every party. The candidates are the rate of each kind of statement and of extreme labels, party unity, attendance, the small-donor share, the in-state share and total receipts of the latest cycle, the share of sponsored bills that got out of committee, talk-to-bills agreement, and the CSIP score’s place within the party group.

The builder ranks every measure within the same peer group the page compares it with, and writes each official’s percentile: the share of the group below the value, ties counting half, so 0.5 is the median and a value shared by many never ranks first. A measure’s score is how far that percentile sits from the median (0 in the middle, 0.5 at either end), and the highest score leads if it is above 0.25, outside the middle half of the group. Scores within 0.03 of each other are a tie, broken in this order: votes against the party majority, kinds of statement, ideology, roll calls missed, small donations, in-state money, legislation, agreement, extreme labels, receipts.

A measure counts only with at least 200 statements, 100 roll calls or 5 sponsored bills behind it and a peer group of at least 10. Two things never lead: high party unity or attendance, where most members sit, and a high rate of a kind of statement backed by fewer than 10 statements. When nothing qualifies, the headline is a neutral fact instead: statements classified, or years in office. The wording always names the direction (“in the bottom 5% of …”, “votes against the majority of …”).

Identifiers

Profile id
04b709c6-b487-49c1-9bcf-dfbbc7082beb
Open States
ocd-person/04b709c6-b487-49c1-9bcf-dfbbc7082beb

Bulk files with the same data for every official:

Freshness of this profile’s data

  • What politicians sayOct 27, 20261 days agoMembers of Congress: tweets since 2017; press releases, newsletters and floor speeches since 2022. State legislators: tweets since May 2024. Governors: tweets since January 2025. Labels from an LLM classifier.
  • Roll calls (state)Oct 21, 20267 days agoOpen States floor roll calls, 2019 on (none for AK and MO).
  • Bills (state)Oct 28, 2026todayOpen States bills and sponsors, 2019 on; stages from roll calls.
  • Campaign money (state)no dateState campaign-finance agencies, 2019 on; aggregates only.
  • Ideology (CSIP)Oct 25, 20263 days agoCommon-Space Ideal Points (CSIP), current validated run.
  • WebsitesOct 25, 20263 days agoWeekly crawls of federal sites since April 2026; monthly state crawls since June 2026.
  • State floor speechesOct 21, 20267 days agoState floor speech turns (published transcripts and captions), 2020 on; not LLM-classified.

How the measures work

What politicians say
Every post, press release, newsletter and congressional floor speech is read by a language model and marked for personal attacks, policy criticism, policy discussion, bipartisanship and credit claiming. A statement can be in several. Rates are shares of statements in the window. The methods paper.
Extreme labels
A statement has an extreme label when it calls a politician, party or policy “far left”, “far right”, “MAGA”, “extreme”, “radical”, “woke”, “fascist” or “communist”. The target is who the label is aimed at.
Policy areas and agreement
Statements and bills share 25 Congressional Research Service policy areas (state bills are assigned by a language model). Agreement is 1 − Jensen–Shannon distance between the two distributions, shown with at least 20 policy statements and 5 bills.
Ideology (CSIP)
Common-Space Ideal Points place federal and state officials on one left–right scale, estimated jointly from roll calls, campaign contributions and the text of statements, with standard errors. Only a validated run is shown. The methods paper.
Campaign money
Campaigns report by name only donors who give more than $200 in a cycle; smaller gifts are reported as one total. Federal totals and the small-donor share come from the FEC’s financial summaries of each campaign committee. Donor counts, donor states, employers and occupations cover itemized donors only. State filings report no small-gift totals, so state figures are itemized only. The lab never publishes donor names.
Votes and key votes
Attendance, party unity and the count of votes against the majority of an official’s own party come from roll calls (Voteview for Congress, chamber records for the states). Key votes are final-passage or override votes that became law, were decided by under 10%, saw at least 10% of a party vote against its majority, or concerned one of the 25 bills most mentioned in officials’ statements.
Peers and ranks
Comparisons are with the same party, chamber and level (for example House Democrats); state legislators are compared within their state and chamber for votes. Every comparison names its group. Rank 1 is the highest value in the group; tied values share the average of their ranks, and the percentile is the share of the group below the value, ties counting half.

America’s Political Pulse · Polarization Research Lab

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