Emily Tseffos for Wisconsin

12/22/2025

2025 tested so many of us in too many ways - personally, politically, spiritually.

But man - we did a lot of good together.

What I’ve learned this year, in ways I’ll carry for the rest of my life, is that when you truly love your community, titles stop mattering. You don’t need an office to feel the weight of responsibility, or the pull to act.

When you care deeply, you feel both the obligation and the opportunity to soften the world where you can.

To step in.
To speak up.
To try - in your little corner of the world - to make things better.

This year was hard. I had major surgery in January. I spent time standing in solidarity with families and individuals navigating Medicaid, caregivers demanding that someone protect the systems holding them above water, parents stretched thin, and neighbors carrying far more than they should. I watched people I’ve come to know and love be hurt by policy decisions made by people who are far too removed from the consequences - people who will never sit at these kitchen tables, never hear these stories, never feel the weight of what their choices do to real lives.

We fought for public schools because kids deserve more than scraps. We pushed back against unjust and inhumane policies knowing that silence would have been easier - but turning a blind eye to all of this would be wrong. And when crises hit close to home, we tried to fill the gaps the best way we knew how, because our neighbors couldn’t wait for permission or perfection.

As we move through the holidays and look ahead to the inevitable exhaustion we’ll feel heading into the next year, I want you to know this: none of this comes from ambition alone. It comes from love. From heartbreak. From knowing our community deserves leaders who actually give a damn.

However you showed up this year - whether you knocked doors, shared posts, donated food or financial aid, cooked meals, made calls, sent a message, volunteered locally or simply let your heart break again because you’re paying attention. It means everything.
Truly.

Don’t stop.

I hope this season brings you rest. I hope it steadies you. And I hope it refuels you for the work ahead. Our people are worth it.

We’re not alone in this.

12/12/2025

Four years ago today, we became a family of five. ♥️

After six weeks in India, our youngest and I finally came home, landing at the Appleton airport — exhausted, emotional, and changed for good. This moment marked the end of one journey and the beginning of another we could not yet fully understand.

Watching this again with these kids reminds us all that family is built in many ways. That belonging does not happen by accident. It happens when people choose care, patience, and love. Moments like this one stay with you.

That belief shapes who I am and the work I do. Community matters. Taking care of one another will always be at the heart of how I lead.

What a brutal, beautiful world we live in. May we all do what we can to make it easier for those around us.

12/12/2025

Heartbreaking.

12/11/2025

I am an endless sigh.

This proposal doesn’t solve the crisis.
It doesn’t keep people covered.
And it doesn’t keep our hospitals open.

12/11/2025

Today’s vote to extend ACA tax credits isn’t politics — it’s about whether millions of families will face an impossible decision right before the holidays - whether they can afford their health insurance right next year.

If these credits expire, 3–4 million people could be priced out overnight, premiums will rise for everyone else, and our rural hospitals in Wisconsin will carry the cost.

And it’s worth noting the puppet masters are sticking to the same playbook: discredit, defund, dismantle.

They began it when they rebranded the ACA as “Obamacare,” and they’re continuing it again now.

All I want for Christmas is for our government to work for the people instead of against them. Sigh.

12/09/2025

We had a great time out in Bear Creek at Balsam Creek Lane Tree Farm last weekend - and found the perfect tree for this holiday season!

This family-owned operation is celebrating their thirtieth season (!!) and offers a great experience - hot cocoa, visits from Santa, photo ops, and locally made products (like the syrup I purchased and the baked goods that I couldn’t get a picture of because the kids gobbled them up too quickly!)

This was our second year making the drive - would highly recommend!

11/26/2025

I know I live up here in Wisconsin, but I got my start organizing under the wing of Aftyn who is running for Congress in District 7 in Tennessee. She’s an incredible friend, advocate, and human so I need to make sure y’all have the context you need when it comes to the woman she is.

People keep sharing that old photo of Aftyn for Congress like it is supposed to expose her. Anyone who was actually there knows it captures something completely different. It shows courage.

I was there. So let’s set some things straight.

When the news broke about David Byrd in 2019, we believed the response would be swift. Two women came forward saying he sexually assaulted them when they were teenagers. Then the recording surfaced where Byrd apologized to a survivor. It was damning, and we assumed accountability would follow, as it ought to.

Instead people in power stayed silent. They protected him. They even promoted him to a subcommittee chair over education. It was a gut punch.

So our little team came together. We sat with survivors. We showed up every day. We held each other up when the reality of what was happening felt impossible to accept. Aftyn was the one who brought us together. She was the one who kept us focused and steady. None of us would have made it through that fight without her leadership.

We spent 30 hours sitting outside Governor Lee’s office. We slept on the floor. We begged for the bare minimum. We asked him to say that what Byrd did was wrong. He refused.

When the next House session began, survivors filled the gallery again. Lawmakers carried on like it was any other day. And, as she had before Aftyn stood up and said what the room refused to face. She spoke for the vulnerable. She spoke for the powerless. She told the truth when the institution around her would not.

Now here we are, one week out from a special election in a district that usually has a 20 point Republican lean. Because of the work Aftyn has done, that gap has shrunk to TWO POINTS. Two points in a place where someone like her is not supposed to stand a chance.

And of course the attacks have started. Of course they are grabbing at straws. Of course they are twisting anything they can find. That is the game. They cannot run against her record, so they try to run against her character.

But I know who she is. I stood beside her when she refused to sit quietly while powerful men looked away. She is courageous, kind, intelligent, fearless, and fiercely dedicated to the people of Tennessee.

That is who is running for Congress in TN-07. She is exactly the leader Tennessee deserves.

Go win this, friend. 🇺🇸

11/26/2025

11/25/2025

Wisconsin kids are being hit from two fronts: chaos in DC and broken promises in Madison.

If they’re going to dismantle the Department of Education at the federal level, then we need people in Madison who actually understand our schools and won’t stop fighting for them.

Elect more teachers (myself included 😉)

www.emilyforwi.com

11/23/2025

If you’d told this Wisconsin kid she’d grow up to run for State Senate, she probably would’ve laughed.

But the truth is: the values my parents taught me - hard work, fairness, taking care of one another - are exactly what’s missing in Madison right now.

I’m running to fix that.

If you’re with me, every single donation helps us to reach another neighbor in Senate District 19.

👉 Find out more: www.emilyforwi.com
👉 Donate here: https://secure.actblue.com/donate/emily-tseffos-1

11/23/2025

You shouldn’t have to drive hours for basic healthcare.

11/23/2025

Thanks for having me, Rational Revolution Mark Becker!

🇺🇸 This week, Mark sits down with State Senate candidate Emily Tseffos for Wisconsin to talk about running in a district ripe for flipping, even if the climb is steep.

Emily breaks down her top priorities and why Wisconsin needs a legislature that truly reflects its people. Plus, Mark closes the episode with some thoughts on embracing an “attitude of gratitude” this Thanksgiving, just like his mom always taught him.

Listen here ⬇
https://civicmedia.us/podcast/2025/11/22/state-senate-candidate-emily-tseffos/