11-17-22 agard elected senate democratic leader

State Sen. Melissa Agard, from Madison, has been chosen to lead Senate Democrats who return just 11 lawmakers out of 33 for the two-year session that kicks off next month.    Democrats unanimously elected Agard on Tuesday to replace Sen. Janet  Bewley, of Mason, who did not seek reelection to the Senate.  Agard said despite being in the minority, Democrats will continue to push for priorities including affordable health care, nonpartisan legislative maps, gun control and marijuana legalization. Republicans have blocked all of those initiatives in recent years.  She says the state budget and what to do with a projected $5 billion surplus will be the first order of business.  Agard was elected to the state Senate in 2020 after serving in the Assembly since 2013. Republicans last week reelected Sen. Devin LeMahieu to serve as majority leader.     Agard says  she knows that with just 11 out of 33 senators,  “the deck  is a bit stacked against” Democrats, but is still hopeful both parties can work together.  Republicans have a two-thirds supermajority in the Senate, but fell two seats shy of the 66 they needed in the Assembly.