Wisconsin Democratic Governor-elect Tony Evers warned Republican Gov. Scott Walker that his reputation would be tarnished if he fails to veto legislation by the lame-duck GOP state legislature that's aimed at stripping powers from the incoming governor.

"It's around Scott Walker's legacy—he has the opportunity to change this and actually validate the will of the people that voted on Nov. 6," Evers said Sunday on NBC's "Meet the Press."

"The entire thing is a mess, a hot mess, and I believe he should veto the entire package"

Evers's frustration centers on the decision by Badger State Republicans to respond to a Democratic sweep of top statewide offices by crafting legislation to strip power from Evers and incoming Democratic Attorney General Josh Kaul specifically. 

Among other changes, the bills would prevent the governor from scrapping the state's Medicaid work requirements, hamper his ability to withdraw from lawsuits like the one challenging the Affordable Care Act, limit gubernatorial appointments to an economic board, and require legislative sign-off for the governor to make changes to certain programs and for the attorney general to settle certain lawsuits. 

The bill would also limit early voting in the state. A previous attempt to cut early voting was found unconstitutional in federal court, so the legislature is trying again with a slightly more expansive approach. 

While he admitted that calling the move a "coup" might be "strong," Evers agreed with Democratic criticism that the effort is a partisan power grab done in direct response to Republicans losing those top statewide offices. He repeatedly argued that the legislature wouldn't be pushing these laws if Walker won re-election.

But Republican lawmakers have brushed aside any criticism, arguing that the legislature simply wants to correct the balance of power in the state government. 

A similar effort is occurring in Michigan, where Republican lawmakers are also scrambling to limit the power of state executives before Democrats are sworn in to replace the state's governor- and secretary of state-elect.