>> ALL RIGHT. WE LEAVE IT THERE.
JILL UNDERLY, THANKS VERY MUCH. AS THE NATIONAL SPOTLIGHT BEGINS
TO SHINE ON WISCONSIN AHEAD OF THIS YEAR'S PRESIDENTIAL
ELECTION, THE STATE POLITICAL PARTIES ARE BEGINNING THE WORK
OF ORGANIZING AND ENERGIZING VOTERS.
HERE AND NOW REPORTER STEVEN POTTER SPOKE TO BOTH STATE PARTY
LEADERS ABOUT THEIR PLANS TO GET OUT THE VOTE AND THE IMPACT OF
THE REPUBLICAN NATIONAL CONVENTION BEING HELD IN
MILWAUKEE THIS SUMMER. >> EVER SINCE REPUBLICANS RIGGED
OUR MAPS FOR THE STATE LEGISLATURE IN 2011, THE NUMBER
OF DISTRICTS THAT ARE TRULY COMPETITIVE HAS BEEN
MICROSCOPIC, JUST A HANDFUL OF SEATS. THAT MEANS MOST VOTE
RS IN BLUE AND IN RED DISTRICTS DON'T
REALLY HAVE A CHOICE, AND IF WE HAVE NEW MAPS FROM THE STATE
SUPREME COURT, IT'S POSSIBLE THAT THE NUMBER OF COMPETITIVE
DISTRICTS WILL EXPLODE. THAT COULD DRAW NEW PEOPLE, NEW
FRESH BLOOD INTO THE POLITICAL SYSTEM, PEOPLE RUNNING WHO
HADN'T WANTED TO RUN IN A TOTALLY RIGGED DISTRICT, AND IT
COULD MEAN I THINK FOR BOTH PARTIES THAT WE ARE WORKING IN
MANY MORE PARTS OF THE STATE TO SUPPORT A MUCH WIDER AWAY OF
CANDIDATES IN A CAMPAIGN THAT COULD BE CLOSER.
>> WHAT I HEAR AROUND THE STATE IS THAT PEOPLE DON'T WANT THOSE
DISTRICTS CHANGED. PEOPLE LOOK AT REDRAWING
DISTRICT LINES EVERY 10 YEARS AND WE HAVE TO DO IT BECAUSE OF
THE CENSUS, BUT FOR THE LIBERAL SUPREME COURT TO COME BACK
WITHIN A YEAR AND A HALF OF WHEN THE OLD LINES WERE SET AND SAY,
YOU KNOW WHAT, WE KNOW YOU'RE IN THIS DISTRICT OR THAT DISTRICT,
WHATEVER, WE'RE GOING TO CHANGE THAT. IN FACT, YOU'RE SITTIN
G ASSEMBLY OR SENATE PERSON OR CONGRESSMAN
THAT IS REPRESENTING YOU, WE MAY CHANGE THAT, TOO.
THAT'S NOT A POPULAR ISSUE OUT AROUND THE STATE.
I THINK THAT'S -- IF THE DEMOCRATS ARE COUNTING ON THAT
TO HELP THEM, I THINK THAT IS A VERY UNPOPULAR ISSUE BECAUSE
PEOPLE DON'T WANT THE LINES MOVING AROUND ALL THE TIME.
>> IN JULY, THERE WILL BE THE REPUBLICAN NATIONAL CONVENTION
IN MILWAUKEE. WHAT ARE YOUR EXPECTATION GOING
INTO THAT EVENT? >> FOR US, IT'S AN OPPORTUNITY
TO HIGHLIGHT TO REPUBLICANS AND MEDIA FROM ACROSS THE COUNTRY
WHAT REPUBLICAN LEADERSHIP HAS LOOKED LIKE HERE IN WISCONSIN,
THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN HIM AND A REPUBLICAN GOVERNOR AND A
DEMOCRAT GOVERNOR, BUT ALSO JOE BIDEN HAS TO KEEP COMING BACK TO
WISCONSIN CONSTANTLY. HE'LL BE HERE AGAIN SOON BECAUSE
HE'S IN TROUBLE IN THIS STATE. ALMOST EVERY SET OF POLLING
NUMBERS THAT YOU SEE OUT THERE SHOW JOE BIDEN IS IN BIG
TROUBLE, UPSIDE DOWN ON ANY NUMBER OF ISSUES AFFECTING THE
PEOPLE OF THIS STATE, AND SO NEITHER PARTY CAN TAKE IT FOR
GRANTED, BUT WE'RE GOING TO GO TO THE WALL ON EVERYTHING.
>> THE REPUBLICAN NATIONAL CONVENTION WILL MAKE VIVIDLY
CLEAR WHAT TODAY'S TRUMPIFIED MAGA REPUBLICAN PARTY STANDS
FOR, AND WHAT WE'VE SEEN OVER AND OVER IS THAT THE MORE VOTERS
SEE FROM DONALD TRUMP AND THE TRUMP-LIKE MAGA, THE LESS THEY
WANT ANYTHING TO DO WITH THAT EXTREME WING OF THE REPUBLICAN
PARTY. THIS IS NOT THE REPUBL ICAN PARTY
OF TOMMY THOMPSON. THIS IS A REPUBLICAN PARTY THAT
TRIED TO OVERTURN THE 2020 ELECTIONS, THAT PUT EXTREME
SUPREME COURT JUSTICES ON THAT RIPPED AWAY ROE VERSUS WADE, AND
HAS TRIED TO CRIMINALIZE ABORTION AND NOW IS TALKING
ABOUT GOING AFTER CONTRACEPTION, THINGS LIKE BIRTH CONTROL PILLS
AND I.U.D.s. THOSE ARE POLICIES SO OUT OF
STEP WITH WHAT MOST WISCONSINITES WANT THAT WE THINK
REPUBLICANS HAVING A STAGE IN OUR STATE WILL MAKE VIVIDLY
CLEAR THE CONTRAST, THE CHOICE PEOPLE HAVE BETWEEN A
BIDEN-HARRIS ADMINISTRATION THAT STANDS UP FOR COMMON SENSE AND A
MAGA G.O.P. THAT IS PUSHING WAY FAR OUT TO THE FAR, FAR RIGHT.
>> WHAT ARE YOU HEARING FROM VOTERS ABOUT THE MOST IMPORTANT
ISSUES IN THIS ELECTION CYCLE? >> WHAT WE FIND IS THAT OVER AND
OVER, WHETHER PEOPLE DISAGREE OR AGREE, TAX POLICY, THESE
FUNDAMENTAL QUESTIONS OF WHETHER WE ALL HAVE THE FREEDOM TO LIVE
THE KINDS OF LIVES THAT WE WANT TO LEAD, THAT IS SOMETHING THAT
LEADS VOTERS ACROSS THE POLITICAL SPECTRUM TO VOTE
AGAINST MAC GA REPUBLICANS AND FOR DEMOCRATS.
WE SAW THAT IN THE SUPREME COURT RACE THIS SPRING, WE SAW THAT IN
2022. WE'RE GOING TO SEE THA T AGAIN IN
2024. >> LARGELY WHAT I HEAR AS WE GO
AROUND THE STATE BUT ALSO IN THE POLLING AND THE OTHER SURVEY WE
SEE, ECONOMY, NUMBER ONE. ALSO ABORTION HAS BEEN A MAJOR
ISSUE HERE IN THE STATE. IS IT ALSO GOING TO BE A MAJOR
ISSUE IN THE PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION? >> YOU KNOW, I'M
NOT AFRAID OF THAT ISSUE, I'M REALLY NOT.
I'M NOT SURE WE HANDLED IT AS WELL AS WE COULD TWO YEARS AGO,