1
00:00:06,707 --> 00:00:09,877
>> As we continue our
interviews with the

2
00:00:09,943 --> 00:00:12,980
candidates running in the
Wisconsin primary election

3
00:00:13,046 --> 00:00:16,016
for governor, we start with
current Lieutenant Governor

4
00:00:16,083 --> 00:00:19,419
Sarah Rodriguez "Here& Now"
senior political reporter

5
00:00:19,486 --> 00:00:22,656
Zach Schultz with Moore
Rodriguez.

6
00:00:22,723 --> 00:00:25,359
>> Thanks for joining us.
>> Thank you so much for

7
00:00:25,425 --> 00:00:29,129
having me.
know who you are that well,

8
00:00:29,196 --> 00:00:31,698
tell us who you are and why
you're running for governor.

9
00:00:31,765 --> 00:00:34,168
>> So I am the current
lieutenant governor here in

10
00:00:34,234 --> 00:00:37,171
Wisconsin, but I have spent
most of my career in health

11
00:00:37,237 --> 00:00:39,239
care. I'm actually a nurse
by background, and I've

12
00:00:39,306 --> 00:00:41,775
worked in so many different
roles within health care,

13
00:00:41,842 --> 00:00:45,045
whether it's night shifts
in the E.R. all the way to

14
00:00:45,112 --> 00:00:47,948
being an executive within a
health care system, and one

15
00:00:48,015 --> 00:00:51,919
of my roles as lieutenant
governor is that I get to

16
00:00:51,985 --> 00:00:54,721
go to all 72 counties, and
I have done that every

17
00:00:54,788 --> 00:00:57,057
single year that I have
been lieutenant governor.

18
00:00:57,124 --> 00:01:00,060
And when I talk to people
there, they're telling me

19
00:01:00,127 --> 00:01:02,596
the same thing, that they
are doing everything right,

20
00:01:02,663 --> 00:01:04,898
but they're feeling
squeezed. And whether

21
00:01:04,965 --> 00:01:09,136
that's accessible,
affordable health care,

22
00:01:09,203 --> 00:01:13,707
child care, we keep raising
our taxes to pay for our

23
00:01:13,774 --> 00:01:16,677
public schools. I mean,
these are the things that

24
00:01:16,743 --> 00:01:18,946
people are talking to me
about, and these are the

25
00:01:19,012 --> 00:01:21,448
things that I would like to
be able to address as

26
00:01:21,515 --> 00:01:24,318
governor.
that drives you as a

27
00:01:24,718 --> 00:01:27,087
candidate, or perhaps a
lane within the Democratic

28
00:01:27,154 --> 00:01:29,590
Party that may define you?
>> I think that I have so

29
00:01:29,656 --> 00:01:31,792
much experience within
health care, which is a

30
00:01:31,859 --> 00:01:33,493
complicated space, and
we've seen what's happening

31
00:01:33,560 --> 00:01:36,029
now in Washington, where
they're taking away the

32
00:01:36,096 --> 00:01:39,032
subsidies for the
people who are going to get

33
00:01:39,099 --> 00:01:40,901
their insurance on the
exchange. These are small

34
00:01:40,968 --> 00:01:43,103
business owners, these are
farmers. These are people

35
00:01:43,170 --> 00:01:46,106
who are trying to make a
living, and their premiums

36
00:01:46,173 --> 00:01:48,909
are going to double, maybe
even triple in Wisconsin.

37
00:01:48,976 --> 00:01:51,178
And so having somebody who
has that expertise in

38
00:01:51,245 --> 00:01:54,147
healthcare to be able to do
that here in Wisconsin and

39
00:01:54,214 --> 00:01:55,949
actually make a
demonstrable difference in

40
00:01:56,016 --> 00:01:57,584
people's lives, that's
something that I'm really

41
00:01:57,651 --> 00:02:00,087
excited about.
>> How much money do you

42
00:02:00,153 --> 00:02:03,457
think you're going to need
to raise in order to be

43
00:02:03,524 --> 00:02:07,060
successful in this primary?
know, I've been talking

44
00:02:07,127 --> 00:02:08,996
about this with so many
different people, and it is

45
00:02:09,062 --> 00:02:11,732
going to be millions of
dollars to be able to be

46
00:02:11,798 --> 00:02:14,601
successful in the primary.
But I've got support all

47
00:02:14,668 --> 00:02:18,005
over the state. I've got
endorsements in all 72

48
00:02:18,071 --> 00:02:20,874
counties. I got the first
statewide union endorsement,

49
00:02:20,941 --> 00:02:25,145
it's AFSCME, it's the
public workers, municipal

50
00:02:25,212 --> 00:02:27,114
municipality workers, and
was just really proud and

51
00:02:27,181 --> 00:02:29,816
honored to be able to get
that endorsement and

52
00:02:29,883 --> 00:02:31,885
excited about all the
support that I'm seeing all

53
00:02:31,952 --> 00:02:33,854
across the state.
>> When it comes to a

54
00:02:33,921 --> 00:02:36,056
competitive primary. How do
you personally define the

55
00:02:36,123 --> 00:02:38,425
difference between negative
campaigning versus defining

56
00:02:38,492 --> 00:02:40,594
differences between
candidates?

57
00:02:40,661 --> 00:02:43,964
>> Well, we're all going to
have to make our arguments

58
00:02:44,031 --> 00:02:47,100
to the voters. We're all
going to have to say what

59
00:02:47,167 --> 00:02:49,236
we're bringing to the table
and what type of

60
00:02:49,303 --> 00:02:51,305
experiences we have that
are going to make us good

61
00:02:51,371 --> 00:02:54,007
governors. And I would say
for myself, I'm one of the

62
00:02:54,074 --> 00:02:56,844
only candidates. I am the
only candidate in the race

63
00:02:56,910 --> 00:02:59,146
who's actually been able to
flip a district from red to

64
00:02:59,213 --> 00:03:02,549
blue. I did that when I was
in the assembly. I'm also

65
00:03:02,616 --> 00:03:05,252
somebody who has extensive
private industry experience

66
00:03:05,319 --> 00:03:07,855
elected office. That's a
good balance between those

67
00:03:07,921 --> 00:03:09,990
two things. I know what
it's like to work shift

68
00:03:10,057 --> 00:03:13,760
work. I know what it's like
to be an executive within a

69
00:03:13,827 --> 00:03:16,496
what it's like to be an
elected official. You're

70
00:03:16,563 --> 00:03:18,832
going to need all those
skills to make sure that

71
00:03:18,899 --> 00:03:21,268
you have a governor who's
going to be ready on day

72
00:03:21,335 --> 00:03:24,037
one.
at all these candidates

73
00:03:24,104 --> 00:03:27,040
should be thinking more in
terms of which candidate

74
00:03:27,107 --> 00:03:28,842
maybe has an issue they
most closely align to, or

75
00:03:28,909 --> 00:03:31,945
is it about electability?
>> I think it's both. I

76
00:03:32,012 --> 00:03:34,515
think you can look at the
issues for all the

77
00:03:34,581 --> 00:03:37,784
different candidates and
values, but then we also

78
00:03:37,851 --> 00:03:40,988
have to look to the general
to see who's going to be

79
00:03:41,054 --> 00:03:42,956
able to get across the
finish line in November.

80
00:03:43,023 --> 00:03:44,758
>> Most of the candidates
in this race have

81
00:03:44,825 --> 00:03:47,160
connections to either
Madison or Milwaukee. What

82
00:03:47,227 --> 00:03:49,630
are you doing to reach the
rest of the state? Rural

83
00:03:49,696 --> 00:03:52,799
areas, exurban areas?
live in Waukesha County.

84
00:03:52,866 --> 00:03:54,935
And so that is not that is
very different than

85
00:03:55,002 --> 00:03:57,838
Milwaukee County. But what
I am doing in the primary

86
00:03:57,905 --> 00:04:00,807
is I am again going to all
72 counties. We are doing

87
00:04:00,874 --> 00:04:03,644
listening sessions all
across the state because I

88
00:04:03,710 --> 00:04:06,046
firmly believe you can't
lead unless you listen. And

89
00:04:06,113 --> 00:04:08,649
so that's how I'm doing my
outreach. I'm going to

90
00:04:08,715 --> 00:04:11,652
continue to do that tour
all across the state,

91
00:04:11,718 --> 00:04:13,887
hearing what people want in
their governor, hearing

92
00:04:13,954 --> 00:04:16,089
what's going on in their
communities, because all

93
00:04:16,156 --> 00:04:18,892
politics is local and we
need to be able to listen

94
00:04:18,959 --> 00:04:20,661
to our constituents.
>> What impact do you think

95
00:04:20,727 --> 00:04:24,698
Donald Trump will have on
this election?

96
00:04:24,765 --> 00:04:27,801
chaos in Washington right
now. And I think when we're

97
00:04:27,868 --> 00:04:31,271
looking at who could
possibly be the Republican

98
00:04:31,338 --> 00:04:34,708
governor candidate, that's
Tom Tiffany there is very

99
00:04:34,775 --> 00:04:37,945
little daylight between him
and Trump. And so if that

100
00:04:38,011 --> 00:04:41,315
chaos in Washington could
absolutely trickle down

101
00:04:41,381 --> 00:04:45,719
into into Wisconsin, if
somebody is going to be