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>> As the political tenor
in America continues to

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deteriorate, threats
against politicians have

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increased, some only online,
others very much real and

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in person. As part of our
continuing series on the

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most important issues of
the election for governor

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"Here& Now", senior
political reporter Zac

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Schultz asked the leading
candidates about this topic.

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>> Running for governor is
a huge commitment, but in

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the current political
environment, it means

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candidates and their
families also need to

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consider their own personal
safety when deciding to run.

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We asked the leading
candidates whether that

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factored into their
decision to enter the race,

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and if they have concerns
for their personal safety.

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>> We are in a politically
charged environment and

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it's kind of hectic out
there. I had, you know,

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somebody I had threats
before that were, you know,

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made to me. It's not a fun
thing to experience. And,

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you know, it's always back
of mind. But I can tell you

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like I'm, I'm focused on
doing what's right. I'm

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going to continue to stay
focused on what's doing

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right. Violence is
absolutely a problem. It's

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in it's an issue. It's
something that we cannot

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ignore. But I can't let
that slow me down either.

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>> No more than how
dangerous it is to drive

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here from western Wisconsin
on an icy day. You know,

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certainly it's
disappointing to see the

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level of. Noise that is
created around politics

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these days. And
Wisconsinites are looking

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bring that noise level down.
That's what I'm going to do.

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And, you know, despite
security concerns, despite

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things like that, I have
the energy to be in this

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conversation. That's what
Wisconsinites need. I don't.

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>> I love Wisconsin and I
believe in Wisconsinites,

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and I believe that they
want us to have an open

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dialog for politics. And so
I do not have any concerns

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about my personal safety.
>> It's disappointing that

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political violence has
become such a frequent

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occurrence, and I'm
fortunate to have a

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campaign team and a
community and volunteers

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across the state that I
think are going to remain

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supportive. And I, I do not
have concerns for my

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personal safety.
>> I guess I still believe

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that campaigns are about
ideas, and I absolutely I

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know that there are going
to be people who disagree

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with me and disagree with
me on the campaign. You

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know, I hope and expect
that they're going to do

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that honorably. I am more
than willing to take pot

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shots that people have
online. And, you know, and

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there's a lot of that. And,
and I, you know, I have to

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have a thick skin around
that, but I hope that we're

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at a place and I hope we
can demonstrate in

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Wisconsin that we do things
civilly.

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about it a little bit,
especially in light of the

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assassination of Charlie
Kirk and, of course, the

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attempts on President
Trump's life in 2024 where

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he almost lost his life. So
we do think about it more

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at this point, but I just I
try to tune it out because

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I'm going to do my job and.
Wisconsinites are almost

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everyone is really good
about this stuff, whether

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I'm knocking on doors,
seeing people, whatever.

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People are almost always
respectful. And I think

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it's important for us to be
out amongst the public, and

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I'm not going to stop doing
that just because some

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people have their lives
threatened.

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huge uptick in political
rhetoric and political

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violence happening all
across this country. And

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quite frankly, I'm sick and
tired of it. It is

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unfortunate that we're
seeing the level of

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violence just for being
able to deliver on behalf

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of those that we represent
every single day. And so,

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you know, whether you're a
Republican or Democrat, we

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need we really need to end
the political rhetoric in

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this violent rhetoric that
has been out there and

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really focus on how do we
make lives better for those

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that we represent?
>> I do, and it's something

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that I, I take seriously,
my staff and my family take

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it seriously. And I think
it's, it's very unfortunate

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that we have political
leaders at the very top of

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our system whose use of
violent rhetoric and

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violent actions are making
us all less safe. And as

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Americans, you know, every
one of us lives with the

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specter of gun violence.
Every time your kid walks

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out the door to school,
every time you go to church

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or a concert, you have to
think, is this going to

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become a mass shooting
event? We have to do so

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much more to help all
Americans be safe and free

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from violence. And there's
a lot that states can do to