1
00:00:06,773 --> 00:00:09,476
>> Along with the weather,
the heat is also on in

2
00:00:09,543 --> 00:00:11,778
Wisconsin's primary
election campaigns. With

3
00:00:11,845 --> 00:00:15,816
just about six weeks to go
before the August 11th

4
00:00:15,883 --> 00:00:18,051
runoffs. There are
congressional races like in

5
00:00:18,118 --> 00:00:20,821
the seventh and Third
districts to watch, and the

6
00:00:20,888 --> 00:00:23,690
race for governor, where
six Democrats are still

7
00:00:23,757 --> 00:00:26,860
vying to be chosen to take
on the leading Republican

8
00:00:26,927 --> 00:00:29,830
in the race. As the
campaigns heat up, we turn

9
00:00:29,897 --> 00:00:33,033
to political panelists
Republican Bill McCoshen

10
00:00:33,100 --> 00:00:36,136
and Democrat Scot Ross. And
thanks for being here, guys.

11
00:00:36,203 --> 00:00:38,505
>> Thanks for having us.
>> So first to you, Scott.

12
00:00:38,572 --> 00:00:41,608
With absentee ballots going
out and now being arguably

13
00:00:41,675 --> 00:00:45,312
into the final stretch, who
is breaking through on the

14
00:00:45,379 --> 00:00:47,881
Democratic side for
candidates for governor and

15
00:00:47,948 --> 00:00:50,851
why?
still could be anybody's

16
00:00:50,918 --> 00:00:53,987
ball game. There's a lot of
spending going on right now.

17
00:00:54,054 --> 00:00:56,823
I guess, you know, they say
it's not a sprint. It's a

18
00:00:56,890 --> 00:00:59,660
marathon. But we have
crossed the 20 mile marker

19
00:00:59,726 --> 00:01:02,196
and we're getting to the
point where people are

20
00:01:02,262 --> 00:01:04,298
going to have to start
making up their minds about

21
00:01:04,364 --> 00:01:07,067
who their candidates are
going to be. I think the

22
00:01:07,134 --> 00:01:09,436
Democrats have an
think they are fighting.

23
00:01:09,503 --> 00:01:11,405
You know, they're they're
running down downhill

24
00:01:11,471 --> 00:01:15,776
because the Republicans are
so in trouble because of

25
00:01:15,843 --> 00:01:17,978
the record of, of, of
Donald Trump and the fact

26
00:01:18,045 --> 00:01:20,347
that their nominee, Tom
Tiffany, is a radical

27
00:01:20,414 --> 00:01:22,449
extremist who is completely
and totally tied to Trump

28
00:01:22,516 --> 00:01:25,018
in every single way.
>> So, Bill, do you want to

29
00:01:25,085 --> 00:01:27,187
respond to that?
>> I don't agree that

30
00:01:27,254 --> 00:01:29,356
there's it's anybody's
ballgame. 1 has already

31
00:01:29,423 --> 00:01:32,292
dropped out. Missy Hughes I
wouldn't be surprised if

32
00:01:32,359 --> 00:01:36,029
two more dropped out in
July. We got 38 days to go.

33
00:01:36,096 --> 00:01:38,532
I think it's really three
people who are seriously in

34
00:01:38,599 --> 00:01:41,735
contention to win this.
It's Francesca Hong

35
00:01:41,802 --> 00:01:44,338
legislator from Madison,
Mandela Barnes, former

36
00:01:44,404 --> 00:01:48,308
lieutenant governor and
current Lieutenant governor

37
00:01:48,375 --> 00:01:50,744
Sarah Rodriguez. I think
those are the only three

38
00:01:50,811 --> 00:01:53,614
who have a legitimate shot
to win at this point, based

39
00:01:53,680 --> 00:01:56,517
on all the polling. We will
have a new Marquette poll

40
00:01:56,583 --> 00:01:59,152
out in about ten days here
in Wisconsin that will sort

41
00:01:59,219 --> 00:02:01,889
of tell give everyone the
picture of where things are

42
00:02:01,955 --> 00:02:04,691
at. But what we know from
private polls and some

43
00:02:04,758 --> 00:02:06,994
other publicly released
polls is those are the top

44
00:02:07,060 --> 00:02:10,030
three. And Hong is the one
that's surging at this

45
00:02:10,097 --> 00:02:12,566
point.
Hong Scott, what do

46
00:02:13,333 --> 00:02:16,537
Democratic strategists make
of Democratic socialists?

47
00:02:16,603 --> 00:02:20,107
>> I mean, listen, for the
last 50 years, when a

48
00:02:20,174 --> 00:02:22,609
Democratic elected wants to
spend money that's not on

49
00:02:22,676 --> 00:02:25,078
tax cuts for rich people or
corporations. Bill's party

50
00:02:25,145 --> 00:02:26,747
calls them socialists. They
call them welfare. They

51
00:02:26,813 --> 00:02:29,316
call them worse. I mean,
for God's sakes, they were

52
00:02:29,383 --> 00:02:31,451
calling his old boss, Tommy
Thompson, signature

53
00:02:31,518 --> 00:02:33,654
achievement BadgerCare here
in Wisconsin Welfare.

54
00:02:33,720 --> 00:02:36,256
That's what the speaker of
the Assembly was calling it.

55
00:02:36,323 --> 00:02:39,459
So, you know, we're a big
tent. And the fact is, is

56
00:02:39,526 --> 00:02:42,362
that when it comes to
people's expenses, when it

57
00:02:42,429 --> 00:02:44,831
comes to gas prices,
Republicans are a failure

58
00:02:44,898 --> 00:02:47,301
for Wisconsinites, a
failure for America. That's

59
00:02:47,367 --> 00:02:49,903
why Democrats are going to
win this election in the

60
00:02:49,970 --> 00:02:51,705
fall, not because of labels
that Republicans have been

61
00:02:51,772 --> 00:02:54,808
putting on us for 50 years.
Anyhow.

62
00:02:54,875 --> 00:02:57,244
that label on her.
>> Well, I mean, Democrats.

63
00:02:57,311 --> 00:03:00,113
>> Are owning it and
proudly owning it. And I

64
00:03:00,180 --> 00:03:02,883
think that's actually
worked to Francesca Hong

65
00:03:02,950 --> 00:03:05,652
advantage. I mean, she's
gone on national podcasts

66
00:03:05,719 --> 00:03:08,755
with a guy named Hassan
Piker, who's got several

67
00:03:08,822 --> 00:03:11,358
million followers, and she
raised 100 grand in one day.

68
00:03:11,425 --> 00:03:14,795
Why? She's the boldest
progressive in the race.

69
00:03:14,862 --> 00:03:17,564
She's willing to say what
others are not willing to

70
00:03:17,631 --> 00:03:21,301
say, and she's willing to
be a democratic socialist.

71
00:03:21,368 --> 00:03:23,604
And and none of the others
have attacked her for that.

72
00:03:23,670 --> 00:03:26,306
I can guarantee you, Tom
Tiffany is going to

73
00:03:26,373 --> 00:03:28,575
contrast with her if she
ends up getting through the

74
00:03:28,642 --> 00:03:30,711
primary in 38 days.
>> I mean, Tiffany has been

75
00:03:30,777 --> 00:03:33,747
attacking Barnes and Hong
the entirety of his

76
00:03:33,814 --> 00:03:35,949
campaign and again.
>> Which I think is smart.

77
00:03:36,016 --> 00:03:38,085
>> Yeah, of course. But,
you know, let's let's not

78
00:03:38,151 --> 00:03:40,921
kid ourselves. Tom Tiffany
was on a podcast last week

79
00:03:40,988 --> 00:03:43,190
with a book burner who says
that foreign governments

80
00:03:43,257 --> 00:03:45,893
are turning our kids trans.
So like, if we want to, if

81
00:03:45,959 --> 00:03:48,695
we want to talk about the
internet and who is

82
00:03:48,762 --> 00:03:52,833
appearing on internet
fight that Democrats.

83
00:03:52,900 --> 00:03:54,835
have 13 Democrats in the
Congress who have signed up

84
00:03:54,902 --> 00:03:57,137
to sort of fight the
Democratic Socialists.

85
00:03:57,204 --> 00:04:00,741
That's less than 10% of the
Democratic members of the

86
00:04:00,807 --> 00:04:04,945
So it is a it is a tough
line to hoe right now for

87
00:04:05,679 --> 00:04:07,848
Democrats. They're not sure
if they should be with the

88
00:04:07,915 --> 00:04:09,883
socialists. Guys like J.B.
Pritzker have come out in

89
00:04:09,950 --> 00:04:12,186
favor. Said, we need more
socialists in our party.

90
00:04:12,252 --> 00:04:15,189
That's stunning to me.
>> I think the thing you

91
00:04:15,255 --> 00:04:17,424
think about that is that
all the all the candidates

92
00:04:17,491 --> 00:04:19,293
who are calling themselves
Democratic socialists and

93
00:04:19,359 --> 00:04:21,328
the ones who have been
elected are all younger,

94
00:04:21,395 --> 00:04:23,363
they're all millennials.
They're all the ones who

95
00:04:23,430 --> 00:04:26,066
are staring up, standing up
to the gerontocracy that is

96
00:04:26,133 --> 00:04:28,168
the Democratic Party with
our 75 year old Senate

97
00:04:28,235 --> 00:04:30,270
Majority Leader, Chuck
Schumer, Senate Minority

98
00:04:30,337 --> 00:04:33,173
Leader Chuck Schumer. So I
think it's you know,

99
00:04:33,240 --> 00:04:34,975
ideologically, Democrats
are all in the same, are

100
00:04:35,042 --> 00:04:37,811
all in the same camp, which
is we want fully funded

101
00:04:37,878 --> 00:04:40,080
schools. We want access to
affordable health care. We

102
00:04:40,147 --> 00:04:42,749
want to protect our clean
air and water. We want our

103
00:04:42,816 --> 00:04:44,685
civil liberties. And we
don't want ICE Gestapo, you

104
00:04:44,751 --> 00:04:47,554
know, disappearing 38
people in Wisconsin

105
00:04:47,621 --> 00:04:50,891
yesterday.
up in two words. They want

106
00:04:50,958 --> 00:04:52,960
bold progressivism. And
that's why Hong's in the

107
00:04:53,026 --> 00:04:55,762
game. Eight years ago, when
Tony Evers won this primary

108
00:04:55,829 --> 00:04:58,599
with 42%. By the way, the
winner of this will not

109
00:04:58,665 --> 00:05:00,734
come close to that number.
She would have been a

110
00:05:00,801 --> 00:05:02,703
fringe candidate today.
She's got a chance to win

111
00:05:02,769 --> 00:05:04,738
it.
>> Super interesting. So

112
00:05:04,805 --> 00:05:07,374
Bill, who would Tom Tiffany
most want as a general

113
00:05:07,441 --> 00:05:10,177
election opponent and who
would he be afraid of?

114
00:05:10,244 --> 00:05:12,479
>> I think he would have
been most concerned about

115
00:05:12,546 --> 00:05:15,382
those that are not going to
make it to the finish line.

116
00:05:15,449 --> 00:05:18,218
Believe it or not, I think
Democrats decided that the

117
00:05:18,285 --> 00:05:21,221
sort of more moderate who
can appeal to trade union

118
00:05:21,288 --> 00:05:23,957
guys or sort of the
moderate old school

119
00:05:24,024 --> 00:05:26,226
Democrats, they're not
going to make it to the

120
00:05:26,293 --> 00:05:29,096
finish line in this race.
So all three of those who

121
00:05:29,162 --> 00:05:32,099
we've both agreed are sort
of in the front of the pack

122
00:05:32,165 --> 00:05:35,235
are pretty progressive. And
that's a good contrast for

123
00:05:35,302 --> 00:05:37,271
Tiffany. So I don't think
he has a problem with any

124
00:05:37,337 --> 00:05:39,473
of the three top tier
candidates.

125
00:05:39,540 --> 00:05:41,308
>> Tom, Tiffany's biggest
problem is not who he's

126
00:05:41,375 --> 00:05:44,311
going to face, but the fact
that he's on the ballot at

127
00:05:44,378 --> 00:05:47,948
all. This is a guy who took
money out. He took food out

128
00:05:48,015 --> 00:05:50,117
of the mouths of children
to give billionaires tax

129
00:05:50,184 --> 00:05:52,986
breaks. He wants a national
abortion ban. He took $300

130
00:05:53,053 --> 00:05:55,222
billion from rural health
care. So rural Wisconsin,

131
00:05:55,289 --> 00:05:57,457
when your hospitals are
closing, you can thank Tom

132
00:05:57,524 --> 00:06:01,361
Tiffany for that. And he he
supports the $2 billion

133
00:06:01,428 --> 00:06:05,365
payoff for the January 6th
terrorist terrorist

134
00:06:05,432 --> 00:06:07,401
insurrectionists. So this
is a guy who is radically

135
00:06:07,467 --> 00:06:10,070
out of touch with where
Wisconsin folks are,

136
00:06:10,137 --> 00:06:11,872
especially now when prices
are higher than they've

137
00:06:11,939 --> 00:06:14,174
ever been. Gas prices are
higher than they've ever

138
00:06:14,241 --> 00:06:17,044
been because of the war of
choice in Iran. And the

139
00:06:17,110 --> 00:06:19,112
fact that Trump is making
billions of dollars while

140
00:06:19,179 --> 00:06:22,049
people can't afford food.
>> The landscape is

141
00:06:22,115 --> 00:06:24,551
challenging for a sitting
congressman in this cycle.

142
00:06:24,618 --> 00:06:27,054
There's no question about
that. But I think Tom

143
00:06:27,120 --> 00:06:29,089
Tiffany can easily make the
contrast between common

144
00:06:29,156 --> 00:06:32,092
sense and crazy. And I
think most Wisconsin voters

145
00:06:32,159 --> 00:06:34,428
will side with common sense.
>> He's trying a makeover.

146
00:06:34,494 --> 00:06:37,231
It's not going to work. He
scrubbed his website before

147
00:06:37,297 --> 00:06:40,234
he got in the race. And you
know, he can't hide from

148
00:06:40,300 --> 00:06:42,903
his record. He can't run
from it as much as he ducks

149
00:06:42,970 --> 00:06:46,106
the media. He cannot run
from it.

150
00:06:46,173 --> 00:06:48,542
third and seventh
congressional races, will

151
00:06:48,609 --> 00:06:50,544
carry the day? Of course,
in the primary, presumably.

152
00:06:50,611 --> 00:06:53,981
But in the general.
>> Both of those seats lean

153
00:06:54,047 --> 00:06:56,850
red. Remember, our
congressional maps were not

154
00:06:56,917 --> 00:06:59,353
changed. These are the same
ones that have. We've run

155
00:06:59,419 --> 00:07:01,889
on for the last couple of
cycles, which means Derrick

156
00:07:01,955 --> 00:07:03,757
Van Orden should be
considered the favorite.

157
00:07:03,824 --> 00:07:07,027
He's the incumbent, and it
means that the Republican.

158
00:07:07,094 --> 00:07:08,962
Whomever comes out of the
primary in 38 days should

159
00:07:09,029 --> 00:07:12,332
be the favorite in the
seventh. I think Donald

160
00:07:12,399 --> 00:07:15,669
Trump is going to help
Derrick Van Orden. I think

161
00:07:15,736 --> 00:07:18,539
he's going to be in western
Wisconsin once or twice. I

162
00:07:18,605 --> 00:07:21,208
think. JD. Vance will be. I
think Donald Trump will

163
00:07:21,275 --> 00:07:24,344
ultimately help in the
seventh. But I think they

164
00:07:24,411 --> 00:07:27,147
also don't want to have to
spend too many resources up

165
00:07:27,214 --> 00:07:29,516
there. That's kind of a
messy primary, which is

166
00:07:29,583 --> 00:07:31,785
unfortunate. On our side
between Kevin Herman and

167
00:07:31,852 --> 00:07:34,955
former Iranian hostage and
successful businessman and

168
00:07:35,022 --> 00:07:38,292
and young man Michael
Alfonso, who did get the

169
00:07:38,358 --> 00:07:40,727
president's endorsement.
You know, my hope is that

170
00:07:40,794 --> 00:07:42,930
Republicans sort of put
down their arms and stop

171
00:07:42,996 --> 00:07:45,566
the circular firing squad
that's going on on that,

172
00:07:45,632 --> 00:07:48,569
because I think either
would be ultimately a great

173
00:07:48,635 --> 00:07:51,371
congressperson. But but
right now, it's pretty

174
00:07:51,438 --> 00:07:53,807
messy for the Republicans.
>> Scott, what are the next

175
00:07:53,874 --> 00:07:56,109
six weeks look like in
these races?

176
00:07:56,176 --> 00:07:58,745
>> I think the next six
weeks are in the third and

177
00:07:58,812 --> 00:08:01,181
the seventh day. I think
you're going to see

178
00:08:01,248 --> 00:08:03,150
Republicans ducking the
media. Derrick Van Orton is

179
00:08:03,217 --> 00:08:05,819
just terrified of going
before any sort of camera.

180
00:08:05,886 --> 00:08:08,789
You know, that's not, you
know, some right wing

181
00:08:08,856 --> 00:08:12,025
podcaster. I think that he
is the one who is in the

182
00:08:12,092 --> 00:08:14,261
most trouble, you know,
whoever comes out of the

183
00:08:14,328 --> 00:08:16,196
primary. And obviously, you
know, there's Rebecca Cooke

184
00:08:16,263 --> 00:08:18,298
who has a massive
fundraising advantage, and

185
00:08:18,365 --> 00:08:21,235
Emily Berg, who's who's the
councilman up in Eau Claire.

186
00:08:21,301 --> 00:08:24,738
I think either one of them
contrasts great against the

187
00:08:24,805 --> 00:08:27,541
record of of Derrick Van
Orden. I mean, he's been,

188
00:08:27,608 --> 00:08:30,277
you know, if Tom Tiffany
wasn't in Congress, he'd be

189
00:08:30,344 --> 00:08:32,379
our most extremist member
of Congress. So I think

190
00:08:32,446 --> 00:08:35,382
that he's got a lot of he's
got a lot to answer for.

191
00:08:35,449 --> 00:08:38,218
And I think the voters are
going to hold him

192
00:08:38,285 --> 00:08:40,320
accountable for that.
>> All right. We need to

193
00:08:40,387 --> 00:08:42,356
leave it there. We'll
circle back with you both

194
00:08:42,422 --> 00:08:46,660
before the primary and
before the primary and