And I'm rolling.
All right. Well, I guess let's start
with tell me a little bit about,
you know, how coming out of the
fall.
And then I'm sure
you knew there was a Supreme Court
race coming up. But what was
that like coming off of
November and kind of leading into
the winter for you?
I can definitely tell you it was a
great experience.
This was an election that I had
been working on for the last
almost two years.
Doesn't matter if it was with a
local organization or a high school
organization, and we were really
trying to ensure that the people's
voices were being heard.
And I feel that on November 5th,
there were so many voices that were
silenced.
And I believe that's something that
we're seeing today.
Very much so.
And I would definitely say when it
came to myself and other students
and even adults, morale
was very, very low.
People, they don't believe
in the system anymore and they
didn't believe in it too much to
begin with.
And now when we're, you know,
given, you know, this, this
government that acts
like they, you know, don't work
for the citizens, they don't work,
they don't represent their states
or, you know, their individual
districts.
It's like, well, why should I go out
and vote? Why should I go and
canvass? Why should I help anyone
besides myself?
So what?
Was there a turning point for you in
getting back into it?
Staying committed?
Obviously you spent a lot of energy.
There's that you people would
understand if you're like, you know,
I'm going to take some time.
I'm a freshman in college.
I got to focus on myself.
Absolutely. I spent about a week
post election cycle, didn't
go to any classes.
You know, I wasn't doing any work.
And it was just so very
sad for me.
And I didn't know what was coming
next. I didn't know if I wanted
to get back into it, but
I sat down and I was,
you know, just looking at one of the
little clubs that were coming up on
the news and already seeing the
things that were that was happening
with whether it be Doge or,
you know, whatever,
you know, project 2025 plans that
have come to fruition within
the new legislature and, you know,
the different policy initiatives
that are being brought up.
And I was like, I can't just sit
here on the sidelines and allow this
to happen.
And though I'm not on,
you know, working the national level
anymore, I'm not part of the
convention.
Their most important work is
here on the local level, because it
starts on the local level and it
builds up to your state, and then it
builds up to the national level.
And that's why I got back into it.
I seen I had met with Susan Crawford
around the time that I was planning
on running for a delegate, and I
went and I was actually speak and
event when she introduced herself to
me. And I could tell immediately
that this was a person that I wanted
to represent my state and I want to
represent me.
And so when I heard of the
opportunity to go and organize,
to work with different groups,
to help her win the nomination
and to hopefully then be elected in
this upcoming election.
I couldn't just sit down.
So we ran into at a campaign
event in green Bay, where she was at
the Democratic headquarters.
But what has it been like since
then? Have.
What are some of the struggles
or the things you've had to deal
with in trying to convince fellow
students and other people that, hey,
this race matters too?
Yeah, I think the biggest struggle
is that people don't know there's an
election coming up.
Everyone was wrapped up in the
presidential, the
presidential election, as always.
That's the first one.
And that's the most important one.
And like I said, it's not
just the president. Everyone else
under them, you know, they're just
as important.
And so I've really been trying
to nail it. And to my friends, I had
friends who weren't planning on
voting for the presidential
election.
And I had brought them to enough of
that allowed them to see and hear
firsthand from different candidates,
and eventually got them to go out
and vote regardless of who they
voted for. And, you know,
fortunately, was for the candidate
of my favor.
But those same friends now,
they felt like it was a waste of
their vote.
And so it's me trying
to ensure them that I know the
system seems flawed, and I
know it seems like it was unfair,
but that election cycle
is over. We have to do what we can
now, and that's to get Susan
Crawford. And she's going to be
someone that represents the state of
Wisconsin. Well, it doesn't matter
if you're a Democrat, doesn't matter
if you're Republican.
You know, she's strictly follows the
Constitution. And that's what we
need more than ever.
Nowadays, you have candidates who
believe that the Constitution is
less of a rulebook and
sort of, you know,
maybe do this.
This is how we started off, but you
can branch out into your own form
of government, and that's just not
what it is.
You know, it was enshrined in our
government for a reason, because Ann
Dowd, you know, each of the citizens
with certain unalienable rights,
rights which are being violated
every single day.
So is getting people to be
aware of a Supreme Court race is
different than a
Partizan fall race, because in
some ways the Supreme Court is
very, very important in terms of
like protecting and enshrining the
backstop of the rights that say, no,
you can't do that when it comes to a
legislature, an executive that may
overreach.
But for some people, they may not
understand how closely that
can be connected to their lives,
whereas they vote for a senator or
president, you know, like they can
do this and the Supreme
Court doesn't feel as close
sometimes.
It's definitely difficult to
get people to kind of understand the
importance of the Supreme Court.
They don't understand the entire
idea of the check and balance
system.
And I don't say that
to mean anyone.
But, you know, it's it's
in part to a lack of teachings
by, you know, our education
system there. You know, students
aren't as civically engaged.
So I'm doing what I can to
ensure that they know why it's so
important, how it affects them.
I mean, if you look at it Up
against states are in control
of reproductive freedoms
and whether or not women are allowed
to have abortions.
And that is something that the
Supreme Court deals with.
And I especially try to get those
friends who, you know, are
pro-choice
to to understand that even if they
were like, I'm not going to vote, be
like, if this person who
you're voting for right now, they're
making that decision, they're
deciding whether or not our state is
going to allow for that, you know?
So we've got
a push here to the end.
Is it different campaigning in
the snow, the cold?
I mean, it's warming up a little bit
now. But you know, you get to the
summer and it's beautiful weather.
You get to the fall and it's pretty
in Wisconsin.
You know, it's not really pretty in
February to be out doing
stuff, trying to knock doors or get
people involved.
Right.
I've done it a few times
here and there. Now, with this
election cycle, most of my
work I'm dealing with is just
calling people different numbers.
But when I am out, it's
it's cold.
Even for a Wisconsin night.
You know, I bundle up with my
gloves, my hat, sometimes
a scarf.
And people
I would say, you know, they felt a
little hostile during the
presidential election cycle, but now
it's you want to talk to me about
another election cycle?
You want me to open my door?
It's -20 degrees outside.
Can you please just leave?
And I know that we seem
like a burden to come and
knock on your door, but it's
that important. And I've been saying
that since the presidential cycle
that it's that important that you go
out and vote.
You know, once you've made that
decision, I'm still not going to
stop bothering you because I want
you to really understand the impact
of that. Your voice and your vote
have.
We need to stop treating our
government like
that like they're the big shark.
They are the little shark.
There are a few hundred people who
go out and make the decision, and
we are the people who employ
them once we show
them that again, we
are that big shark.
The more, the more our impact
will have.
So it used to be that the
Supreme Court was kind of abstract
because it was it's still
technically nonpartisan, but the
candidates were a little afraid to
embrace the political parties, and
they tried to pretend, oh, I'm not
connected to any of that.
And so some people sometimes had to
figure out, like who which candidate
feels most closely aligned to what I
believe in.
That's not the case anymore.
They're very heavily politically
aligned with the Dems and the
Republicans backing everyone up.
Does that make it easier to convince
people of how to make a choice, or
how to think about this?
Or does it sometimes almost tarnish
it by tying it so closely to
Partizan elections?
I feel, you know,
in the middle about that, that
whole situation when it comes to
them picking or aligning
with different parties.
In most instances, I find people
will almost
always just vote for who's a
part of their political party.
And that should never,
never, ever be how you vote.
You vote based off of, you know,
if it's, you know, a congressional
race. What kind of policies are this
person going to implement and how is
it going to benefit me and the rest
of my fellow citizens?
If it's a Supreme Court justice, how
are they going to best represent my
state?
And
unfortunately, I have seen
people more times than not
lot with their own party.
But I have seen a few people who
have broken away from the
collective mindset.
And, you know, it's a really good
thing to see, especially with this
upcoming race you have, you know,
Brad Schimmel and you have Susan
Crawford. And one of the biggest
things, even with, you know, my
male friends who don't align
politically with me, they're saying
that this is someone who,
you know, in their eyes and other
voters, I don't care
about them.
And what I mean by this, you know,
one of the biggest talking points
for the Susan Crawford campaign is
the fact that before,
you know, he made this run to become
a Supreme Court justice.
This is the same guy who is only
testing, what, a few
dozen if they had rape kits.
And you have a person like Susan
Crawford who's here and she's
going to represent the whole.
She's going to ensure that you don't
feel left out, that you know your
tests are going to be done, that
your rights are going to be violated
against you.
I would like to say is more of a
constitutional test when it
comes to doing her job as a
judge. I don't care if you're a
Democrat. I don't care if you're
Republican.
This is the law and this is what
we're going to abide by.
So I know we're not there yet,
but April 1st is coming up.
We could finally deep breath,
relax, try and finish out the rest
of your freshman year of college.
Something like that.
I'm currently I've
been on board with the new
fellowship that I'm working with
that is very focused on women's
choices and, you know, bodily
autonomy. So I'm doing some work
there and it will go a little
bit into the summer.
And I'm hoping
I have a few prospective job
opportunities and internships,
working along with different
representatives in the area, and
hopefully even a few senators.
So I don't think it'll slow down too
much, but it'll be a lot less
hectic.
Not being in an election
cycle, at least for a little bit,
at least until.
The next Supreme.
Court. Yeah.
All right. Anything else you want to
add?
No. Again, just thank you for having
me here.
It's always a great time
to be able to talk about, you know,
the issues that matter most.
And again, being a young guy
and having people come out and be
able to see and hear what
it is that I have to say about
specific candidates or issues
that matter. It means the most to me
just because I can make a
difference or make a change in one
person's life at least.
You know, that's the biggest goal.
All right.
Thanks for stopping by.
So we'll grab the mic back from you.
We're going to get packed up and
then we will meet
up with some of your friends. All
right. I'm good.
It's good.