Well, I guess let's start with your
reaction to the news out of the
Rodriguez campaign about the
campaign finance.
Well this is why we have primaries,
to make sure that the strongest
candidate can compete in the general
election. From day one I've been
very focused on running the
strongest campaign to be able to
take on and defeat Tom Tiffany this
November.
Is this a disqualifying thing?
How should voters weigh it when
they're looking at this pool of
campers?
Well, look, I think that's up to her
campaign to figure out, and I think
it's up to voters to
decide if that campaign will
ultimately be the strongest or not,
if they're able to communicate or
not.
But that's a decision that should be
left up to them.
So, as we're coming down the stretch
of this primary, how are you doing
in terms of finances to be able to
communicate your vessel?
We are feeling really good, we are
going on TV, I think this week if
I'm not mistaken.
So happy to be on the air and we're
communicating over TV, we're
communicating over digital as well.
And I'm proud to have the broad
support that we continue to have,
that we've had since day one.
I'm looking forward to the
opportunity to continue to build off
of that for the next four weeks.
These are critical and for the folks
that are watching, there's still
time to get involved, get engaged
and get on board.
The number of voters out there that
maybe were undecided, maybe not
paying as much attention,
what's going to lead them down this
stretch here? What are these
critical closing moments for the
people that are just now tuning in?
Yeah, I'm really glad you brought
that up, because in the moment like
this, where things are so incredibly
difficult, people want a
leader who's going to stand up and
fight for them and not take no for
an answer. And I'm proud to have the
longest track record of standing up
and fighting for people all across
the state of Wisconsin, not any
specific district, but the entire
state.
That's why people come to know me.
That's what people trust me, because
when those tough fights came up, I
never backed away.
And I've always shown up to make
sure that we are doing everything to
improve quality of life for every
single person, regardless of their
zip code.
There's been a tendency to try and
group the candidates into centrist
or progressive lanes.
What do you think of that distinction?
I reject all distinctions.
I'm out here showing up for people.
And that's what it comes down to.
And we're leading with a bold
message. We are leading with urgency
because things need to change right
away. Our schools need to be funded.
People need healthcare.
We need good paying jobs.
We need to protect the environment.
We need stand up to these industries
that are making life difficult for
people, hold data centers
accountable and do everything
possible to make sure that
everybody has a shot at the American
dream. Because it's been denied
for far too long, and we can't
sit here and waste another
moment. We can't waste another
election cycle, and we need to look
at this campaign for governor
as one that's not just gonna change
the course of Wisconsin, but change
the cause of this country.
The work we put in this November is
gonna make for a much more clear
path to the White House for a
Democrat to be elected president.
The last few months, Tom Tiffany's
kind of had the feel to himself on
the Republican side, portraying
himself to voters as this friendly,
affable guy at the bar.
What's going to change between the
message that he's giving versus what
the public's going to hear after the
primaries?
Well, I think people have a chance
to see his actual record of failing
Wisconsinites.
I think that people will get a
chance to see this rhetoric that
championed tariffs, that has
destabilized family farms and
has completely destabilized small
businesses in Wisconsin.
His idea that if you are
at risk of losing your job to
artificial intelligence, you should
just find a new job.
The fact that he voted to
make health insurance more expensive
for people across this country.
Shows the abject failure that he's
been as a member of Congress.
He's already left the district he
represents behind, and that's
exactly what he'll do to Wisconsin.
He'll cave to special interests as
he has done as a state legislator,
as he's done as a Member of
Congress, and thats what's most
disqualifying when it comes to this
race for governor.
Do you have any concern that he
might have had too much time to
change his public image
before Democrats have a chance to
weigh in?
Well, the votes are the votes, and
he's gonna have to answer for those
votes. He can position himself
or try to
change his
political appearance.
But the reality is, he's taking
votes that's made life harder for
people. And not only is he taking
votes, he's championing policy that
has made life difficult for people,
his denial of the 2020 election
means that if you didn't vote for
him or someone he supports, that he
doesn't take your vote seriously.
And ultimately, he doesn't think you
should have a
right to vote based on that.
I have a question.
Your theme here today was a
lot about campaign finance.
I've been a reporter for a very long
time, and for at least two thirds of
my career, going back at least 30
years, people have talked about
campaign and finance.
People have tried to push
campaign finance reform.
What is your very specific game plan
for moving the conversation,
from just being a conversation to
actually some specific action?
Yeah, absolutely. So it's going to
take the legislature to make sure we
get it done.
I want to build on, if I become
governor, I would love to have a
bill on my desk that brings down,
brings campaign contribution limits
back down.
There have been a
lot of federal decisions that have
sort of blocked those kinds of
changes.
For sure.
And we do need, obviously, you know,
we need Congress to
act and at some point,
we have to overturn Citizens United.
This has made our politics so
corrupt. It has kept people out of
the process.
The reason why people's lives have
not materially changed for the
better is because of the corrupting
influence of money and politics that
has given favor to
large corporations and the
institutions that contribute the
most money campaigns rather than the
people. That they were elected to
serve.
And at the beginning of the race, I
think you said something like $50
million was your target,
how's that different?
Well, that's the thing, we can't
fight one arm tied behind our back.
And my campaigns have always been
grassroots funded.
I raise more money in this state
than anybody without taking a dime
of corporate PAC money.
And we're gonna continue our
grassroots fundraising and get to
the point of having the resources
we need to not just be competitive
but to take on and defeat Tom
Tiffany. I was the target of the
largest super PAC in this country,
targeting any one Democratic
candidate four years ago.
So I know exactly what the impact of
big money in politics means,
but I also know that with grassroots
support we can get the job done.
On the undecided voters that you
were talking about earlier,
I think like in the next couple
weeks we're going to see how many
people really are undecide.
What's your approach to
reaching those people for
these final weeks, especially when
it kind of feels like things are
very fluid in this race?
So we are gonna continue showing up
and delivering our message about
improving quality of life for folks.
And for undecided voters,
it will be a reminder about
what the resolve continues
to be.
This isn't, you know, the things I'm
talking about in this campaign, they
are new. And as I mentioned, people
around the state know that I have
shown up and I've taken on the tough
fights. And these next few weeks
will be a reminder that we're gonna
show up and not just talk
about what we are planning to
do throughout the course of the
campaign. We're talking about.
How we are gonna get to work
governing right away because I am
the candidate who is uniquely
prepared for this moment based on my
experience in legislature, based on
experience as Lieutenant Governor,
fighting right alongside Governor
Evers in 2018, taking on
and defeating the former
Governor Scott Walker.
Nobody else has that
level of experience in campaigning
and that's what will be on
full display for these next four
weeks.
Hey, thank you appreciate you.
Oh, yeah.
Thank you