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Today, we're going to learn more about where three of the candidates stand on the issues
to help you make an informed decision this August.
Whoever wins the primary will face the winner of the Republican primary in the November
election.
Let's meet the candidates.
From left to right, we have Ginger Murray, Fred Clark, and Chris Armstrong.
We will hear opening statements in just a moment, but let's get acquainted to the
rules.
Candidates will have 90 seconds to answer each question.
When a follow-up is necessary, the candidate will be given 30 seconds.
No one has been given the questions in advance.
Let's start with opening statements, Mr. Clark, your first.
Well, thank you, Dan.
Thank you for moderating, and to WJFW, thank you for hosting this important event, and
for all of your viewers here today, thanks for taking time out of your day to learn about
this election.
You know, it was never my dream to go to Washington, but I spent a lot of time last summer and
thought long and hard about what we need from our Congress and what thousands of people
across northern Wisconsin deserve and expect from Washington, and I talked to a lot of
people I trusted.
I knew this race would be a tough uphill battle, and I knew for a Democrat to win here in
the 7th Congressional District would take a unique candidate and a lot of work, and
I decided that he had what it took to enter this election.
I think people in northern Wisconsin right now are fed up with the chaos that's going
on in Washington, and they're being affected directly by the actions of this administration
in so many different ways, and health care with this tariff war, with affordability,
and what I've learned in my career as a forester, my career as a community leader, and my career
as a state rural representative is that our small communities work when everybody works
together.
I want to bring that same spirit to Washington, D.C., and represent the people of northern
Wisconsin.
Now, we'd love to have your support.
I look forward to this debate.
Mrs. Murray, your opening statement.
Thank you.
Thank you to all of you for hosting us today.
Thank you, most importantly, voters for paying attention and listening to us today.
My name is Ginger Murray, and I'm running to be your next Congresswoman in District
7.
I am the only female running on the Democratic ticket.
This is a vast District, 26 counties, and I believe the people here deserve to have
a representative who listens to learn and who will get you results in return for your
vote of confidence shown by voting for me on August 11th.
This district is ready to flip, and I'm not just talking about Republican and Democrat.
I'm talking about the haves and the have-nots.
You'll remember Dave Obie had this district for 40 years, one of the best of the good
old boys we ever had.
But do you see what's happening now?
Have you watched as this district voted in Susan Crawford?
Have you watched as this district flipped over the 50% mark to bring in Chris Taylor?
Well, I too am a fellow lady, leader, lawyer.
And I'm looking for that same movement that you were willing to make for Chris Taylor
to make her a Supreme Court judge here in the state of Wisconsin to allow me to be your
first Congresswoman in District 7.
I was born in Eau Claire, raised in Forest County, served as City Attorney of Crandon,
Town Attorney of Leona, Family Court Commissioner, and I'm happy to be your candidate today.
Mr. Armstrong, your opening statements.
Well, howdy folks, Chris Armstrong from Richmond and St. Croix County.
I grew up of North of Star Prairie on the Apple River.
I went to school in Amory and got my degree in astrophysics from the University of Minnesota.
I started programming computers when I was 13 years old and have been running my own IT
company for 30 years.
And I got activated after Trump's second inauguration with the flurry of illegal, un-American,
unconstitutional executive orders, and Elon Musk taking a sledgehammer to the federal government,
and I couldn't believe that nobody was doing anything about it.
So I took to the streets in my hometown of Richmond and started protesting by myself
at the busiest intersection in town at Rush Hour.
And it was shortly after that that I founded the Richmond Indivisible with other local organizers.
But with the upcoming April election of Susan Crawford, I felt I needed to do more than
just sit on my butt and hope that cross my fingers, put up a sign and hope that it would
all work out.
So I started working with the St. Croix County and Polk County Democrats, knocking on doors
in my local community.
And it was shortly after that in April 2025 that I declared my candidacy as the first
candidate from either party in April 2025.
And I'm going, you know, we're going back to Congress because we need to hold this administration
accountable and get Congress back to doing the work for the people.
This question will go to Mrs. Murray first.
Democrats haven't won this seat since 2008 and to be honest, ever since it hasn't been
close.
So my question to the candidates, why do you give Democrats the best chance to win in
November, Mrs. Murray?
Thank you.
Yes, Steve Obi was an amazing human being and a great representative for the folks of
this district.
After that, we have some gerrymandered boundaries.
We lost all of our college towns, and that definitely gave Sean Duffy and Tom Tiffany
an advantage.
However, as I indicated in my opening statement, since then the lady, lawyer leaders have
been killing it, crushing it and getting the support of this community.
Just notably, Susan Crawford pushed this district over the 50 percent mark and showed
that counties that haven't voted blue in the longest time voted blue for her.
They are looking for a progressive candidate.
They are tired of the corruption that is happening in Washington, D.C.
They want people who are listening and showing up talking to the folks here and who will
stand for justice.
As a lawyer, that's been my entire career defending the Constitution.
I studied it.
I defend it.
It is time to get back to the rule of law, and that is what I do best.
I believe that the voters in this district are absolutely looking for someone to take
the reins.
There are 96 other women in the Democratic caucus who are waiting for more women to join
them, to hold people accountable in Washington, D.C., and I fit that bill.
I sure hope they will send me to D.C., so I can take care of business for them there.
No retainers, no lawyer fees.
Mr. Armstrong, why do you give Democrats the best chance to win?
Well, you know, I have a good question.
I am just a normal guy.
I grew up here, went to school here, raised my family here, started my company here, formed
a grassroots organization in my community, and I think what people are looking for is
just normal people that are going to get up there and advocate for them and really
hold this administration accountable and start advocating for policies that are really going
to make a difference in people's lives.
What I've heard across the district, not just in Richmond, is it's not just Democrats,
but it's also independents and Republicans that are really sick of the status quo.
They're really frustrated with this administration being, you know, corrupt and criminal, not
being held accountable, not following the Constitution.
And I think we just need, you know, a fresh perspective, you know, new people to represent
us here in the 7th District.
Mr. Clark, same question.
Yeah, I'm, when I'm bringing to this job is my experience as a small business owner and
also as a, I'm the only candidate in this race whose head experience is a rural elected
representative.
I served in the Wisconsin State Assembly representing parts of SOC, Columbia, and Marquette counties
between 2009 and 2014, and something that I learned then in that experience was that
in order to be effective in your job as a representative in a district that's very mixed politically,
you have to commit to working with everybody.
You have to commit to engaging every person you represent with respect and with listening
and with the willingness to find solutions.
I used to tell the people that I worked with, I don't care whether you voted for me or not,
it's my job to represent you and I'm going to do that to the best of my ability.
So in this campaign, I'm reaching out to voters with the same proposition that this election
is more about character than it is about party.
On the right over to farm technology days in the wagon today, I ended up speaking with
a farmer for about five minutes who told me, are you a Democrat?
I said, yes, I am.
I'm a proud Democrat.
He said, well, I haven't voted for a Democrat since Jimmy Carter.
I don't know if I'm going to vote for you, but we ended up talking for another four minutes
about his dairy herd, about his knee replacements, and about what life is like managing a small
farm.
And it's exactly the commitment that I want to bring to everybody in the seven congressional
district and representation that works for everybody.
Our next question goes to Mr. Armstrong first.
Health care remains one of the biggest issues facing.
I asked for a rebuttal.
Yeah, I'm going to be issuing the rebuttals, not you.
Oh, I'm sorry.
Next question goes to Mr. Armstrong first.
Health care remains one of the biggest issues facing Americans, and in rural areas like
the seventh, it can verge uninaccessible.
Within the Democratic Party, there's disagreement about the best path forward.
Some support Medicare for all.
Others want to build on the Affordable Care Act.
If elected to Congress, what approach would you support Mr. Armstrong first?
Sure.
Well, I think the Affordable Care Act and Patient Protection Act, which of course got
rid of the prerequisites and preconditions, I think is a bridge to a different program.
I don't admit to be a health care policy expert, but Medicare for all sure seems to be something
that is viable.
If we look at the other side, it appears as if health care is something that they believe
you have to work for in order to get.
And I think that's completely backwards.
You have to be physically and mentally healthy to be able to work.
And we're the richest country in the world and the history of this planet, and there's
just no excuse that we can't deliver high quality health care for everybody in this
district.
We're, again, it's very challenging given the low population density.
We shouldn't have to be able to drive an hour or two to get the health care we need,
be able to have birthing centers.
We need to be able to attract physicians and providers here.
So there's a lot of work to do, but we know with the innovation and know-how and the right
kind of support, I'm sure that we can deliver that for the seventh district.
Mr. Clark, your health care solution.
Well, right now in northern Wisconsin, we are facing a health care crisis.
And let's be clear.
Their health care system didn't work perfectly by a long shot before 2025.
But what this administration and this Congress has done by limiting the Affordable Care
Act tax credits and by cutting almost a trillion dollars out of our national Medicaid program,
which will take effect at the end of this year, they have precipitated a crisis that
is going to affect every one of us.
Now, there are rural clinics and rural hospitals in northern Wisconsin that depend on more
than 50 to 60 percent of their revenue from Medicaid, which in Wisconsin is our Badger
Care program.
Those clinics are going to lose millions of dollars of revenue.
Thousands of Wisconsinites are going to lose coverage.
It's going to affect their health and their welfare.
But those clinics, those hospitals, more than we'll close, more providers will leave our
area in what's already a very thinly stretched rural health care system.
And that will affect every single one of us in northern Wisconsin, regardless of where
we get our coverage, because we'll lose access to care that we need.
The first thing Congress needs to do is restore those cuts and restore the funding for Medicaid.
And then we need to look forward to how we find health care that works for everybody.
I support strengthening Medicare.
I support lowering Medicare enrollment age.
And I support creating a public option that will make affordable health care run by the
Medicare program available to everyone at any age for a fair price.
Mrs. Murray, same question to you.
Yes, thank you.
That's an excellent question.
I know health care is on the mind of everyone I've talked to in the district.
I've noticed at different places where the leave questionnaires or surveys consistently
health care concerns are number one for the constituents of the CD district number seven.
Medicare for all, Affordable Care Act, public option, those are all improvements from where
we sit today.
This administration has taken us backwards as it relates to health care for all.
I am for universal health care.
I do not over, I don't over estimate my impact or influence.
I will be one of 435 people who will be voting on this issue in the House of Representatives.
I come at it from a different perspective.
As an attorney who settles 90% of my cases, I look at what the problem is.
I figure out what answer is it that we need.
And the work is how do we get there?
And so I will work with the other members in the House of Representatives, whether it's
Medicare for all, whether it's improvements on the Affordable Care Act or public option.
As long as we're making progress, I'm in favor of it.
As long as we get results, not empty promises to our people, they need real results and
they need them really quick.
And I can't imagine any elected official actually being able to say that their constituents
don't need help in this area.
So I hope that we will be able to get it done immediately.
Let's move on to some individualized questions.
We'll start with Mr. Clark.
Mr. Clark, you're portraying yourself as a middle of the road candidate.
It's a similar playbook to your successful runs for assembly, but let's go back to Act
10 in 2011.
You attempted to unseat a state senator in a highly charged recall election.
Are you really as bipartisan and independently minded as you say you are?
That's a great question.
I appreciate that.
I served from 2009 to 2014 in the state assembly.
My own state senator, Luther Olson, was somebody who I worked, who was a Republican.
Who I've worked with closely on many issues, and we had a strong working relationship.
Unfortunately, during Scott Walker's first term in office, his signature piece of legislation, Act 10,
basically stripped away the rights for public employee unions throughout the state.
And that unfortunately divided Wisconsin in a way that we haven't seen probably since the Civil War.
I made a decision then to run against Senator Olson in one of the recall elections.
And I'll tell you that there was one of the most intense campaigns I've ever experienced.
And unfortunately, it was something that Wisconsin became divided over so unnecessarily.
But you mentioned me as a middle of the road candidate, I'll recharacterize that.
I'm willing to work with anybody who's willing to work with me to help get things done for the people that I represent.
But I'm not going to sacrifice my values as a candidate committed to fairness and
equity and having government work in a way that benefits all of us.
And what happened here in Act 10 unfortunately divided this state, we need unity more than ever.
I won't sacrifice my values in order to get that.
I'm going to follow up with you Mr. Clark in 2011 in that recall election.
You called a female voter and she hung up on you.
You said quote, I feel like calling her back and smacking her around end quote.
And this was caught on her voicemail.
Can you address this exchange?
I sure will and I have addressed it and I'll address that any time.
It was a very unfortunate conversation with at a point where I thought the phone had hung up and
the woman had said something to me that offended to me.
She was completely with and her rights to say that.
And I made a statement that was completely indefensible when I thought I was in private.
When I learned that she had heard that, I called her immediately and I apologized.
And I sent her a letter of apology which she accepted.
But something more important is that I learned from that, is that our words matter.
And who we're speaking about and how we speak about others matters.
And it matters whether you're alone or whether you're talking to someone or about someone.
And I took some important lessons from that experience that have really served me well in the 15 years since then.
Thank you, Mr. Clark.
Now to Mrs. Murray, you said in an interview with Up North News that quote,
I could not for one second think of anything that President Trump has done that I would aspire to do.
End quote, do you stand by what you said and you'll probably need some Trump voters to vote for you to win a selection?
Is that the right message?
Thank you.
I also had an interview with Dale Reiman where he asked me what is it that President Trump has done that you appreciate.
And the clarification that I was able to bring during that interview is that we have some of the same thoughts.
It's his execution that I don't agree with.
For example, there can be a reason to have tariffs when you're trying to make our domestic manufacturers more competitive.
However, the way that he did it and the way that it's like a mystery to folks, what the tariff is going to be this day versus that day.
I just don't believe in the way that he's executing the plans that he wanted.
I believe in America first, I don't believe in the way he's doing it.
It's unconstitutional to start a war unless we're under attack or there's an imminent threat.
And yet, he took us to war without getting the permission of Congress, which is required by Article 1.
I don't appreciate that he has given agents the right to violate due process and
use lethal force to kill agents who are costing and
murdering citizens who are out there using their first amendment right for freedom of speech and assembly.
They are engaging in a violation of Fourth Amendment freedom from unreasonable search and seizures, and he's doing nothing about it.
And we just had two more people killed in the last 48 hours.
The president is supposed to lead from the top and show us how to do things right by example.
He is unleashing chaos into our communities, and that needs to end.
So there's still nothing that you would agree with that the president has done, according to your statement.
Is there nothing that he's done?
There is not very much that I appreciate that he has done.
When I think about President Trump, he got elected.
So I give him credit for getting people to the polls that had never been to the polls before.
And I will take that as a lesson.
He reached out to folks who had given up or never cared about government, and he figured out how to get them to the polls.
He has learned how to do his messaging so people pay attention.
I will give him credit for that, and I am trying to learn to be more concise than my words.
Thank you, Mr. Murray.
Now to Mr. Armstrong, you've never run for office before.
That could be an asset, but it can also be a liability, as we saw in Maine just recently, it can completely derail an election.
So Mr. Armstrong, are there any skeletons in your closet that you'd like to get off your chest?
No, I don't think that what happened in Maine, I think, didn't have anything to do with Mr. Plattner's lack of experience that had to do with judgment, apparently, and in the past.
So if you look at the U.S. Constitution qualifications for holding the seat in the U.S. representatives, it's pretty simple.
It's got to be 25 years old, doesn't say anything about having to have held political office before.
And in fact, as everyone knows, the policy turns over in its entirety every two years.
So that tells me that the founders expected that the entire representative of the states might turn over 100%.
So, you know, I think what people are looking for is a fresh perspective.
They're looking for bold, fearless, relentless leaders that are willing to go to the mat for the people.
And that's what I'm going to do for the people in the seventh district.
Your two fellow candidates on the stage have held elected office.
They arguably would know more about how government works, or people, should they be worried that you might not know how to get things done in Washington, D.C.?
I don't think so.
My job as an enterprise architect and a systems engineer, and a big part of that is something called governance.
And the whole idea is that we want to be able to provide facts and information to make things fair, transparent, accountable.
And so I've got a lot of experience in the consulting work that I've done for state and federal government agencies and large organizations about what it means to try to govern your business strategy and
your IT portfolio.
Okay, back to our normal, least scheduled questions.
Our next question goes to Mr. Clark first.
If Democrats win the House, there is a decent chance some members will again pursue articles of impeachment against Donald Trump.
Would you support this, Mr. Clark?
So, right now, what we see from Washington is what any of us can read in the newspapers.
And the outright and overt violations of the law, including the Emoluments Clause of the Constitution,
including any number of corrupt actions that are clearly illegal on their face,
is something that we can all read about and members of this administration have actually been open about that they're doing.
But the role of impeachment in our Congress is a critical role that needs to be approached solemnly.
I believe the first step is investigations, and I think the House of Representatives is the body that needs to begin those investigations to determine and document violations of the law.
And from there, the House would make a decision about whether to file articles of impeachment and pursue an impeachment investigation and bring that to the Senate.
So, I can't tell you how I would vote on that, but what I can tell you is that the investigations need to begin,
and we have all the evidence that we need for violations of the law and corrupt activities that Americans of all political persuasions are seen and they're appalled by.
And our Congress needs to be the first body of the federal government that reverses that and holds the people that have done that to account.
And I will be part of that process.
Now, to Mrs. Murray, would you support articles of impeachment?
Thank you for that question.
We get asked that all the time at our town hall meetings and at our forums.
We have already impeached this president twice.
If the fellow members, the other 434 members of the House of Representatives, if there is a majority that thinks that that's what we need to do to do what's right for the folks who come out on government to take action and hold someone accountable, I would absolutely support it.
What I also want to say is there are other moves that are being made, some people play chess, some people play checkers.
There are other folks that I watch specifically, Congresswoman Melanie Stansbury.
I know that there are other things that they are looking at.
They've called the question as to whether or not we should have the other group that's available under the amendment 25 that allows for impeachment there.
I think back to the days of Nixon.
There was a special investigation that was required then.
Dick Cates was the attorney who was a special investigator and Hillary Rodham was his assistant.
I worked for lawton and Cates for some time.
I am aware of the work that Dick Cates did for our country at that time.
I agree with my colleague, Fred Clark, that an investigation is necessary.
I also think it won't take very long considering all the information that we already have.
I also think the fastest way to remove the current administration is to get to the bottom of the Epstein files.
The women, we'll talk about that more later.
That is fine. Mr. Armstrong, same question.
The answer is absolutely.
I mean, it is actually the primary foundation of my campaign, which is we need to hold this administration accountable.
It breaks the law and does not follow the Constitution every single day.
The fact is that Trump admits it publicly.
He is certainly the most transparent corrupt criminal politician we have ever seen.
There is a preponderance of evidence.
However, I'll defer to Ginger and her expertise in trials on the proper procedures.
The first thing I'm going to do when I get seated in the next Congress is work with my fellow members,
both Democrats and Republicans to introduce articles of impeachment.
Because the thing I think viewers want to understand is today is the worst day of the Trump administration until tomorrow.
So this administration knows no depth of the cruelty and criminality.
What's the point of passing any new legislation when they currently don't obey any of the laws that we already have?
So it's not easy. It's not simple.
But it's something we have to do.
I will take an oath to protect and defend the Constitution.
And it is the constitutional remedy for taking care of a president who abuses his power.
We will start with Mrs. Murray for this next question.
Across northern Wisconsin, employers say one of their biggest challenges isn't finding jobs.
It's finding housing for workers in communities across this district.
Teachers, nurses, police officers and young families are struggling to find homes they can't afford.
What role should the federal government play in addressing this housing shortage?
Mrs. Murray?
Yes, thank you.
Affordable housing most definitely is an issue, especially in the Northwoods.
I see that in line with many other things that we also have affordability issues with.
We've talked about health care and talking with farmers and loggers.
They're also worried about how to bring in that next generation or have a successor plan in place.
I think that the federal government needs to find funds that are available
without going into further debt. So we need to have funding that's available
to assist with people who are interested in buying a home,
somewhat like the student loans that I had, where you can have interest free
or very low interest at the beginning, and then you can have graduated payments.
When folks are just starting a new job and relocating,
it is a very expensive time in their life. It's an uncertain time that you have to move,
that costs money, you're starting at a job, you might be there as a probationary employee.
And so I think just how we treat student loans, we should have that available for people starting
jobs instead of going to school, that we should have financing available where the government
will get paid back, but that we help folks who are trying to prosper and grow our rural communities
by having subsidized or assistance in financing through the federal government.
That would apply towards farmers and foresters, as well as people trying to buy that first-time
house. We know statistics say right now, you're almost 40 years old before you're buying a house,
that needs to change. Now to Mr. Armstrong, same question, what should the federal government do
about the housing shortage? Well, of course, you know, this is a challenge that, you know,
transcends multiple jurisdictions. So there's certainly state and local, you know, permitting
issues about being able to build multi-dwelling small houses, you know, a lot of people
in the Northwood, you know, use mobile homes or prefab homes that are subjected to, you know,
some unnecessary restrictions. I know that, you know, my wife, you know, she was the beneficiary
of, you know, having a very low down payment, you know, due to a program from President Obama,
I think programs like that are pretty essential. But, you know, we also have to deal with the fact that,
you know, everything is more expensive right now, you know. So the cost of building a house
because of the insane terrace, you know, the, you know, who are the people that are going to build
this? The cost of electricity, you know, to operate it. So there's, you know, a lot of different
dimensions. But I think, you know, the, you know, the federal government definitely has a role in
trying to give people, you know, a leg up and trying to pursue, you know, the American dream
of home ownership. And I think there's a lot that we could do in Congress.
Now to Mr. Clark, same question.
Well, this is one of those problems that's, it's multifaceted and it's going to require
both the federal government, along with state governments, local governments, and community
leaders to address. There's not a single solution. It's one of those silver buckshot problems.
I will tell you that one of the things I agree with our President about is that he allowed to
pass into law a bipartisan housing bill that was one of the first significant legislative
achievements around housing in at least 20 years. So credit where credit is due. But we need to
look at the cost of housing for homeowners. And the 7% mortgage, that's almost impossible for
many people to leave the home that they're in and move to another one, even if they want to move
to a smaller home. But for many homeowners today, property taxes is another burden on
affordability and the ability to stay in their homes. But the cost of building a house is
exorbitant right now and it's so much higher than it was even 20 years ago. We need a workforce
that can help build those houses. Chris mentioned it. We need to invest and allow create rules that
allow efficiently, efficiently built manufactured housing to lower the cost of getting into a house.
We've got to provide incentives for developers to provide housing that's affordable for working
people. And then we've got to put the limits on commercial investors who want to buy up
hundreds of single family homes and turn them into rental units. And those homes are no longer
available for people to own that home and start building their equity, which is what the American
dream used to be. We'll go to Mr. Armstrong first on this one. It's a very straightforward question.
What's one promise you're making tonight that voters can hold you accountable for if you're
elected, Mr. Armstrong? Well, I'll be real. I'll tell you the truth.
I will work tirelessly for you. You know, the representatives that we've had here for 16 years.
I looked at, you know, you know, are we more prosperous? Is there more opportunity? Do we have
better jobs? You know, is health care cheaper? Are you healthier? Is the air cleaner? Is the
water cleaner? You know, having grown up here and had the, you know, the wonderful experience of
knowing what it's like to, you know, be a part of this part of the country. You know, I'm committed,
you know, because of, you know, me and my family growing up here and, you know, my daughter and
my grandson growing up here, you know, that I'm committed, you know, to making this the best
possible place in the United States to live because it is, you know, a unique place amongst all across
the world. Mr. Clark, one promise you can make to voters? Well, the promise I can make to voters is
that I will be in every county in this district every year in order to do the job that voters
should expect and demand from their representative in Congress. And then we'll start by showing up
and listening and engaging voters and citizens with respect that they deserve and a willingness
to find solutions that get outside our normal political boundaries. One of the issues that
will be a signature issue for me is how we revitalize our northern Wisconsin economy. And for so many
years, the North Woods has been really held up and our prosperity has been so dependent on our
forest resource and our recreation economy. And right now we're suffering and so many
northern Wisconsin communities are suffering. The federal government has a role to play to help
restore a prosperous forest-based economy that will drive jobs and will drive the right kind of
development in order to create the opportunity for the children of people who live in northern
Wisconsin to stay in these communities and contribute to the prosperity and the vitality that so many
people have enjoyed here for so many generations. Mrs. Murray, a promise you can make to voters.
Thank you. My promise is to not stand on promises or platforms but to focus on results. I think that
this district, number one, has felt ignored for far too long. And when folks aren't coming in
to gather information and to learn about what's needed, you cannot get the job done for folks.
So I am results oriented and to be able to get those results, number one, I have to be accountable
to folks and show up. Once in each county per year is a minimum, my goal is to work on having an
app that's available so every time there's a vote going up, folks can chime in and tell me what
their thoughts are about the votes that I'll be taking. Number two, to be accountable to what I
stand for, which is following the law and holding other people accountable when they're not following
the law. And number three, to hold me accountable for getting results so that we have progress in
the Northwoods on the affordability of housing, on quality health care that's available to all
people in the northern district so that you don't have to cross county lines to get to an OBGYN,
that you don't have to go to two different doctors in order to have appointments for the next appointment.
So results oriented, holding me accountable to everything that I say tonight, to everything that
I've said to anyone during this campaign, results oriented, hold me accountable.
Our next question, we'll go to Mr. Clark next. Just in the past 24 hours, tensions with Iran
have escalated again with the US carrying out additional military strikes. If these tensions
continue, Congress may be asked to authorize military action, approve additional funding,
or weigh in on the president's war powers. So if elected, what role should the United States
play in confronting Iran? Mr. Clark? Well, we are in a very difficult situation in Iran right now,
and there is a reason that US presidents, Republican and Democrat, going back to Jimmy Carter,
have realized that attacking Iran would be a mistake that would bring risks,
that would threaten both the US and the global economy. This administration, unfortunately,
never learned that lesson, and took us to war with no oversight and no consultation with the US
Congress, with a lack of planning that has resulted in what right now we can only characterize as a
quagmire. And the president sending his son-in-law and his buddy over to negotiate with the Iranians
who are hard-nosed, smart people, was almost guaranteed to result in a deal that fell apart
and put the United States in one of the weakest positions we've been in global affairs in many,
many years. Congress needs to first reassume the authority over war powers, and this administration
needs to be talking to Congress right now for any new authority for hostilities against Iran.
And we need to figure out a way to bring stability to this region, including stability to our oil
markets, because every single American right now is paying more because of what this war has caused,
and this president seems to be uninterested in figuring out how to solve it.
Mrs. Murray, same question.
Thank you. Talking about the war is just difficult from the get-go, you know, so I have seen my dad
with his friends who were in Vietnam and what happened to them from what they saw when they were
there. I have friends and cousins who were in Iraq when I was off in college, and to imagine us
increasing it, you have to realize we're going to be looking at boots on the ground.
This was an unconstitutional war to begin with. Our president failed to do what he was supposed
to do. I'm opposed to this war. Not only is it a bad choice and it's unconstitutional,
we don't have what a country should have if you're going to declare a war. We don't have our allies.
This administration has burned so many bridges with the people that we have always been able to
count on as our allies. We need to be rebuilding relationships, not bombing schools full of children,
not bombing colleges full of researchers. I can remember with the next morning we were told that
this is about a change of regime. Then the next day the message was we just have to make sure that
they don't have a nuclear weapon. We have weapons that have laser precision and yet we're responsible
for the death of 150 children in a school. This needs to come to an end. I would vote against
giving more money for this war. Finally, Mr. Armstrong.
This puts the Congress and the American people in a pretty tough position. You've got to hand
it to President Trump. Most presidents, a lot of presidents are engaged by affordability and the
price of gas. To be quite honest, the policies of any administration in Congress really don't
have a lot to do with that. It's just remarkable that President Trump did the one thing that was
going to guarantee to increase gas prices, fertilizer and chemical prices. It's just astounding how
stupid and imbecile this move has been. One of the big problems is not only did he not consult
Congress, which as Ginger and Fred said, was a constitutional responsibility because again,
this was not an imminent attack. This was not a provocation. This was totally a
war of choice. We did it alone. Trump gets pissed off because he wants to cut off trade to Spain
because they didn't allow airplanes to refuel at their air bases. I don't blame him. We didn't
talk to Spain. We didn't talk to anybody in NATO about what was going on. How are we going to get
out of this? I'm not really sure. I don't know. It's going to be really tough for America to
save face in this incredible debacle. But I'm sure there's something we can do about it.
It's time for us to take a short break. We'll be back in about eight minutes. During our break,
our chief meteorologist, Jeff Weller, will have a forecast for you. We will return with more
questions with the candidates shortly.
You have everything it takes. I've always wanted to do this.
AGT, tonight on NBC and Peacock.
Watch it now. Oh, my God.
Tonight, it's the real housewives of Password, the NALI reunion.
Password, tonight on NBC and Peacock.
What if there was a place where every kid got a chance to be great?
There is a place, and there's no other place like it. It's my school, Milton Hershey School.
Our founders were Milton Hershey, the famous chocolate maker, and his wife,
Catherine. They wanted to help children who didn't have much to create a place that was safe.
The Hershey's believe learnings didn't have a price, so we don't pay anything to go to school
here. Everything reading is taken care of, even a place to live with other students
our age, with caring houseparents to watch over us.
In our homes, we learn to accept and appreciate one another, because the things that make us
different bring us together. Our classrooms, they have no walls. We learn by doing through
programs that give us an early start on college and our careers.
You seem more than a school. We're a community. We change lives. I know, because this place changed
mine. Milton Hershey once said that if he could provide for a hundred kids, it would be worth it.
But look at us now, more than a century of memories. And there's still more good to do,
because here we have the chance to be great, and you, you can be next.
All right, we're in. Can you find a cloud mode across the area today? Plenty of sunshine,
high temperatures back in the 90s. Tomorrow, those more clouds across the region and
slightly cooler tomorrow. The average high 80, the average low 55, will have lows tonight down
near 70 at their high state and mid 90s across the area that record high 102 back in 1936.
The sun sets now at 845 these days. Okay, going forward though, so slightly cooler tomorrow,
the high of 92, 89 for us on Thursday, 85 for Friday. But look, there's some 70s back in the 70s
forecast, but they are, of course, a week away. All right, not just heat, also incredibly humid
outside due points upper 60s, low 70s. It's like Key West tropical out there. We have the heat,
the humidity. Also, there's not a big breeze in the area at all the coolest down.
Likely going calm again tonight. So as temperatures meet the two points tonight,
we'll likely get some dense fog once again. If you're out driving, you know, three, four,
five, six a.m. Likely that dense fog in the area before sunrise tomorrow morning. Okay,
we're going forward though. So outside now, lots of clear skies for us. But looking to the west,
this ridge, this big heat dome ridge is eventually going to break down beginning as soon as late
tomorrow, but more so throughout the day on Thursday into Friday. And finally, some rainfall is back
in the forecast for us, especially on Friday. So tomorrow, increasing clouds throughout the day,
tomorrow evening, some showers north of our area. And then really, by Thursday, it begins to kind
of sag down our direction. And there is definitely some good rain in the forecast for us on Friday.
Our forecast going forward. They'll look at this, right? Cooler temperatures are on the way. Just
hold the hand. A slight chance for rain showers on Thursday. A pretty good chance for storms on
Friday into Saturday morning. Then Sunday looks great. Probably cloudy skies and high temperatures
back in the mid eighties.
I believe you have everything it takes. I've always wanted to do this.
Tonight on NBC and Peacock.
Watching now. Oh my god.
Tonight, it's the Real Housewives of Password. The Nally reunion.
We're ready to make it nice. Password tonight on NBC and Peacock.
I'm Ginger Murray. Born and raised in Wisconsin, I grew up here in the Northwoods. I've spent my
entire career advocating for children and families. Like many of you, I am fed up with the federal
government cutting taxes for billionaires while cutting services for the people who needed in
the Northwoods. I'm a straight shooter. It's past time to blast tax breaks for billionaires.
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Primary debate. Our first question will go to Mrs. Murray. The Trump administration has called for
increasing timber production on federal lands. While many in the industry argue that the bigger
problem isn't the timber supply, it's the loss of paper and pulp mills like the ones in Wisconsin
Rapids and Park Falls that process it. Which should Congress focus on increasing logging on public
lands investing in new wood processing facilities or something else? Mrs. Murray.
Thank you, Dan. That is something that has been on my radar for a very long time. Having grown up
in Forest County, I have many cousins that rely on timber harvest as their means of supporting
their families. Those cousins who used to like have fun with me and let me hang out as one of the
guys in the group. When I was at a fundraiser for the shooting range kids at the school,
my cousin said to me, gender, we're facing bankruptcy in about three years. And I said,
are you kidding me? Like your family has always done so well in the forestry business. And he
said, no, the mills are shutting down. We don't have a place to take our wood. And that not only
affects the folks who are in the woods cutting it, but also then my other cousin who drives truck
to haul the wood out of the forest are in trouble. So I have been trying to figure out what can
Congress do to help the folks that I call family in Forest County and across the district. So we
have the cross laminated timber, which is now a product that can be used and substitute for the
steel beams. I know they're looking for ways to use the biomass pulp for like fuel. They were
looking at, you know, creating plain fuel from from the remnants. It is about finding places that
will use it. And we talked today about perhaps data centers could be using biomass fuel from the
timber industry for their energy. Mr Armstrong, same question.
I'd say, well, you know, generally speaking, you know, when when I'm seated in Congress,
I will certainly defer to Fred and be given a recall on forestry policies, since that is his
expertise. So, you know, you know, learning lessons from the past, you know, there's virtually no,
you know, old growth forest left in Wisconsin. So I do not believe that doing more timber in our
national forest is the right answer. You're doing that, you know, responsibly as it relates to
the environment is absolutely essential. I think the repealing of the roadless rule
is going to cause, you know, widespread devastation to our ecosystem. That being said, you know,
ginger also brought up some good points. You know, I think, you know, I really don't know
why the wood pulp processing plants are closing. I guess it has something to do with economics and
supply chains. But, you know, if there's opportunities to diversify that industry, I think we should
explore them. And like Ginger said, there is some investment going on in the Hayward area around
using the remnants, the sawdust and scraps for sustainable aviation fuel. That's, I think,
a real big opportunity because most of the world's airlines have committed to transitioning
to that by, I think, 20, 40 or so, as well as, again, you know, laminated wood products. So,
you know, timber is still going to be a part of Wisconsin's history. Just we got to figure out
how to make it economically viable and sustainable. Now's a Mr. Clark's same question.
Yeah, I've spent most of my career thinking about forests, managing forests, and try to make an
entire forest sector work. And right now, we don't have a supply problem. We already grow a
tremendous amount of timber in this state. We have a demand problem. And then the president's
executive order to increase timber supply will do nothing to help the forest sector that
makes up about 15% of the gross domestic product of northern Wisconsin. This is the single biggest
economic sector that we have. And it's declining, as Ginger and Chris both pointed out, the pulp
and paper sector, which Wisconsin is the number one in, has been declining year after year for
the last 20 years. And with those mills goes jobs. And with those mills goes the ability to manage
forests by the states, the counties, and the Schromiga-Nicole National Forest, which is actually
one of the most productive timber forests in the country. So what's the solution? Well,
we need to invest in new product development. Something has got to replace pulp and paper.
Biofuels is one excellent example. There's concerns about what biofuels would mean.
I organized a meeting last month between members of the LeCudire tribe and Hayward,
and folks seeking to develop a biofuel plant in Hayward to help bridge understanding and bring
people together to better understand what that opportunity means and how we could secure that
investment without threatening the sustainability of the resource. That's really what it's all about,
but I want to bring that experience to Congress and I want to bring that experience to northern
Wisconsin. Mr. Clark, we're going to go right back to you for this question. Snowmobile season has
become shorter and less reliable in northern Wisconsin, creating challenges for businesses
that depend on winter tourism. What should Congress do if anything to address climate change
and protects communities whose economies rely on winter recreation while keeping in mind energy
prices have never been higher? Mr. Clark. That's a great question. In the last year and a half
climate change has sort of gone away from the conversation, but we're talking about it and
thinking about it in lots of different ways. And for people selling snowmobiles or writing
snowmobiles that shorter winter season, it's something that affects everybody and people are
talking about and everybody can remember one or two seasons back when we had a winter with almost
no snow. Likewise, in the logging industry, that shorter winter season means loggers can operate
for a shorter period a year in the winter. That makes them less efficient, makes it much more
difficult for them to be profitable. If you're farming, if you're growing apples, if you're a
community that's been subjected to flash flooding or subjected to high extreme heat like we're
experiencing right now, climate change is touching our communities. It's touching our land and
water. It's touching our people in so many different ways. We can't ignore this problem.
The photo government needs to move back to a commitment to reduce greenhouse gases and then
we need to make the investments to help our communities be ready for the changing effects of
the climate. That includes watershed management, includes better farming, and includes climate
oriented forest management, and it includes helping our recreational industries like
snowmobiling and skiing prepare for seasons that are going to be very different than what we've
all grown up with and been used to. I've spent a lot of my career working on climate change and I
want to become part of that effort. And Mrs. Murray, same question. What should the federal government
do about climate change, if anything? I think you, Dan. So something that a lot of folks know about
me while I was in law school, I studied environmental law. In fact, I was the president of the
Environmental Law Club for two years and I received a scholarship to go to the A-L-I-A-B-I
conference in Washington, D.C., my third year in law school. First of all, let's just use the
laws that have been on the books for a long time. Clean Air Act, the Clean Water Act, and allow the
EPA, the Environmental Protection Agency, to do the work they were intended to do. What's happened
is those laws have been stripped back so that folks don't have the enforcement rights that we
used to have. And I know that that causes some manufacturers to be worried. Today I was talking
to the big truck guys who sell semis and we talked about their concern about emission control.
But when you look at these new rigs, they're already so far advanced from what the old diesel
trucks used to have that I think that there's a way to bring folks together so we don't have to
negatively impact folks who are in those businesses in order to be able to take care of our environment.
Also, we need to turn away from fossil fuels and being so dependent on them and turn towards
nature. Solar, wind, hydro energy is the wave of the future. And we can do that without
negatively impacting our farmers. We don't need to be putting those things in places where there's
nutrient-rich soil. It requires collaboration across industries to be able to take care of our
climate while still allowing for people who need resources for their economy to still stay in
business. Any question to you, Mr Armstrong? Sure. Well, I don't know about you guys,
you know, having grown up here, but I swear when I was a kid, you know, the snow is like this high
or here, this high. And now of course that might have been, I was that tall too. But you know,
winters seem to start like the end of October and in November, you go deer hunting, you could track
your deer, you could go start ice fishing. But you know, we've seen with our own eyes, you know,
the ice is coming in later. It's going out earlier. It's not snowing as much. We're lucky if we have
that snow cover, you know, for Christmas or New Year's. And you know, to all the people out there
that might be, you know, denying climate change, you know, I have, you know, background in science
and engineering. And I believe in these things called facts. And you know, there, you know,
if we think about gravity, for example, you know, gravity does not care if you don't believe it.
If you jump off of a 10 story building, you will fall to the earth and hurdle to your death. So,
you know, this is a real thing. There are no quick solutions. And this is one of the things that is
really, really challenging to be able to have the commitment to get over this on, you know,
two year congressional election cycles, four year presidential election cycles. But you know,
for God's sakes, if we can put, you know, a man on the moon, if we can build, you know, an atomic
bomb, we certainly can harness the innovation and hard work of the American people to solve this
problem. But it requires some, you know, serious investment in renewable energy and joining the
world in trying to turn this around. Mrs. Murray, this question will go to you first. President Trump
has called for the largest deportation operation in US history. Supporters say it's to protect the
rule of law and save Americans jobs. But Wisconsin agriculture, tourism and manufacturing all rely
on immigrant labor to varying degrees. How should Congress balance stronger immigration
enforcement with the workforce needs in Wisconsin? Mrs. Murray. Yes, thank you, Dan. So again,
it's give and take and taking a look at the big picture. So what we need to look at is reform
on both ends of the spectrum. Number one, we need to, as I already mentioned, talk about our
enforcement agency following the rules when they're trying to protect our borders. But the other
side of it is we need to figure out a process by which people can actually in a reasonable time
frame gain the how their paperwork process so that they can be legally here. I definitely on the
West side of the state more noticeably is suffering from the lack of labor. And they are talking
specifically about not being able to keep the immigrants who are here with the proper paperwork
here. And if they go home, they can't come back. There is a way for us to allow folks to come to
this country. That is what this country is built on. We are all immigrants. We all came from
somewhere else unless you're one of our indigenous friends. So we need to continue to be a welcoming
community. However, we need to enforce laws where someone is here illegally or they have
engaged in crimes while they're here. But most notably, when folks talk about it as the folks
who help their business, then they want their immigrants to stay here. We just need a better
process. And Palmyra, I hope I said that right, has done an amazing job in leading that discussion
and I'll follow her lead for that reform. Same question out of Mr. Armstrong.
Yeah. So the question is about the president's deportation efforts. Do you support his immigration
agenda or what would you tweak with it? Absolutely not. I mean, it is just inhumane
cruel and fundamentally anti-American. I mean, as Ginger said, in the United States, we are a
nation of immigrants and not only do many parts of the seventh district economy depend on
immigrant workforce, immigrants are actually the greatest source of entrepreneurs and starters
of new business of any population. So it's a big part of the life blood of our economy.
Undocumented immigrants, they pay taxes even though they're never ever going to see any
payback from that as it relates to what is given to citizens. So immigration is essential.
What happened back in January in Minneapolis, which has happened a couple of days ago in
Texas and Maine is atrocious. These people must be held accountable and it reminds me of a
unsolicited email I got from a gentleman in Eagle River who said, you know, what do you think
of President Trump's leadership and what ICE and CBP are doing? And this was back in January.
And I said, well, not a big fan of Trump's leadership. And when ICE and CBP are regularly
violating people's first, second, fourth, fifth, eighth, 10th, and 14th amendment rights,
these people need to be held accountable for their crimes against the American people.
And he said, you know, I voted for Trump and I'm voting for you because I need someone who's
going to stand up for the rule of law and the Constitution.
Same question to Mr. Clark.
Yeah, there's Chris and Ginger pointed out we're a nation of immigrants and the vast majority
of immigrants in America are people who are trying to provide for their families to create a better
life and are hardworking and who contribute to our economy. And there's no question that
we need a secure border and there's no question that we need immigration enforcement that identifies
immigrants who break the law and when appropriate departs them.
But what this administration has done is to create a reign of terror in American communities
that's not making us safer, but has led millions of law-abiding people to hide in their homes
because of fear of the federal government. And when can you name the last time the federal
government was not a source of stability and peace, but was a source of chaos and terror in our
communities. It's not only immoral, but it's unconstitutional as my two colleagues have pointed
out. But if we're talking, we talked about housing, we talked about our economy, we talked about
healthcare. Well, everyone in those sectors is dependent on immigrants who help provide the
services that we all need. So this administration is successful in departing millions of people
who are working in this country and would like to do so legally. We are all going to suffer
from the economic loss and all the other things that will come with that.
This Congress needs to start with visa reform. There would be the single simplest, most impactful
solution that we could be good with to allow law-abiding people to work in this country
legally and fill American jobs that employers need. This question will go to Mr. Armstrong first.
Democratic socialism has become a larger part of the national political conversation
with several of their candidates winning high-profile primaries this year. Francesca Hong,
a Democratic socialist, is a front-runner in winning the party's nomination to be governor.
Is this a positive or negative direction for the party, Mr. Armstrong?
Well, I think parties need to lead people to where this country needs to go. I'm a big fan of
Fran. I'm certainly very supportive of all of our other gubernatorial candidates.
I just don't really think it makes a lot of sense to get caught up on all the trappings of
different labels. I mean, if we're talking about policies that are good for normal people,
the policies of many administrations, not just the Trump administration, have favored the well-connected,
the super-rich, and like I said at the very beginning, we need to be getting back to the
work of the people. I really don't care what label you put on it, as long as we're following the
state model of Wisconsin forward. Mr. Clark, Democratic socialism, what are your thoughts on it?
Yeah, I think it's an interesting label. I'd never even heard that label until a few months ago.
But if you want to pull apart what different candidates are talking about, on both sides of
the eye, it comes down to things we've already talked about today. How can we afford to live
in our communities? How can we find housing that's affordable and available? How do we find health
care that's affordable and available? How do we create an economy where everyone can prosper
and fulfill some kind of a dream for their lives and have a secure life? And there's a role for
government in helping make sure that those things can happen. And if you want to go back to look at
Republican presidents like Dwight Eisenhower, a lot of the things that his administration was
talking about are things that people on the other side of the aisle would call socialist or communist
today. So I don't think the labels are doing us any good. The conversations I want to have and
I am having are about how we help people afford to live and lead healthy, prosperous lives,
have roads at work, have education that works for us and for our kids and allows people to have
a dignified retirement. And there is a role for government there. And I want to make sure
government does the work to make that possible for all of us. And finally, same question to Mrs. Murray.
Thank you. So I've had the pleasure of being at many locations with Francesca as well as with
Sarah and other gubernatorial candidates. I think what Fran stands for and resonates with me
is this is no longer about left and right. I think Tom Tiffany is doing his best to label it in a way
to try and again do the divisive tactics that this administration has done. What I take away from
what she has to say is we are now about the haves and the have nots. During the break we got to see
my commercial where I said that's it. It's enough of giving tax breaks to billionaires while we take
away resources to the people who live here. Our government is set up to support billionaires.
Our government allows for money to come dark money coming into this community to support
folks who have never lived here before as their candidate. We need to take care of
number one cutting taxes for billionaires. Number two term limits. Number three citizens versus
United. First it was the Montana plan. They had to pause. Colorado moved forward but didn't get
it over the finish line. Hawaii actually got it done. Corporations are not people and money is
not speech. We need to stop with this ridiculous million dollar campaigns when we're talking to
people about affordable housing, health care and enough gas to get to work. That we need to
be real and stop talking about labels and talk about results.
Mr. Clark you're first on this one. Congress is expected to take up another farm bill. It touches
everything from crop insurance and conservation programs to nutrition assistance and broadband.
But many Wisconsin farmers say they're facing shrinking profit margins, rising input costs,
labor shortages and uncertainty over trade policy. If elected to Congress what is the single biggest
change you would fight for in the next farm bill to help Wisconsin farmers remain profitable.
Mr. Clark. The farm bill is something we're supposed to pass every five years and it's a
big comprehensive piece of legislation that really defines and drives a lot of American
agriculture and it needs reform. Unfortunately right now there are far too many farmers
here in the Midwest are growing in corn and beans because that's where the incentives are to
produce those crops but too many farmers are losing money on those crops every year because
of a pricing system that doesn't work and because we've allowed the agribus business corporations
to get so big and exercise so much control over our farm sector that it can be almost impossible
especially for small and medium sized farmers to survive. So what I want to see our next farm bill
do is number one restore funding for nutrition assistance programs that directly goes into the
mouths of children and families who need it the most. Number two to strengthen our enforcement
of antitrust laws and prevent the biggest corporations in agribusiness from preventing
farmers from actually getting a price for their product that allows them to stay in business.
And number three we need to basically diversify and help farmers diversify
by incentivizing things like value added, incentivizing other crops, incentivizing
grass based agriculture and tying together the environmental outcomes of farming with the
economic outcomes that would benefit all of us from healthier food and those things can work
together right now government is working across purposes we need to realign government programs
around agriculture. Mrs. Murray same question how can the federal government support farmers in
Wisconsin? Thank you and so I thought I heard the question originally was the single most
I appreciate Fred having many examples I'm teetering between single most or many but
I think the single thing to do is to take care of how can we help farmers financially I would
much prefer to invest in farmers than to have our funds to help when there's a cleanup or a problem
mother nature is going to do what mother nature does and we need to be there to help farmers if
their crops are taken out by a storm or a flood. As I was saying before I think just like students
can get financial aid from the federal government I think especially our newer farmers and our
newest generation farmers need that assistance to boost them while they're getting their feet
underneath them and getting the solid base that they need. Fred also talked about antitrust and
when what I learned is when there's a barrier to entry that's a problem and I think the government
needs to tackle that right now at the tech the farm tech where we were at earlier today
you can see how this equipment can really make a difference you don't need as much labor if you
can get the big tractors that can drive themselves but the smaller mom and pop farms or the new
person in the next generation can't afford them so we need to be able to support them on the front
end so that they can be competitive. If they're in that subsidized financing program I also
think that any federal facility that's buying product from farms should buy it from the farmers
that we're lending money to to help give them that boost. I have lots of ideas but that's the top.
None of us are strong same question what do you want to see in the next farm bill to help farmers?
Well I think you know unsurprising finds them similar to between our answers I think you know
reinvesting in food assistance you know SNAP benefits you know USAID was one of the you know most
valuable programs in getting us agricultural products across the world doing you know wonderful
humane work it's you know it's pretty darn tough to be a farmer from you know the friends that I
have that are farming you know the thing that's remarkable is that you know these are people that
love working the land working with their animals and their commitment to it is just astounding and I
just can't imagine what it's like to go into a growing season knowing that your you know equipment
prices your fertilizer input seed prices land prices are going up up up up and then the federal
government is deliberately putting its finger on the scale and you know really catastrophizing you
know the world markets what it must be like to go into that going am I going to be able to even
make money and then getting you know some payments from the federal government where a lot of those
you know payments go to you know the debts that they are servicing so it goes into you know all
of the suppliers so we need some you know a radical reform you know like Fred suggested diversification
I think is a big part of it but that's not easy because the USAID infrastructure is really
set up for corn and soybean so you know it's this is where the United States started from
you know hundreds of years ago and it's you know we still have the opportunity to be the
best producer of the best products in the world we will go to mrs. Murray first on this question
Wisconsin is competing for major data center projects that promise jobs and investment
but they also raised concerns about electricity demand water use and impacts on nearby communities
if elected what role should the federal government play in regulating these large data centers mrs.
Murray yes Dan and isn't that what everybody is asking us these days these data centers are still
a bit of a mystery and I think that we shouldn't be going into business when the business is a
bit of a mystery I'm not supporting a moratorium but I think from the federal level we need to go
back to the rules that we had with the Clean Air and Clean Water Act I think that there should
be independent studies done to talk about the environmental impact that would come from whatever
proposal is being presented to a community my concern is much like the mine when it was trying
to come to crayon and just as I came back from law school they entice leaders of small communities
with these big price tags on what they're willing to pay to put their facility on your land in
your community however you have to talk about what insurance is coming in what funds are coming
in to pre-fund whatever cleanup might be needed because of that kind of facility
now coming into your community also we need to talk about other ways to bring in energy could
they put solar panels on the top of their buildings could they be using the biomass fuel for
their energy source whatever they do I don't want them on nutrient-rich soil so it needs to be a
collaborative that we're looking at the environmental and economical impact of the
proposal that's being presented to a community from the federal level I think it's about the
big laws Clean Air Clean Water Act otherwise local communities need to do their local government
checks mr. Armstrong your thoughts on federal government regulating data centers well you know
I've got a unique perspective to offer having been in the IT industry for you know over 30 years
and I got to tell you I have seen you know the latest and greatest technology trends come and go
over and over and over again and the same thing's happening you know particularly with AI in my
opinion we're over promising over spending over investing in the end is there going to be some
you know benefit possibly but you know my my concern is when a new industry comes along
and as many of your viewers may have heard and you know a couple of hyperscale data
data centers by themselves are going to consume the amount of energy of all houses in Wisconsin
I think we need to stop and take a look around and say what the heck is going on because we're
talking about a dramatic transformation of the electrical grid electrical you know power generation
at the time when you know power and energy prices are sky rocketing so you know ginger
made you know a good suggestion that others have which is you know if you're going to build a
data center you know apart from having you know environmental impact community impact
require them to provide their own power through green energy but I think we want to keep in mind
that these are all investments that are being done locally for the benefit of making the tech
you know brawler garks even richer and I'm just not sure what the value is to our local communities
Mr. Clarkson question to you yeah so it used to be that when there was a bust in the tech sector
a bunch of people in silicon valley lost their jobs today with the build out of data centers
driving this AI revolution what we're seeing is some of the wealthiest corporations and the
wealthiest people in the world are basically in an arms race or a war to build out computing
capacity as fast as they can in as many communities as they can with the prospect of eventually
making a profit but we need to understand that none of this sector is profitable today
there's a huge bubble going on in the AI and tech sector today and that means that these
developments are at risk and we don't know the long-term viability of this entire sector we don't
know how many of these data centers are going to be sitting empty a year from now so there is an
important role for state and federal government here at the federal government level we need to
make sure that those companies are financially solvent and viable for the investments that they're
going to make so communities aren't on the hook we need to ensure that communities can ask for
and demand enough payments from these companies to benefit everybody in that community so that
that the community is not paying higher rates and not paying for the the disastrous effects of
some of these developments and we need to treat these developments like public utilities and
federal law needs to authorize that so that states public utility commissions can actually
regulate data centers we are nearing the end of the debate so i want to know about an issue we
haven't spoke about tonight so we'll go to mr armstrong first mr armstrong what have we not
talked about tonight that is important to you
well you've done a pretty good job uh pretty good job dan
um
kind of grasping for straws here um i think you know one of the things that makes the united states
you know one of the most unique nations in the world is you know we're not defined by nationality
we're not defined by ethnicity we're not defined by language we're not defined by
culture uh religion um the strength of the united states you know from it's uh a motto
e pluribus unum out of many one is really you know a unique perspective on how groups of people
from across the world can come together and build something you know fantastic and as we move into
you know uh the 250th year um and the anniversary of the united states what i'm asking is for
everybody you know we are different and that's okay and that's one of our strengths but we need to
come together around those things that uh that uh that uh are that we hold dear and that thing is
the u.s. constitution so i'm asking for everybody to you know renew our covenant with one another
as we seek to make this you know the greatest country on earth free to pursue happiness and
liberty in life thank you mr. Armstrong not a mr. Clark something we haven't spoke about this
evening that you'd like to touch on well i think citizens across northern Wisconsin are realizing
in the last year and a half how important the federal government actually is and we have an
administration right now in washington that's really good at breaking things and we have a
congress that has sat back and been silent after so many of those things have been broken and whether
it's the president tearing down the east wing of the white house it's still a pile of rubble right
now or whether it's the gutting of one federal agency after another where many of the federal
agencies that do important work across this country have lost 20 30 40 percent of their career
federal employees who knew how to do the work that the public needed are now gone and many of them
are replaced with loyalists who don't have qualifications who don't understand the work of those
agencies but they're 100 percent loyal to this administration that is a recipe for a disaster
so the next congress is going to have a tremendous amount of work to do to begin the rebuilding
of a federal government that works for all of us whether that's foreign aid that was
destroyed with the elimination of uscid or restoring integrity in our department of justice
or restoring capacity in the u.s. forest service so they can manage the public lands that we all
benefit from we've got years and years and years of rebuilding ahead of us and and people
northern wisconsin need to elect somebody who's willing to go to work and envision what the
federal government needs to be in the future and now to you mrs. murray thank you uh you did
a wonderful job covering most of the topics that i wanted to talk about so i appreciate that
i will say that as i've been going to places where they're allowing for the visitors to keep tabs
of what interests are most important to them health care by far is the number one uh yesterday
when we were at a forum number two was the right to vote and i think that goes to a bigger picture
which is defending democracy and while maybe in years past being a lawyer and asking for your
vote to go to washington d.c folks would have responded that's all we need is another lawyer in d.c
times have changed right now our democracy is under attack the fact that the number two concern
was the right to vote tells us that there's something significantly wrong with our government
when folks fear whether or not they'll have their right to vote and so i am asking to be elected
as your next congresswoman the first congresswoman in this district to go to washington d.c to defend
that oath that everyone took including this president to defend the constitution of the
united states to make sure that people know that they will have their right to vote to let them know
that it means something when we say you have freedom of speech freedom of press freedom of
religion um it means something when it says you should be safe from unreasonable search and seizures
it means something when we say we have due process in america we need folks who are willing
to stand up when a government oversteps the boundaries and the authority that they've been
given i'm ready to do that we now move to our closing statements mr clark you in the floor
you know what what i learned in my career as a forester and a business owner and
in my three terms as a rural state legislator is that for our small communities to work
everybody has to work together and that means setting political differences aside to coach the
high school sports team or to help me in the ambulance crew or to organize the fair that goes on every
year and those communities can't afford to let politics divide them because everybody's got to
work together to make things in that town work and people are so hungry right now to get away
from the divisive extremist politics that has made it impossible for our federal government and our
congress especially to do its job and influence it even more strongly by the money and politics
so what i'm bringing to this race is the commitment and the experience of somebody who's made a career
out of working with everybody to find solutions that are practical without giving up my values
and i've also made a commitment in this race not to take any public excuse me political action
committee money and any special interest money because people know that the money in politics
is part of what's prevented republicans and democrats from solving some of our biggest problems
i'm looking forward to a new kind of politics that helps us recognize that we have way more in
common than we have that divides us and i look forward to going to washington next year to help
do that work for everyone in the seventh congressional district now mrs mary your closing statements
thank you i appreciate the voters and the confidence that they've given to my fellow
lady leader lawyers first of all i'm a lady i'm a female i was the first female city attorney of
crandon first female town attorney of leona first female family court commissioner in forest county
as well as family court commissioner in onada county um some of those are elected positions
so thank you for dan for giving me an opportunity to address that here um also as a lady and a mom
my children have decided as of now they have no interest in raising their own children if that
was their choice i would have no issue with it i defend a woman's choice on whether or not they
want to have children my girls don't want to have kids because my environmental scientist
doesn't think mother earth can support us my other one thinks that it's not affordable
i am a leader i act i get results lawyers are judged on results i am a 30-year award-winning
attorney and i'm offering that to the folks here as a lawyer as a city attorney i brought in money
the city never had by creating new ordinances and creating a tiff district at the county level i
brought in federal funds that had never been brought in before i grew my voice as the only
female sitting in those meetings and i am ready to go and join the ladies who are going to unveil
the f steam files the women in the democratic caucus as well as the republican caucus are
calling it a reckoning and i'm ready to go and finally mr armstrong you're closing statements
well you know one of the big reasons i'm doing this is you know i'm a grandfather for the first
time and i envision a time you know sometime in the future you know talking with my grandson
and he's like you know gee grandpa i heard things were pretty crazy when i was growing up what did
you do to try to make a difference and i want to be able to look him in the eye and say i did
everything i possibly could to make this a better place for you your family and our communities
you know we like i said earlier you know we were privileged to grow up in one of the most
beautiful places on earth and we owe it you know to those that brought us here and to future
generations to leave it in a better you know better shape than we found it you know i i don't
need this job i'm not looking for something to do i have a job you know i love it but you know i
just can't sit in my living room and do nothing um when you know we are demanding to need you know
fearless bold relentless leadership to hold this administration accountable and do the work for
the people you know how are we know if this is going to be better when our children and our
grandchildren you know can afford to live here find a good job get good health care breathe the air
drink the water and be able to enjoy the wonderful opportunities that the seventh district has to
offer and i'm not doing this for me i'm doing this for you and to all my volunteers and supporters
out there you are my inspiration every day the wind beneath my wings and uh 2026 is the year of
the people there's nothing we cannot do together to demand change as we wrap up tonight's debate
i want to thank all three candidates for taking part in this very important conversation and thank
you at home for joining us if you missed our republican primary debate it is viewable on the
wjfw youtube page the actual primary election is on tuesday august 11th we encourage everyone to
research the candidates make a plan to vote and most importantly participate in our democracy
on behalf of everyone at wjfw thank you for watching have a great evening
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