Okay.
Sure.
Just out of seniority here.
You've been slimmer too.
Thank you.
Wow.
That's awesome.
I'm really proud.
Appreciate it.
So I guess that, I mean, read 36.
That was called.
That's got to be pretty rough for conservatives.
One by?
It's perfect.
It's so different.
I don't know.
Although the timing you just said that I think was almost exactly
the time they called my recall election for me,
because it's funny how things change over time.
You know, in that case, we had a pretty level playing field.
I think really since 2018, you've seen a huge financial
advantage for liberal king.
It's somewhat driven, obviously, from nationwide opposition
to President Trump.
Very much drives donors, big and small like on the left.
As concerned as going forward, particularly in these
spring judicial elections, we've got to figure out a way
to log in players.
Any ideas how you do it?
I think it's going to be a combination of things.
I think part of it is just making the case why voters
should turn out in the fall as they did last year for the
president.
You need to understand that many of the things that they
care about in those elections are as important of now or so
when it comes to the judicial.
Looking forward now, we're past the Wisconsin State Supreme
Court race.
What are your thoughts on the fall for Republicans and the
potential to flip the majority for Democrats in the
Assembly and the State Senate?
I think it's certainly a warning sign, not insurmountable,
but historically, when Barack Obama was in, we had a whole
wave of Republicans elected here in across the country.
Republican in the White House, you should kind of see a
similar trend for Democrats.
To counter that, it's really two things.
Level the playing field so you get an equal echo chamber, if you
will, a chance to get your message out just as much as the
opposition and focus exclusive land issues that matter to people
which is overwhelmingly affordability.
You know, people want to know more than just about anything
else.
I'm not going to pay the bills.
I'm not going to fill up the grocery cart.
I'm not going to fill up my gas.
I'm going to pay for my housing, whether it's rental or
mortgage.
Those are the things that someone like Tom Tiffany focuses on
that and whomever he ends up running against, I think he'll
do well.
What do you think about the chances of the Senate for
being a majority in Democrats?
Again, it'll be a challenge.
You've got the three key races, three to four key races.
You've got a couple of incumbents that chose not to run.
That always makes it incredibly more competitive.
Again, good cans.
I just saw one of them today.
I live here in Waukesha County.
That's part of his district.
And he was working, so I was impressed to see him even before
I took my mother to the polls this morning, even though his
election is until next November.
So a lot of hard work knocking on doors, raising resources and
honing in on a message that connects to voters.
Governor, the majority of these polls will go 5-2.
Yeah.
I've seen some conservatives on the line saying,
maybe 7-0.
What is the practical reality of those?
Is that mean for those guys?
No.
We've seen maps.
We've seen all the JFCs.
JCR.
That's exactly right.
Yeah, I think I hope voters going forward will say they want
some balance, particularly on the court.
They don't want things to just become a partisan rubber stamp
for either party one way or the other.
At least in the past when it was 4-3, either way, at least there
was some opportunities where it would go.
Justice might swim one way or the other.
When you start having these kinds of majorities, it becomes
tough to imagine.
I hope we've warned about this, but I hope at least some of
those justices regardless of what the political beliefs are,
will ultimately say the role of a judge or a justice is to
hold the Constitution and the rule of law, not to make the law,
and that the focus would be on the fall actually, after both
the state legislature and the governor's reason.
What do you expect to work with the governor to race this fall?
Well, I think it'll be incredibly competitive.
I mean, the last 36 years we've had an all-but-one election.
The party in the White House has been the opposite to the
party who wins the governor's ship.
So it's a tough battle for Republicans, that said,
I think the governor, Evers, not running, opens up the field.
Certainly in terms of the key issue I mentioned in these
Supreme Court releases, which is money, the only race in the
last 36 years where it went against those odds was four years
ago when the governor, Evers, defied the odds and won that
election.
I think that was because of the financial advantage.
Now with that seat being opened, the last big time it was
opened, that was what I won in the White Open race 15 years ago.
I think Tom Tiffany can do a good job making the case that
he's the right candidate, the right message at the right time,
but it's not going to be easy.
No, you know, a lot of people speculate and say,
oh, you want the most radical one.
I think in the end, if you look at this primary, it's hard to
tell who the most radical is.
One, keep stepping further and further away from the others.
I compare this primary and say Jim DeWill wouldn't win in
the primary now because that party is going so far to the
left.
And, you know, some people have said Mandela Barnes because he
lost before, but I don't think there's anyone in particular.
I think right now Tom Tiffany and Republicans need to just
focus on getting their message out.
I'm pointing out that the entire field of Democrats are
incredibly radical when out of touch with where I think
mainstream swing and definitive voters are at let alone where
Republicans might be and make that contrast now before we get
to the September and post primary.
A lot has changed since you've been in office, technology,
social media, all that has really exploded.
What kind of impact does all of that have on elections these
days?
And do you see a problem with official intelligence?
Well, yeah, I mean, I think one of the problems behind just
elections is just in general.
You guys see it in the media.
We see society is how many times people believe things that
are fake, not just political statements.
I saw the other day some image that claimed to be the pilot
that was rescued when it wasn't.
And there were incredible elected officials posting it.
And so I think it's a good reminder that my kids are adults now,
but I told them for years, multiple sources, everything you do,
not just the media, but a wife.
I told them that when they were in school.
I think for voters, for all of us, when it comes to AI and social
media, that's even more important.
Even when things cite that you share the values, don't just pick
one and stick with it, find multiple places to verify your
information.
That's going to be more important than ever before.
Now, having said that, I think the idea that we saw years ago
with Facebook and now with other platforms and having free
it open dialogue where people are relying on just one source to
get their information.
It's a good thing.
It makes a competitive world.
But with more competition means we've got to be more competitive
and we've got to be more careful consumers of information.
Thank you.
Good to see you again.
Pleasure.