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 campaigns?
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.
As we're coming down the stretch to this primary, how are you doing in terms of finances to
be able to communicate your vessels?
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, and 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, they're 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 the 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 will 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 why people trust me, because when those tough fights came up, I never backed away,
and I've always shown it 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.
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 health care, we need good paying jobs, we
need to protect the environment, we need to 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 going to change the
course of Wisconsin, but change the course of this country.
The work we put in this November is going to make for a much more clear path to the White
House for a Democrat to be elected president.
The last few months, Tom Tiffany has kind of had the field to himself on the Republican
side, and portraying himself 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
primary.
I think people have a chance to see his actual record of failing Wisconsinites.
I think people will get a chance to see his rhetoric that champion tariffs, that is destabilized
family farms, and it's 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 is done as a state legislator, as he's done as a
member of Congress, and that's 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 the Democrats have a chance to weigh in?
Well, the votes are the votes, and he's going to have to answer for those votes.
He can position himself or try to change his political appearance, but the reality
is he's taken votes that's made life harder for people, and not only is he taking votes,
he's champion 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
ultimately have a right to vote based on that.
I have a question here.
Your theme here today works a lot about campaign finance.
I've been a reporter for a very long time, and for at least two thirds of my career,
I've gone back to these 30 years, people have talked about campaign finance.
People have tried to push campaign finance reform.
What is your very specific game plan for moving a 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.
If I become governor, I would love to have a bill on my desk that brings campaign contribution
when it's back down.
There's been a lot of federal decisions that sort of block those kinds of changes.
For sure.
And we do need, obviously, we need Congress to act, and at some point we have to overturn
citizens of the 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 to 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 for your
target.
How does that, how's that different?
Well, that's the thing.
We can't fight one armed guy 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 going to 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 in the next couple
weeks we're going to see how many people really are undecided.
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.
Yeah.
So we're going to 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 going to 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 going to get to work governing right away because I am
the candidate who is uniquely prepared for this moment based on my experience and
legislature, based on my 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.
Thank you.