>> Along with the weather, the heat is also on in
Wisconsin's primary election campaigns. With
just about six weeks to go before the August 11th
runoffs. There are congressional races like in
the seventh and Third districts to watch, and the
race for governor, where six Democrats are still
vying to be chosen to take on the leading Republican
in the race. As the campaigns heat up, we turn
to political panelists Republican Bill McCoshen
and Democrat Scot Ross. And thanks for being here, guys.
>> Thanks for having us. >> So first to you, Scott.
With absentee ballots going out and now being arguably
into the final stretch, who is breaking through on the
Democratic side for candidates for governor and
why? still could be anybody's
ball game. There's a lot of spending going on right now.
I guess, you know, they say it's not a sprint. It's a
marathon. But we have crossed the 20 mile marker
and we're getting to the point where people are
going to have to start making up their minds about
who their candidates are going to be. I think the
Democrats have an think they are fighting.
You know, they're they're running down downhill
because the Republicans are so in trouble because of
the record of, of, of Donald Trump and the fact
that their nominee, Tom Tiffany, is a radical
extremist who is completely and totally tied to Trump
in every single way. >> So, Bill, do you want to
respond to that? >> I don't agree that
there's it's anybody's ballgame. 1 has already
dropped out. Missy Hughes I wouldn't be surprised if
two more dropped out in July. We got 38 days to go.
I think it's really three people who are seriously in
contention to win this. It's Francesca Hong
legislator from Madison, Mandela Barnes, former
lieutenant governor and current Lieutenant governor
Sarah Rodriguez. I think those are the only three
who have a legitimate shot to win at this point, based
on all the polling. We will have a new Marquette poll
out in about ten days here in Wisconsin that will sort
of tell give everyone the picture of where things are
at. But what we know from private polls and some
other publicly released polls is those are the top
three. And Hong is the one that's surging at this
point. Hong Scott, what do
Democratic strategists make of Democratic socialists?
>> I mean, listen, for the last 50 years, when a
Democratic elected wants to spend money that's not on
tax cuts for rich people or corporations. Bill's party
calls them socialists. They call them welfare. They
call them worse. I mean, for God's sakes, they were
calling his old boss, Tommy Thompson, signature
achievement BadgerCare here in Wisconsin Welfare.
That's what the speaker of the Assembly was calling it.
So, you know, we're a big tent. And the fact is, is
that when it comes to people's expenses, when it
comes to gas prices, Republicans are a failure
for Wisconsinites, a failure for America. That's
why Democrats are going to win this election in the
fall, not because of labels that Republicans have been
putting on us for 50 years. Anyhow.
that label on her. >> Well, I mean, Democrats.
>> Are owning it and proudly owning it. And I
think that's actually worked to Francesca Hong
advantage. I mean, she's gone on national podcasts
with a guy named Hassan Piker, who's got several
million followers, and she raised 100 grand in one day.
Why? She's the boldest progressive in the race.
She's willing to say what others are not willing to
say, and she's willing to be a democratic socialist.
And and none of the others have attacked her for that.
I can guarantee you, Tom Tiffany is going to
contrast with her if she ends up getting through the
primary in 38 days. >> I mean, Tiffany has been
attacking Barnes and Hong the entirety of his
campaign and again. >> Which I think is smart.
>> Yeah, of course. But, you know, let's let's not
kid ourselves. Tom Tiffany was on a podcast last week
with a book burner who says that foreign governments
are turning our kids trans. So like, if we want to, if
we want to talk about the internet and who is
appearing on internet fight that Democrats.
have 13 Democrats in the Congress who have signed up
to sort of fight the Democratic Socialists.
That's less than 10% of the Democratic members of the
So it is a it is a tough line to hoe right now for
Democrats. They're not sure if they should be with the
socialists. Guys like J.B. Pritzker have come out in
favor. Said, we need more socialists in our party.
That's stunning to me. >> I think the thing you
think about that is that all the all the candidates
who are calling themselves Democratic socialists and
the ones who have been elected are all younger,
they're all millennials. They're all the ones who
are staring up, standing up to the gerontocracy that is
the Democratic Party with our 75 year old Senate
Majority Leader, Chuck Schumer, Senate Minority
Leader Chuck Schumer. So I think it's you know,
ideologically, Democrats are all in the same, are
all in the same camp, which is we want fully funded
schools. We want access to affordable health care. We
want to protect our clean air and water. We want our
civil liberties. And we don't want ICE Gestapo, you
know, disappearing 38 people in Wisconsin
yesterday. up in two words. They want
bold progressivism. And that's why Hong's in the
game. Eight years ago, when Tony Evers won this primary
with 42%. By the way, the winner of this will not
come close to that number. She would have been a
fringe candidate today. She's got a chance to win
it. >> Super interesting. So
Bill, who would Tom Tiffany most want as a general
election opponent and who would he be afraid of?
>> I think he would have been most concerned about
those that are not going to make it to the finish line.
Believe it or not, I think Democrats decided that the
sort of more moderate who can appeal to trade union
guys or sort of the moderate old school
Democrats, they're not going to make it to the
finish line in this race. So all three of those who
we've both agreed are sort of in the front of the pack
are pretty progressive. And that's a good contrast for
Tiffany. So I don't think he has a problem with any
of the three top tier candidates.
>> Tom, Tiffany's biggest problem is not who he's
going to face, but the fact that he's on the ballot at
all. This is a guy who took money out. He took food out
of the mouths of children to give billionaires tax
breaks. He wants a national abortion ban. He took $300
billion from rural health care. So rural Wisconsin,
when your hospitals are closing, you can thank Tom
Tiffany for that. And he he supports the $2 billion
payoff for the January 6th terrorist terrorist
insurrectionists. So this is a guy who is radically
out of touch with where Wisconsin folks are,
especially now when prices are higher than they've
ever been. Gas prices are higher than they've ever
been because of the war of choice in Iran. And the
fact that Trump is making billions of dollars while
people can't afford food. >> The landscape is
challenging for a sitting congressman in this cycle.
There's no question about that. But I think Tom
Tiffany can easily make the contrast between common
sense and crazy. And I think most Wisconsin voters
will side with common sense. >> He's trying a makeover.
It's not going to work. He scrubbed his website before
he got in the race. And you know, he can't hide from
his record. He can't run from it as much as he ducks
the media. He cannot run from it.
third and seventh congressional races, will
carry the day? Of course, in the primary, presumably.
But in the general. >> Both of those seats lean
red. Remember, our congressional maps were not
changed. These are the same ones that have. We've run
on for the last couple of cycles, which means Derrick
Van Orden should be considered the favorite.
He's the incumbent, and it means that the Republican.
Whomever comes out of the primary in 38 days should
be the favorite in the seventh. I think Donald
Trump is going to help Derrick Van Orden. I think
he's going to be in western Wisconsin once or twice. I
think. JD. Vance will be. I think Donald Trump will
ultimately help in the seventh. But I think they
also don't want to have to spend too many resources up
there. That's kind of a messy primary, which is
unfortunate. On our side between Kevin Herman and
former Iranian hostage and successful businessman and
and young man Michael Alfonso, who did get the
president's endorsement. You know, my hope is that
Republicans sort of put down their arms and stop
the circular firing squad that's going on on that,
because I think either would be ultimately a great
congressperson. But but right now, it's pretty
messy for the Republicans. >> Scott, what are the next
six weeks look like in these races?
>> I think the next six weeks are in the third and
the seventh day. I think you're going to see
Republicans ducking the media. Derrick Van Orton is
just terrified of going before any sort of camera.
You know, that's not, you know, some right wing
podcaster. I think that he is the one who is in the
most trouble, you know, whoever comes out of the
primary. And obviously, you know, there's Rebecca Cooke
who has a massive fundraising advantage, and
Emily Berg, who's who's the councilman up in Eau Claire.
I think either one of them contrasts great against the
record of of Derrick Van Orden. I mean, he's been,
you know, if Tom Tiffany wasn't in Congress, he'd be
our most extremist member of Congress. So I think
that he's got a lot of he's got a lot to answer for.
And I think the voters are going to hold him
accountable for that. >> All right. We need to
leave it there. We'll circle back with you both
before the primary and before the primary and