I'm a husband, a father, a former federal prosecutor,
and for almost four years now, I've had the privilege
of serving as your attorney general.
As Wisconsin Attorney General, my top priority has been
and always will be public safety.
At the Wisconsin Department of Justice,
we investigate and prosecute
some of the most serious offenses
in the state of Wisconsin.
And I'm really proud of the cases
that my administration has investigated and prosecuted
as we work to put dangerous offenders behind bars
and keep them there.
We've also worked to make progress on issues
that I talked about when I ran for attorney general
four years ago.
One big issue when I ran last time
was the backlog of untested sexual assault kits.
Well, after I took office,
there were about 300 kits that still needed to be tested.
We finished the testing of those kits.
We also ensured that in every case
where there was a potential perpetrator identified
from the testing of the prior backlog
that a review was conducted.
And that has led to some investigations and prosecutions.
I also worked to change the law to ensure
that sexual assault kits won't sit around untested.
And we launched a sexual assault kit tracking system statewide
so that survivors can see what's happening with their kit
as it moves through the testing process.
We've worked to make our schools safer as well.
Through our Office of School Safety,
we launched the Speak Up, Speak Out program,
which allows anybody associated with a school
to contact Speak Up, Speak Out
and have a trained analyst ensure
that an appropriate response happens,
which has allowed for us to intervene to ensure
that violence doesn't occur or kids don't harm themselves.
We've also worked to fight the opioid epidemic.
After I took office, we filed suit against Purdue Pharma,
and we also joined multi-state investigations
into opioid distributors.
Because of the work of the Wisconsin Department of Justice,
other AGs, as well as county and local governments,
we have secured over $400 million
that's gonna go to communities across the state of Wisconsin
to help with the fight against the opioid epidemic.
We've also been serious about holding polluters accountable.
I believe that every Wisconsinite
should have access to safe and clean drinking water,
and when companies break our environmental laws,
they need to be held responsible.
Not long ago, we filed suit
against PFAS manufacturers and sellers.
Those toxic, cancer-causing chemicals
have impacted a number of communities across the state,
and I think it's vital that when we clean those chemicals
out of our water, that it's the companies
that made millions of dollars that pay to clean it up,
not taxpayers in Wisconsin.
I also promised to end Wisconsin's involvement
in the lawsuit that was seeking to end the Affordable Care Act.
And we have gotten out of that suit,
and I'm happy that four years later,
the Affordable Care Act is still in place
and it continues to provide protections for people
with a preexisting condition.
I'm proud of the progress that we have made
over this last four years
during my time as attorney general,
but we have more work to do.
And the 2022 election offers voters a very clear choice.
Fundamentally, that choice boils down to this:
Do we continue building on the progress we've made,
and do we continue Wisconsin moving forward,
or do we go backwards?
On public safety for example,
I think we need to invest in our communities
and I have proposed a Safer Wisconsin plan
that we introduced almost a year ago.
It would invest in community policing and prosecution,
law enforcement officer recruitment,
retention, and wellness, victim services,
as well as mental health crisis response.
I also believe we need to ensure
that our gun safety laws prevent firearms
from getting in the hands of people
who we know to be dangerous.
I'd like to see universal background checks
and a process that allows for extreme risk protection orders
to be issued.
I also think we need to ban ghost guns
and that we should increase the felony classification
for repeat felon and possession offenses
and repeat straw purchasing offenses.
We also need an AG who's gonna stand up for our freedoms.
I have been leading the fight in court to block enforcement
of the draconian 19th century abortion ban
with no exceptions for rape or incest.
My opponent has been clear that he would end that lawsuit,
helping to keep in place that archaic ban.
He also has been clear that he would use DOJ resources,
which go to investigating and prosecuting
the most serious offenses in the state
to instead go after people for abortions.
I think it's critical that we keep using our resources
to make our communities safer.
And then when it comes to our freedom to vote,
I am proud to have stood up for the will of the voters,
including after the 2020 election
when there were efforts to overturn the results.
My opponent has embraced Michael Gableman
and his wasteful investigation, which he supported.
He recently appeared at a fundraiser with him,
and he even said that
our election commissioners committed crimes
and should be removed from office.
Well, I think we need an AG who is gonna stand up
for the will of the voters and our democracy.
There's a clear choice for voters in this election.
I ask for your support as you cast your ballot
between now and November 8.
Thank you.