A Strong Wisconsin Ahead

At a time when the headlines are smothered by stories of political corruption and collusion at the highest levels of our state and nation with self-serving politicians putting their partisanship over our country, it’s more important than ever to fight back and be engaged. The very best way to have an impact on the direction of our community is to vote. The next step is to donate to candidates so they have a fighting chance to beat back the deceptive ads flooding our state.

I’ve had a number of friends ask my recommendations for who to support where they can make the most difference. Here’s the list I’ve been sharing with some thoughts about each of them.

Caleb Frostman - 1st Senate District. These was a reason Walker didn't want to call this special election until we was forced by Eric Holder's lawsuit - it showed just how big this blue wave could be. Caleb won this special election in a red district in June with 51% of the vote. This race is a rematch against an anti-environmental crusader with the full 4-year term up for grabs.

Kriss Marion - 17th Senate District. an organic farmer going up against the incumbent, who notably voted to all but eliminate open records for public officials.

Lee Snodgrass - 19th Senate District. Lee values strong public schools and supports investing in educators to restore Wisconsin’s legacy as State of educational opportunity for our children. 

Julie Henszey - 5th Senate District. Julie is an adventure organizer, camper, and has led hikes to the grand canyon. She's facing off against the architect of the public school takeover while giving record amounts of public cash to unaccountable private schools.

Jeff Smith - 31st Senate District. A proven community organizer and former state representative, Jeff will be a great voice to have in the state senate. This seat was held by Senator Kathleen Vinehout and has been a regular target of Republicans.

Gabriel Gomez - 21st Assembly District. There are a lot of Assembly candidates I like and have helped but this is the only race on this list for now. That's because Gabriel shares my values and my senate district. A former marine and father of two, Gabe will be a leader on public education and a more accountable government.

Tony Evers for Governor and Mandela Barnes for Lt. Gov.

On issues after issue, Wisconsin needs a new direction: non-partisan redistricting, college affordability, dealing with college debt, marijuana decriminalization, justice reform, and the list goes on. We need new ideas put forward on education funding, campaign finance reform, and voucher accountability. We must end the culture of corruption of Scott Walker and Donald Trump. Getting a Democratic governor is our best chance of doing that. 

Treasurer - Sarah Godlewski. Sarah has proven herself when she took the lead in defeating the wrong-headed effort to eliminate this check on Executive power in our state. Now that it’s dead, we must restore power to this office and to the people. Sarah is the best one to do that.

1st Congressional District - Randy Bryce. Randy has been a friend since we first met standing up to the abuses of power by Scott Walker 8 years ago. Randy has been a powerful voice, speaking at just about every major action in Wisconsin since. His spirited campaign has already gotten Paul Ryan to flinch and jump ship. Having him fight for the forgotten working class of Wisconsin in congress is just too good of an opportunity to pass up. 

I hope you'll consider donating to all of the candidates above but you can always select one candidate to earn more of your support.

Lastly - please make a plan to vote. Remember to bring your ID. Polls are open 7am-8pm on Tuesday.