by Jacob Puhr
Next Tuesday is election day, where a third of the Senate, the entire House and numerous local and state offices are up for grabs. In this essay, I’ll be focusing on the elections that I’m a constituent of. The midterm elections could be pivotal in shaping President Biden’s remaining two years, especially if Republicans take control of the House, which historically speaking, is a likelihood. All eyes are on several swing states and their Senate races, as just one seat flipping could change the balance of power in the legislative branch, and severely affect Biden’s policy goals. Despite what happens in the House and Senate, realistically, the biggest changes you’ll experience will come from the local elections we so quickly disregard.
Clerk of Circuit Courts : The Democrat incumbent is Rebecca Mentink, who is opposed by Republican Zach Rodriguez. How on earth is this position political? No idea, but welcome to present day politics. She’s served three terms in this role and has claimed bipartisan support. Oddly enough, I personally have seen multiple Republican households with a Mentink sign. Mentink has criticized Rodriguez for never writing a budget and lacking any meaningful experience. Among other things, she criticized his attendance record and lack of bipartisan support. On a final note, Mentink participated in a live stream at the Kenosha Creative Space, but Rodriguez was a no show.
The Republican challenger, Zach Rodriguez, is the chair of the Kenosha Judiciary and Law Enforcement Committee and the Kenosha County Board supervisor for District 8. He’s been endorsed by multiple county board members, Congressman Bryan Steil and David Zoerner. As a county board member, he’s fought for amendments allowing carry of concealed weapons in county facilities. Some priorities of his will be maintaining accurate record keeping, efficiently collecting fees, and ensuring equal access to the courts for all residents. He’s also attacked Mentink for her attendance record.
Sheriff: The previous sheriff, David Beth, chose not to run again. David Zoerner, a Republican, is now vying for sheriff against newcomer Democrat Jason Simmons. Zoerner has run twice before, once as a Republican and the other as a Democrat. Being critical of Beth, Zoerner thought running as a Democrat would be the only way to unseat him, a move he now regards as a mistake. His experience consists of serving as an NCO under President Regan and Bush and service in the marines. He cites multiple supervisor roles in local sheriff’s departments as key qualifiers for office. Zoerner is a sergeant in the Pleasant Prairie Sheriff Department and a member of the Opioid Task Force and Committee on Mental Health. He’s backed by a large swath of Republicans such as Brian Steil, who has engaged in multiple roundtables with Zoerner. The two will be holding an election night watch party together. His commitment to the second amendment is fiercely strong and has even auctioned off an AR-15.
Jason Simmons, a deputy from Illinois, is running as the sole Democrat. He formerly served in the army and has over 17 years of experience in the police department as a highway patrol and crisis intervention deputy, and service in the Correction and Court Security Division. Simmons is seeking positive change in the community and restoring trust in the police force. Like Zoerner, he realizes the opioid crisis must be combatted. Among other things, he wants to implement a gun buyback program, which Zoerner has criticized, improve wages for law enforcement members, and support rehabilitated inmates. It appears his main goal is to bridge the gap between community and the police. Simmons has criticized Zoerner for flipping parties, comparing him to a pancake, and for auctioning off an AR-15.
Senate District 21: Incumbent Van Wanggaard is running unopposed. He’s a Republican who’s served on the Chair of the Judiciary and Public Safety Committee, Vice Chair of the Committee on Labor and Regulatory Reform, Co-Chair of the Joint Review Committee on Criminal Penalties and a member of the Utilities, Technology, and Telecommunications Committee. As do most from his party, Van Wanggaard wants to expand school choice, ban CRT, and lower tax burdens. He’s authored multiple bills regarding conceal carry, preventing Planned Parenthood from receiving state health grants, and criminalizing rioting. Before becoming a politician, Van Wanggaard was a police officer for three decades before a collision with a suspect left him unable to serve.
Assembly District 61: Amanda Nedweski is the current County Board supervisor for District 16. She considers herself a fierce, unwavering conservative. She’s testified in Madison on multiple occasions regarding parental rights, curriculum and fiscal transparency in education, and stopping discrimination based on vaccine status. At the local level, she’s been a prominent, if not the most, vocal conservative voice in regards to KUSD’s Covid policies, which she vehemently opposed by fighting for in person learning without a mask mandate. As a leader in Moms for Liberty, she advocated for parents to be the foremost decision makers in their child’s life. Among other issues, she has called for re-establishing trust in the election process, alleviating heavy taxation and implementing spending cuts, funding the police, and education reform.
Max Winkles is the Sergeant at Arms of the Kenosha County Democrats, who has volunteered for multiple campaigns including Hillary Clinton and Joe Biden’s. His work experience includes ten years as a 911 dispatcher and emergency communications director; he’s also worked as a healthcare manager. His three core principles include patriotism, and competent government, one that, according to Winkles, doesn’t spend millions on election fraud and finding none, using an archaic law to govern abortion access; promoting the general welfare, which includes public safety, education and healthcare. His public safety plan would include hiring police officers through grants made by municipalities and local governments. These officers would build relationships in their patrol area and assessments would be made regarding community concerns. He supports public education and explicitly calls out Moms for Liberty on his website, saying Nedweski wants to dictate public schools. Lastly, Winkles wants to make healthcare affordable, and believes the money and resources are there to do so.
State Treasurer: John Leiber is the Republican candidate, who’s lived in Racine. He considers himself a real fiscal conservative, who will advocate for saving tax dollars; he’s extremely weary of increasing the scope of government. As a member of the BCPL, he supports raising funding for school libraries and upgrading technology in schools.
Aaron Richardson is running as the Democrat. He holds an MBA from UW-Whitewater and is the mayor of Fitchburg, Wisconsin. The main platforms of his include increasing home ownership by implementing a pilot program that would enable potential buyers to rent before buying their home and help Wisconsinites figure out how to claim their property. As a mayor, he has experience with a multi-million dollar budget. He also wants to expand financial literacy and has paired with a large union to increase financial education, if elected, further restrict payday lending, increase diversity and inclusion, and protect the environment.
Secretary of State: Amy Loudenbeck is challenging incumbent Doug La Follettte. Amy serves in the State Assembly as the representative for Wisconsin’s 31st District. As a legislator, she seeks to tackle human trafficking, environmental protection, economic growth, supporting first responders and affordable healthcare. She wants to restore purpose and respect to the office and has accused La Follettte of letting the office fall into despair. Modernizing the office is a main priority, as is allowing the Secretary of State to oversee and administer elections, which could be a transformative move.
The current ten term incumbent is Democrat Doug La Follettte. Besides Secretary of State, he’s been a member of the State Senate and launched unsuccessful bids at the governorship, Wisconsin’s 1st Congressional District and the U.S. Senate. With his doctorate in chemistry, he was appointed by President Carter as assistant director to the Mid-American Solar Energy Complex. Under him, as accused by Loudenbeck, a majority of the office’s duties have eroded away, which she wants to change. In contrast with Amy, Doug seeks to keep election oversight out of the Secretary’s office, since he believes future Republicans will manipulate the results, which is the reason he believes it’s more important than ever he’s re-elected. Other priorities of his include standing with worker’s through collective bargaining, expanding healthcare, partly by refining BadgerCare, pursuing the Wisconsin Idea, and maintaining a healthy environment.
Attorney General: Eric Toney is running against incumbent Josh Kaul. Toney is a Republican who practices law in Fond du Lac as the D.A. According to Toney, Josh Kaul has failed tremendously as Wisconsin’s AG. Some common criticisms Toney has launched at Kaul encompass failing to support law enforcement, politicizing the DOJ, and Kaul’s backlog of child sex predator cases. He also mentioned Kaul has left too many DCO and DOJ positions unfilled. Kaul has been deemed a politician by Toney and himself a prosecutor. Toney is committed to supporting law enforcement, and reports on his website he’s gained endorsements from 83% of Wisconsin’s sheriffs and a swath of police associations. He supports keeping qualified immunity for law enforcement, improving the justice system, defending Wisconsin’s election laws; he’s claimed to have prosecuted lots of election fraud and wants to hold the Wisconsin Election Commission Board accountable for the 2020 election. Supporters of his can expect him to oppose federal overreach in regard to gun control, abortion and immigration.
Kaul is running for re-election as a Democrat. He graduated from Yale and Stanford, and formerly served as a federal prosecutor in Baltimore; he also served as a law clerk for a former Chief Judge of the U.S. Court of Appeals. The top priority of Kaul’s is public safety, which he says he wants increased funding for. He supported the Safer Wisconsin plan which invested millions into public safety. Among other issues, he supports “common sense” gun safety legislation, preventing backlogging of sexual assault kits and supporting law enforcement. He’s filed suit against opioid distributors and supports the expansion of the Treatment Alternatives and Diversion program. Another major priority is expanding safe and legal abortion access and deemed Wisconsin’s current abortion law “draconian”; he refuses to prosecute anyone who violates the ban. He’s committed to reproductive freedom, seen in his Planned Parenthood endorsement.
Lt. Governor: Roger Roth and Sara Rodriguez are vying for the position left open by Mandela Barnes, who’s seeking to become the 51st vote in the Senate. Roth has served in the Wisconsin Air National Guard and currently holds the rank of Captain. Previously, he served in the State Assembly; he now serves as a state senator for District 19 and is the Chair of the Committee on Universities and Technical Colleges and Vice Chair of the Committee on Utilities, Technology, and Telecommunications. Economically, he’s looking to fight tax increases, runaway federal spending and eliminating the state income tax. He authored a Parental Bill or Rights, seeks curriculum transparency and establishing universal school choice. States like California have been called out by Roth for failing to enact election integrity, a move he’ll counter by guaranteeing only legal citizens can vote and combating Zuckerbucks. Like most Republicans, he’s a strong second amendment supporter and pro-life; he even authored the Born Alive Survivors Protection Act.
Running with Tony Evers is Sara Rodriguez, the Democrat, who is the representative for Assembly District 13. Rodriguez has a background in nursing and business, such as serving as the vice president of multiple healthcare service groups, and being selected as an Epidemic Intelligence Service Officer with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. She’s running with Evers to ensure workers have strong jobs and time for family, protecting shared values, keeping communities safe, improving schooling and healthcare access, and honoring democracy. A notable goal of hers is to ensure reproductive freedom which includes abortion access and birth control; she will do everything in her power to defend them. In order to keep communities safe, she seeks to implement red flag laws and universal background checks.
Governor: Tim Michels is the Republican challenger in the gubernatorial race. Michels is the co-owner and manager of Michels Corporation which specializes in infrastructure construction and energy. Michels was relatively unheard of outside the business world, until he was endorsed by Donald Trump in his run for governor; Tommy Thompson also endorsed Michels. Citing his 12 years of military service, Michels says he’s not a politician but a leader and builder. His website lists five main policy goals he refers to as his blueprints. His Wisconsin First Blueprint seeks to reduce taxes, limit licensure laws, increase energy production and increase vocational training. Draining the Madison Swamp is his next blueprint which intends to adhere to the needs of the ordinary citizen and limit influence from special interests. His I Trust Parent Blueprint is self explanatory, here, he criticizes Governor Evers and teachers unions. Michels would sign The Parental Bill of Rights, secure schools, increase turnout in school board elections, and improve reading. His Back the Blue Blueprint has the goal of supporting police by withholding funding from towns wanting to defund the police, hire more police officers, and fire ineffective D.A. ‘s, create a task force to halt mob violence and expand the Green Bay Correctional Institution. The very last blueprint of his is Restore Election Integrity. Here, he’d repeal the WEC election guidance, pass the Voter Uniformity Amendment and ban Zukerbucks, pop up polling places, and unmanned drop boxes. Several attacks on Evers have included his failure to improve Wisconsin schools; he’s called him an “Educrat”, and letting Kenosha burn during the BLM riots.
Tony Evers is the Democrat incumbent, who has served for one term and is seeking re-election. Evers relies heavily on his educator background, as he was the state superintendent before becoming governor. The governor has listed massive tax cuts, investing into small businesses and farms, fixing and improving infrastructure, and increasing public school funds as his main accomplishments. One of his top listed accomplishments is securing a majority of Wisconsinites a 15% tax cut, as is overseeing the state’s low unemployment rate and giving thousands of homes internet access. Evers says he’s just gotten started and will pursue a wide number of goals to ensure a better future to all Wisconsinites. Economically, he wants to lower rising costs by bringing relief to gas and prescription drug prices, support the Child and Dependent Care Tax Credit, among others, and further lower taxes for Wisconsinites. Being an educator at heart, Evers wants to increase state aid to schools, invest in mental health programming and special education, expand job training and financial literacy among students. To keep Wisconsin safe, he’d pursue gun control which includes red flag laws and universal background checks, changing bail systems, and fund local public safety. Finally, Evers will protect abortion access and contraceptive services, even granting clemency to physicians prosecuted under current laws. Besides abortion access, Evers lists the expansion of mental health services and access to presciption drugs as policy goals.
House District 1: Bryan Steil was elected into office back in 2018, after having a career in manufacturing. In Congress, he’s a ranking member of the Select Committee on Economic Disparity and Fairness in Growth, and on the Committee on House Administration and House Financial Services Committee. Steil believes capitalism is the key to achieving the American Dream and the government is causing many of the problems seen today. He cites his experience on the UW Board of Regents as qualification for managing education and workforce development. He seeks to control government spending and instill fiscal responsibility. Like the other Republicans on the list, he’s pro-life; he supported the Born Alive Survivors Protection Act and is committed to the Second Amendment. Securing the border is one other goal and he’s met with Zoerner in a roundtable to combat fentanyl coming into the state.
Anne Roe is challenging Steil as the Democratic nominee. On her website, she says she worked at a board of directors and a Fortune 500 company. One of her top goals is protecting Roe v Wade, unsurprisingly, and thinks Steil is controlling women’s bodies. She wants common sense gun control which includes red flag laws and background checks. To protect workers, she wants to secure affordable child care, paid family leave and resources for those with food insecurity. Local Democrats such as Bob Wirch, Tip McGuire and Tod Ohnstad have endorsed Roe, as has Governor Evers and Planned Parenthood. She’s campaigned with Evers, Senator Baldwin and Mandela Barnes in recent weeks.
Senate: Two term senator, Ron Johnson, is running for reelection, after previously stating he’d only serve two terms. As senator, Johnson has served on the Committees of Foreign Relations, and a ranking member on the Subcommittee on Europe and Regional Security Cooperation and Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations; he’s also the chairman of the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs. Johnson is strictly against the expansion of the federal government and many of its roles. He believes the federal government is largely the root cause of slow economic activity, high unemployment and large deficits. To improve Wisconsin, he seeks to increase products made in the state. Keeping free and fair trade is something the senator has supported as he’s supported legislation including the Congressional Trade Priorities and Accountability Act of 2015 and the Conference Report for the Trade Facilitation and Trade Enforcement Act. Obamacare is another issue Johnson has cited that must be fixed, so he’s supported The Preserving Freedom and Choice in Health Care Act and the If You Like Your Health Plan You Can Keep It Act. To fix Wisconsin schools, school choice and directing funds to local schools are possible solutions proposed by Johnson which he thinks will beat using federal regulation of public schools; reform is needed in higher education too, according to Johnson. Despite his weariness of the federal government, Johnson believes maintaining a strong military and improving infrastructure are responsibilities the federal government should act on.
You’ve heard the ads, “my mother was a teacher and my dad worked third shift.” Barnes has run heavily on his background from a humble union family. He desires to rebuild the middle class and made his start in politics as District 27’s representative, and becoming the state’s first black lieutenant governor; while serving this role, he promoted the Covid vaccine, and was appointed to a task force on climate change. In short, Barnes has accused Johnson of being self-serving and abandoning the working class, but Johnson has called Barne’s priorities radical. Barnes seeks to codify Roe v Wade into law and ensure abortion access to every woman in the state. He’s a strong pro-unionist and seeks to protect Social Security by resisting measures to raise the retirement age or cuts to benefits; strengthening Medicare is listed on his website as another goal. Regarding the economy, Barnes wants to invest in the workforce and manufacturing. Regarding taxes, he wants to halt tax breaks for large companies and thinks the rich should pay their fair share. One other goal of Barnes is to legalize marijuana in Wisconsin. Within the last week, Barack Obama campaigned for Barnes and Evers in Milwaukee in an attempt to energize Democrats to vote blue next week; Barnes cites a speech Obama gave in 2004 as the spark to eventually run for office. On the debate stage, Barnes and Johnson ripped into each other heavily such as when Barnes accused Johnson of marrying into his business and jeopardizing seniors by abolishing Social Security. Johnson ha accused Barnes of releasing violent offenders, including child rapists onto the streets, not paying his taxes, and turning his back on the middle class