Why should voters elect you the next governor of Wisconsin?

We need to raise wages, lower costs, fund public education, and protect our freedoms. As governor, I have detailed plans to raise the minimum wage and restore workers’ rights, open the state’s health insurance to let the public buy in, and make housing, utilities, and childcare more affordable. I’m an effective lawmaker, small business owner, attorney, and parent of five. Together, we’ll build a Wisconsin where everyone can thrive.

Working together, we have a rare chance to make real progress — I know how to use power to deliver. As the only candidate who has expanded healthcare, served in the senate, assembly, and Joint Finance Committee, and passed progressive legislation in the toughest legislative environments for over 20 years, I know how to get things done.

What is the top issue facing Wisconsinites and how would you address it?

We must make Wisconsin a place where young people want — and can afford — to live and build families. Our state is aging, as our best and brightest leave. We need to make Wisconsin’s public schools the best in the nation again. After decades of Republican budget cuts, our public schools are hurting. I’ll properly fund public education with state dollars, reduce property taxes and end the divisive referendum cycle, and fix the school funding formula. I also have a plan to bring the private voucher scheme to a responsible end. I’m proud to have earned the trust and endorsement of WEAC, Wisconsin’s teachers, in this race, because they know I’m the only candidate with a plan and the commitment to put our kids first.

What is the top policy goal you would like to accomplish in your first 100 days in office?

To address the affordability crisis, I have detailed plans to raise the minimum wage, restore workers’ rights, and lower costs for childcare, housing, groceries, utilities, and prescription drugs at keldaroys.com.

But healthcare is the most urgent problem facing Wisconsinites. I have a bold, Trump-proof plan to expand affordable coverage by allowing any Wisconsinite or business to buy into the same health insurance state employees have. This will enable everyone — school districts, manufacturing companies, independent contractors — to buy high quality, competitively priced, often nonprofit coverage, at no cost to taxpayers. Small businesses can start, compete, and grow. Plus, by covering more people and expanding the pool, we will reduce uncompensated care, lower premium costs for everyone including taxpayers, and keep rural clinics and hospitals open.

What kind of relationship should Wisconsin’s governor have with the federal government?

I have a two-decades long bipartisan track record of passing legislation, and I’ll work to get federal dollars for our state. But Trump’s regime is attacking our pocketbooks, communities, and constitutional rights. We need a governor who will fight this authoritarian regime and work to hold them legally accountable for any crimes they commit.

I’ve crafted the strongest plan to combat ICE’s violent abuses, to strengthen civil rights protections so Wisconsinites can sue when our rights are violated, and to prosecute any crimes they commit in Wisconsin. Legal accountability is essential to democracy. As governor, I’ll protect us from the harms of Trump and Tiffany: from their illegal tariffs and wars to corruption and healthcare cuts that are decimating our farmers, small businesses, and families.

How would you approach working with the Legislature if there are Republicans in power in one or both chambers?

I’m proud of my Democratic values, but I’ve never hesitated to work accross the aisle to help Wisconsinites. For over two decades, I’ve turned commonsense progressive ideas into law in our Republican-dominated legislature, and I’m the only candidate with a track record of doing so — on issues from criminal justice reform to reproductive rights to consumer protection to expanding healthcare access.

Wisconsin’s most transformational governors have been long-term legislators — unfortunately, they’ve been Republicans: Thompson and Walker. To make real, durable change, I will continue to work closely with all members of the legislature on our shared goals, and to use the full power of the governorship to deliver the transformative change we need. This is a time for our most experienced, effective leader to govern.

How would you approach working with the Legislature if there are Democrats in power in one or both chambers?

Wisconsin Democrats will move from our “goalie” era to our governing era, if we have a governor with moral clarity, political courage, and the willingness to use power to actually deliver. I’ve spent my life building broad, diverse coalitions, electing Democrats statewide, and turning progressive ideas into law. That’s why Lt. Governor Barbara Lawton says I’m “the only candidate who ticks every box — able to beat Tom Tiffany, govern on day one, and lead fearlessly.” It’s why I’ve earned the most endorsements by far from elected officials in every corner of the state, and from the state’s largest union. They know I can win, and they trust me to bring Wisconsin together and deliver on our Democratic priorities that have been sidelined for a generation.

What is your favorite fun Wisconsin history fact?

Wisconsin had the nation’s first kindergarten! As the mom and stepmom of 5, I’m passionate about early childhood education. Back in 1856, Margarethe Meyer Schurz, a progressive German immigrant and mother, opened America’s first kindergarten in Watertown. When I was elected to the Assembly in 2009, the Wisconsin Historical Society invited legislators to select an art piece from their archives for display in our capitol office. I chose a small oil painting of that first kindergarten, a humble one-room schoolhouse — very like the one I grew up in rural Taylor County, Wisconsin. Our state has a proud progressive history, leading in workers’ rights, women’s enfranchisement, conservation, and LGBTQ non-discrimination, but my favorite first is this one, because public education is the foundation of our democracy.