MONROE — Despite running an uncontested race this year, U.S.
Rep. Mark Pocan, who represents the 2nd Congressional district spanning across
southern and central Wisconsin, has still been out talking to voters with more
of a focus on gathering information and supporting state legislative
candidates.
“It’s different in that I’m still out doing everything I would do if I was campaigning because my job is to talk to people who live in the district, but I probably wear jeans more,” Pocan said with a laugh.
Talking to voters was the reason for his most recent trip to Monroe on Friday. Pocan spent the afternoon knocking on doors with 51st Assembly District candidate Jeff Wright, a Democrat looking to unseat incumbent Republican Todd Novak.
Pocan said the county, state and federal governments are all interconnected. He wants to see different priorities at the state level.
“I spent 14 years in the state Assembly and still have strong affection for that body,” Pocan said. “It would be great to have some different representation in both the Assembly and the Senate.”
He later joined Senate District 17 candidate Kriss Marion, Blanchardville, at Baumgartner’s Cheese Store & Tavern along the downtown Square on Friday afternoon. It was a quick, half-hour stop before hopping on a bus with Marion to Darlington for more campaigning.
Not only does Pocan spend time speaking with potential voters as he knocks on doors during an election year, he said his open listening sessions have helped highlight the issue which matters most to his constituents: health care.
“Health care, without question, is the no. 1, no. 2 and no. 3 issue,” Pocan said.
And despite President Donald Trump’s attempts to distract voters with an incoming group of immigrants which is scheduled to possibly arrive months from now, Pocan said voters are not buying the fear tactics when they are concerned about covering expenses and maintaining insurance coverage. Especially when everyday people are struggling to pay their bills by working more than one job.
“People are still hurting out there,” Pocan said. “The unemployment rate might be lower, but a lot of people are working two or three part-time jobs without benefits; that’s not what we’re trying to get done.”
Pocan spent time at the end of October knocking on doors in Janesville with 1st Assembly District candidate Randy Bryce. He said the tone of the “most unpresidential president” in his lifetime has people concerned for their safety as “acts of hate” become more frequent, such as the recent mass murder of Jewish people during services at the Tree of Life synagogue in Pittsburgh.
When Pocan approached the home of a same-sex couple in which one partner is deaf, he noted the divisive tone had affected their feeling of safety.
“What they told me is, literally, they’re afraid to have their names on a government list because someone might come and get them,” Pocan said. “That’s the kind of conversations people have right now because of the tone form the very top; it’s this very divisive tone.”
Topics like the wall proposed for the southern border or the incoming caravan are reiterated, but no action is taken, he said. Pocan noted that in order to help bolster the workforce in Wisconsin, in areas like agriculture and farming where laborers are needed, comprehensive immigration reform would be required. It would help avoid the “human issues that come up,” he said, such as an immigrant’s reluctance to report abuse or a tendency of employers to take advantage of undocumented workers.
Still, the topic of pre-existing conditions remains the most important in the minds of all citizens, regardless of party affiliation. Pocan, who now has one because of a heart problem last year, understands the concern because “it’s just something people have” and frequently talks to people with concerns for themselves or family members.
He noted the lawsuit being brought by Gov. Scott Walker and Attorney General Brad Schimel that calls for the Affordable Care Act to be declared unconstitutional. Pocan said, as is with the federal government’s attempts to repeal the Obama-era plan, the governor and Republicans have no back-up plan to help people with pre-existing conditions maintain health insurance coverage.
“Words are cheap, actions are not, and when they’ve actually voted to do things that would take them away … all they’ve got to do, if they really mean what they say, is drop out of the lawsuit,” Pocan said. “Instead, they’re giving it a lot of campaign time rhetoric, so I think they realize people care about it. The problem is, they’re not really representing their constituents.”