SEIU Wisconsin Endorsements

Former small business owner and union leader LaTonya Johnson is running for re-election to her second term in the State Senate. Johnson has been an advocate for working and low-income families in the Senate. Her top priorities include criminal justice reform, economic development in her Northwest Milwaukee District, health care access, and early childhood education. Johnson is a hardworking legislator that represents her constituents well. Her opponent, Republican Alciro Deacon, is endorsed by Pro-Life Wisconsin and Wisconsin Right to Life. She is the progressive choice in this race.

Small business owner and substitute teacher Neal Plotkin is challenging longtime Senator Alberta Darling. Plotkin's priorities include fighting for fair legislative maps, investing in public schools, and improving public infrastructure. He has expressed his support for science based approaches to the COVID-19 pandemic, including Gov. Evers' mask mandate. His opponent, Alberta Darling, has been instrumental in suppressing progressive priorities as the powerful Co-Chair of the Joint Finance Committee. With her hold on the Wisconsin's purse strings, she has done the bidding of monied special interests. She has supported voter suppression, opposed Badgercare expansion, and declined to adequately fund for public schools. In her time as an elected official, she has become far more conservative on choice and gun violence prevention, following her party to the right. She is partially responsible for Republican inaction during the ongoing pandemic and called for the legislature to reconvene to strike down Governor Evers' mask mandate. Plotkin is the more progressive choice.

Patty Schachtner is running for re-election after winning a special election in 2018. Schachtner has worked in healthcare for decades and backs a law to guarantee people can get coverage if they have a pre-existing condition. As a Senator, she has also worked to support efforts to improve access to healthcare in rural areas. She got her EMT certificate from Wisconsin Indianhead Technical College and knows that college isn't for everyone, and she is committed to adding more skills training classes in our high schools and technical colleges to help Wisconsin students add skills and get better jobs. Her opponent, Republican Assembly Member Rob Stafsholt is very conservative. He is anti-choice, pro-vouchers, and a shill for big business. Stafsholt voted repeatedly to let health insurers deny coverage to people for pre-existing conditions in Wisconsin and to allow insurance companies to charge people more for a pre-existing condition if they lose their insurance. He also voted to give FoxConn up to three billion dollars in Wisconsin taxpayer money. Schachtner is the more progressive choice.

Melissa Sargent has served as the 48th District Assembly Member for 7 years and is seeking election to the Senate. Sargent's priorities include building more affordable housing, raising the minimum wage, investing in infrastructure and public transit, and protecting natural resources. She is the author of universal background check legislation, minimum wage increase legislation, and more. Her opponent is Scott Barker, a Republican that opposes common sense gun reform laws. Sargent is the progressive choice in this race.

Aaron Wojciechowski is an educator and local elected official whose priorities are supporting small businesses, quality public education, creating a public-option for healthcare coverage, and investing in infrastructure. He also favors criminal justice reform and marijuana legalization. If elected, he would be the first Latinx person elected to the Wisconsin State Senate. His opponent, incumbent Dan Feyen is anti-choice and against common sense gun violence prevention. Wojciechowski is the progressive choice.

Paul Piotrowski is a decorated former Navy officer who served his home of Stevens Point for over 26 years, most recently as City Clerk. He’ll put the middle class first in the economic response to coronavirus and work to get help for working families and small businesses that are struggling here at home. Piotrowski worked a good blue-collar job and gets that college might not be for everyone, but a good-paying job should be. He'll also fight to expand access to affordable health care and protect people with pre-existing conditions from losing their health care. His opponent, first term Senator Pat Testin supported giving up to three billion dollars in corporate giveaways to FoxConn. After accepting campaign donations from health insurance PACs, he single-handedly blocked protections for pre-existing conditions from passing the State Senate. Testin would ban abortion and defund Planned Parenthood. He has actively opposed the state’s Safer-at-Home order and backed the lawsuit to prematurely end it while cases of coronavirus were still growing. Piotrowski is the progressive choice.

Democrat Kelda Roys is unopposed. A former Assembly member, she has extensive proposals on a number of issues from Education, Housing, and Healthcare to Disability Rights, Ending Police Brutality, and supporting dairy farms. Roys believes in Badgercare for All, a Green New Deal for Wisconsin, and the legalization of Marijuana, among many other policies. Roys is a progressive choice.

Jonathon Hansen is running to replace the retiring Democratic incumbent, Dave Hansen. He currently serves as a DePere Alderman. Jonathon comes from a blue-collar family and worked at grocery stores and Walmart before he was a teacher. He’ll invest in technical college and job training. He says we need to hold polluters to account, especially when it comes to toxic, cancer-causing chemicals in our water. Hansen will also fight for better, more affordable health care for Wisconsinites including expanding BadgerCare and guaranteeing insurers can’t drop coverage when people get sick. His opponent, Eric Wimberger. Wimberger is an opponent of reproductive choice and favors taxpayer funded private school vouchers. He has been endorsed and partially funded by the NRA in his previous run for the Senate. Jonathon Hansen is the progressive candidate in this race.

Brad Pfaff grew up on a dairy farm in Western Wisconsin and continues to farm today. He has a son with diabetes, protecting coverage for pre-existing conditions and getting the cost of drugs like insulin down are personal for him. Pfaff knows there are many people willing to work hard but who college isn’t the right path for. He’ll push for funding to bring more job training programs and invest in technical colleges. Pfaff is pro-choice and has called for more investment in education. Republican candidate Dan Kapanke served in the Senate before being recalled in 2011. His tenure was marked by votes that favored his corporate donors. He has also been a subject of multiple ethics scandals, including using taxpayer resources to staff a campaign event and using money from a charity foundation to pay down personal debts. Kapanke has voted for corporate tax cuts and defunding BadgerCare and supported repealing the law that protects people with pre-existing conditions.  He also favors repealing the Affordable Care Act. He is anti-choice and has been endorsed by right wing groups that want to outlaw abortion. Brad Pfaff is more progressive than Dan Kapanke.

Kathy Hinkfuss is a former nurse, healthcare executive, and nonprofit leader. She believes in fair nonpartisan maps, a science based approach to the coronavirus pandemic, and affordable healthcare. Her opponent, Republican incumbent David Steffen supports Act 10 and the restrictions on public sector collective bargaining. He also favored the corporate giveaway to Foxconn that so far has yielded few jobs for Wisconsinites. Hinkfuss is the more progressive choice

Nurse, Healthcare Executive, and former CDC Epidemic Intelligence Officer Sara Rodriguez is running for Assembly on a platform of making healthcare more affordable and accessible, adequately funding public schools, and managing the economic reopening safely. Rodriguez decided to run when she saw residents of her community forced to choose between voting and risking their health in the April election. Rodriguez is a public health expert who will put community health ahead of profit. Her opponent, incumbent Rob Hutton, lists taxpayer funded private school vouchers and shrinking state government among his top priorities. Hutton is also anti-choice. Rodriguez is the progressive choice.

Robyn Vining is running for her second term in the State Assembly. Vining lists affordable healthcare, gun sense legislation, and nonpartisan redistricting as among her top priorities. She has been a leader when it comes to COVID-19 response, introducing and advocating for the Healthcare Heroes Act, which would provide hazard pay, paid sick leave, and healthcare coverage to frontline healthcare workers. Her opponent, Bonnie Lee, is an advocate of taxpayer funded private school vouchers, gun rights proponent, and fiscal conservative. She has been endorsed by right wing politicians and groups such as Scott Walker, Wisconsin Right to Life, the NRA, and Americans for Prosperity Wisconsin. Robyn Vining is the more progressive choice.

Jessica Katzenmeyer is a labor leader, activist, and rideshare driver. If elected, she would be the first transgender Assembly Member in Wisconsin history. Her campaign is focused on reducing the cost of healthcare and ensuring that no Wisconsinite has to incur significant debt to access life-saving care. She is also an advocate for a livable wage and voting rights. Incumbent Joe Sanfelippo has pushed a "tough on crime" approach and worked to make reproductive healthcare more difficult to access. Jessica Katzenmeyer is the progressive choice in this race.

Supreme Moore Omokunde is a member of the Milwaukee County Board of Supervisors. His top priorities are criminal justice reform, expanding healthcare access, affordable housing, and economic development. His opponent is Republican candidate Abie Eisenbach. Moore Omokunde is the progressive choice.

South Milwaukee Mayor Erik Brooks is challenging Republican Assemblywoman Jessie Rodriguez. Brooks is running as a moderate with an emphasis on bipartisanship and practicality. His priorities include investing in public education, public health, and public safety while restoring local control. Although Brooks is a self-described moderate, his opponent, Assemblywoman Rodriguez, is a conservative school vouchers advocate. Brooks is the more progressive choice in this race.

Deb Andraca is a teacher and community volunteer who has been raising her family in the district for the past 17 years. Although Andraca has some previous political experience working at the Environmental Law and Policy Center in the 1990s, she became involved in local politics as a volunteer for Moms Demand Action and was inspired to run for Assembly when current Assembly member Jim Ott refused to support universal background checks. During her campaign, Andraca has been an advocate for action on climate change, BadgerCare expansion and public education. Her opponent, Assembly Member Jim Ott, is a reliable vote for just about anything that Republicans propose. Ott has supported every GOP budget, including Governor Walker’s infamous 2011 budget that slashed public education and healthcare. He does not believe that climate change is real, votes against reproductive choice, consistently favors corporate subsidies, including the Foxconn incentives, and votes against labor on every important issue. Deb Andraca is the progressive choice.

Emily Siegrist is a nurse, veteran, teacher, and mother who is running on her passions for issues like healthcare, education, veterans issues, and the environment. She is in favor of fully funding public education, supporting veterans' transitions to civilian life, improving infrastructure, and protecting the environment. Incumbent Assemblyman Daniel Knodl, who is pursuing another term, is anti-choice and has furthered mass incarceration and broken windows policing through his pursuit of "tougher on crime" policies. Siegrist is the more progressive choice in this race.

Former District Attorney Sarah Yacoub's platform is simple: Healthy People, Healthy Economy. She believes in expanding Medicaid and creating a BadgerCare public option, while exploring a BadgerCare for All model. Mental health and addiction are also top priorities for Yacoub, which would mean expanding opioid treatment options, and improving access to mental health and addiction treatment. She also favors fully funding public schools, nonpartisan redistricting, enacting paid family leave, supporting affordable childcare, and more. Yacoub has progressive policies to meet every issue facing the 30th district. Also in the race is Republican incumbent Shannon Zimmerman, who was on the Joint Committee on Finance, which considers the state budget. He was a key opponent of Governor Evers' effort to expand Medicaid and increase education funding. Yacoub is the progressive choice in this race.

Longtime teacher Elizabeth Lochner-Abel is running for Assembly to represent the rural community that she has served for 37 years. She wants to expand Medicaid and ensure every Wisconsin student gets a quality education by reducing class sizes, equipping classrooms with adequate supplies, and enable districts to recruit and retain quality teachers. She also believes in investing in rural communities by expanding broadband access, repairing critical infrastructure, and supporting farmers. Protecting natural resources is also a value that Lochner-Abel cherishes. She is facing long-time Assemblywoman Amy Loudenbeck. Although Loudenbeck has talked about public health and health care, she has opposed expanding BadgerCare, criticized Gov. Evers' Safer at Home orders and has been a part of the GOP Assembly majority that has not taken action since April on the COVID-19 pandemic and the resulting economic crisis. While she talks about public health, her actions in the legislature have prevented Wisconsinites from accessing health insurance. Although Lochner-Abel's stances are not as progressive as some other legislative candidates across the state, she is the more progressive choice in this race.

Nurse and Army veteran Melisa Arndt is running to unseat incumbent Republican Jon Plumer. Arndt is the Wisconsin chapter leader of Free Mom Hugs, an organization that affirms and supports LGBTQ+ children. She supports affordable healthcare, clean water, and nonpartisan redistricting. Jon Plumer's stated policy positions are ambiguous--indeed, when he first announced his run for the Assembly he forgot to mention that he was a Republican. Although Plumer fails to publicize it, he has served as a consistent conservative vote as a member of the Legisature. Arndt is the progressive choice.

Assemblyman Mark Spreitzer has made nonpartisan redistricting one of his top issues as a Representative of the 45th District; it was the first bill he ever introduced. He has also advocated for updates to marriage and family laws to ensure that gay and lesbian couples have access to the same rights as straight couples. He supports expanding broadband access, disability rights, and a science-based response to the pandemic. Spreitzer was one of the authors of the Healthcare Heroes Act, which provides hazard pay, paid medical leave, and free COVID-19 testing and treatment for frontline healthcare workers. His opponent, Republican Tawny Gustina is opposed to common sense gun violence prevention laws. Spreitzer is the more progressive choice in this race.

Madison Alderman Samba Baldeh has a progressive message. He is committed to 100% carbon-free energy by 2050. Baldeh is pro-choice and in favor of Medicaid expansion and criminal justice reform. His other priorities include increasing affordable housing to eliminate homelessness, and changing education funding from property taxes to state funding, while maintaining local control of schools. His opponent is Republican candidate Samuel Anderson. Baldeh is the progressive choice in this race.

Shaun Murphy-Lopez is running to represent rural Wisconsinites. He wants to support small farms, small towns, and small schools. He aims to even the playing field for small farmers who are competing with large corporations. He supports common sense gun safety laws, assisting families with their childcare and early education needs, and investing in local roads. He supports accepting Medicaid funding, nonpartisan redistricting, and anti-corruption efforts. His opponent, incumbent Travis Tranel, has frequently voted against conservation and water quality and is a member of the NRA. Murphy-Lopez is the more progressive choice in this race.

Small business owner Mark Waldon is pledging that he would represent his constituents, rather than big donors. He supports BadgerCare expansion, marijuana legalization, prioritizing clean water resources over corporate farms, and making trade schools free to enable people to get family-supporting jobs without attending a four year college. He is challenging incumbent Republican Tony Kurtz, who was endorsed by the NRA. Waldon is the more progressive choice in this race.

Farmer and small business owner Kriss Marion is running to unseat Assembly Representative Todd Novak in the 51st District. Marion would be an advocate for rural issues. She believes we must expand BadgerCare in Wisconsin so that our rural hospitals, which are struggling desperately as a result of the pandemic, can be reimbursed adequately for services provided to the poor and the elderly. Marion will fight to prevent insurance companies from denying coverage for pre-existing conditions and to bring down skyrocketing prescription prices.She is committed to environmental protection and was named whistleblower of the year for her efforts on the Lafayette County Board of Supervisors to ensure the release of studies on groundwater pollution that other politicians were trying to hide from the press and the public. Her opponent, incumbent Todd Novak, has branded himself as an independent legislator. However, he rarely bucks his party when it counts and holds a number of extremely conservative positions. He has voted for Republican budgets, favors private school vouchers, and voted for making Wisconsin a right-to-work state. Novak has taken big contributions from out-of-state pharmaceutical companies and insurance companies, and voted against capping the price of insulin. Novak has also abused his position as mayor of Dodgeville. Three sources claim that Novak was drunk at a local event and after being warned he shouldn't drive home said, "It doesn't matter because I have a Mayoral Pass. I won't get into trouble." Kriss Marion is the progressive choice.

Democratic Leader Gordon Hintz is up for his eighth term in the Assembly. He has been a leader in pushing back on Robin Vos and Scott Walker throughout his years in office. Hintz has been outpsoken in seeking to crack down on the predatory payday lending industry and reducing student loan debt. Elected Assembly Democratic leader by his colleagues in 2017, he's continued to advance progressive policy like expanding access to affordable health care, investing in public education, addressing climate change, ending partisan gerrymandering of state legislative districts, and protecting worker rights. Republican Donnie Herman is Hintz's opponent. Hintz is the progressive choice in this race.

Longtime union leader Dan Schierl is running on a platform of social justice, changing school funding formulas, supporting small business, closing the Dark Store Loophole, and ending corporate tax giveaways. He also supports a referendum on marijuana legalization, expanding BadgerCare, and overturning Citizens United via a constitutional amendment. His opponent, Rachael Cabral-Guevara, is a pro-life fiscal conservative who supports welfare reform. Dan Schierl is the more progressive choice in this race.

Tod Ohnstad was elected to represent workers at AMC/Chrysler for the UAW for 25 years and has since been elected to represent the citizens of the 65th District for 8 years. His priorities are healthcare, education, and tax fairness. He has sponsored bills on those issues and others, including LGBTQ+ rights, environmental protection, criminal justice, and union rights. His opponent is Republican challenger Crystal Miller.  Ohnstad is the most progressive choice in this race.

Greta Neubauer has been working in progressive politics for over a decade and is completing her first term in the Assembly. She has pushed for increased access to affordable healthcare and programs to reduce racial disparities in healthcare. She has authored legislation on job creation, democracy strengthening reforms, and climate change. Neubauer was recognized by WI Conservation Votes for the Forward on Climate bill package that she collaborated on with Rep. David Crowley. Her opponent, Will Leverson, was endorsed by WI Right to Life, an organization that wants to ban abortion. Neubauer is the progressive choice in this race.

Mental health professional and business owner Emily Berge is running to help create an economy that works for everyone, not just big corporations. She believes in investing in her community through accessible healthcare, reliable internet, and quality education. She also believes in non-partisan redistricting and conservation efforts. Her opponent, Jesse James, is a private school vouchers proponent who opposed the Safer at Home order, and was one of the signatories of a letter pressuring school superintendents to reopen their local schools. Berge is the more progressive choice.

Rep. Katrina Shankland believes in investing in public education and technical schools, repairing roads and bridges, and supporting family-paying jobs. Shankland has authored the most original bills of any Assembly Member, the majority of which were bipartisan and has been a leader in the efforts to enact measures to protect clean water. Her opponent is Republican candidate Scott Soik, who was endorsed by the NRA. Shankland is the more progressive candidate in this race.

Democrat Nick Milroy is a Navy veteran with a background in fisheries and biology, and a record of being a strong adovacte for conservation, hunting and fishing. He's gotten bills passed under both Republican and Democratice administrations as a legislator while also standing up for progressive ideas, opposing Republican efforts to limit collective bargaining, and supporting reproductive freedom and racial equity. His opponent, City Counselor Keith Kern, who became a Republican after the 2016 election, most recently was the only City Counselor to oppose a mask requirement for the City of Superior. Kern is the Local Director of the powerful Tavern League, which has urged bars to reopen. Milroy is the more progressive choice in this race.

Beth Meyers worked for a non-profit that served senior citizens in northern Wisconsin before her election to the State Assembly. This experience has helped her become a leader in the legislature on aging and long term care, supporting policies like lowering the cost of prescription drugs, stepping up inspections of nursing homes during the pandemic, and cracking down on fraud. She has advocated for fair elections, college affordability, and environmental preservation. She is a union supporter who favors a minimum wage increase, and reinstating collective bargaining rights for state employees. Her opponent, businessman James Bolen, has tied himself to former Governor Scott Walker, and holds many of the same damaging positions as Walker. In contrast to Meyers, who is an ardent supporter of BadgerCare expansion, Bolen opposes accepting federal money to expand access, saying that he views BadgerCare as sufficient. Beth Meyers is the more progressive candidate in this race.

Assemblywoman Lisa Subeck is running unopposed. Prior to becoming an elected official, Subeck worked as an early childhood educator, housing program coordinator, and NARAL Pro-Choice Wisconsin Executive Director. On the Madison Common Council and in the Assembly, Subeck has been a progressive leader on such issues as affordable healthcare, reproductive health services, campaign finance reform, and strengthening schools. Subeck is a progressive choice.

Assemblywoman Dianne Hesselbein is the Assistant Democratic Leader. Her values include reproductive rights, protecting Wisconsin's natural resources, and supporting working peoples' rights to unionize and bargain collectively. Hesselbein supports Medicaid Expansion and a science-based response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Her opponent, Republican Victoria Fueger has opposed mask-wearing. Hesselbein is the more progressive choice in this race.

22 year old Jacob Malinowski is running for Assembly to be a more accessible and empathetic representative than he feels has been representing his hometown. His priorities for this term would be expanding the Wisconsin GI bill, covering more seniors on SeniorCare, reducing the gas tax, funding a mental health counselor for all school districts, and making technical college free for high school graduates. He also believes in a $15 per hour minimum wage, nonpartisan redistricting, and closing the Dark Store Loophole that shifts property taxes onto homeowners. His opponent, Ken Skowronski, opposes common sense gun violence prevention laws, is against a woman's right to choose, and in favor of taxpayer funded private school vouchers. Malinowski is the more progressive choice.

Dr. Kristin Lyerly is running as a Democrat in the 88th district. As a physician, she believes that the COVID-19 crisis has demonstrated the need for change on issues such as healthcare and showcased the importance of responsible leadership. Lyerly favors BadgerCare expansion, tax fairness to benefit small business as opposed to large corporations, changing the school funding formula, and common sense gun reform, among other relatively progressive policies. Her opponent, incumbent Republican John Macco has voted against initiatives to address many of these issues in the state Assembly. Lyerly is the more progressive choice in this race.

Kristina Shelton is a believer in public education, calling for the state to return to two-thirds funding for public schools, fund special education, and end the taxpayer funded private school voucher program. Shelton is also a supporter of BadgerCare expansion, confronting climate change, and affordable housing investments. Her opponent, Republican Drew Kirsteatter is anti-choice and against proven measures that help slow the spread of coronavirus, like the mask mandate. Shelton is the more progressive choice.

Amanda WhiteEagle is running to solve the concerns that she hears from both her parents and her children, which range from social security to active shooter drills. Her platform focuses on climate change, healthcare, education, and rural broadband. WhiteEagle believes in Medicaid expansion, investing in green jobs, making college and technical training more affordable. She is facing Republican Representative Treig Pronschinske. The City of Mondovi settled a lawsuit for $325,000 brought by a former city police office over Pronschinske's alleged sexual harassment and discrimination towards her while he was Mayor. WhiteEagle is the progressive choice in this race.

Steve Doyle is a moderate Democrat running for re-election to his sixth term as an Assembly Member from the 94th District. When it comes to environmental issues, labor, and welfare, Doyle is relatively progressive. He was a leader in the fight against Act 10 and has a strong record on LGBTQ+ equality. While he is personally anti-choice, he has voted pro-choice as a legislator. He is a supporter of gun rights and has received an endorsement from the NRA. However, he did co-sponsor a universal background check bill. Doyle is known for his bipartisanship. His challenger, Republican Kevin Hoyer, is a soybean farmer with a history of racist and anti-immigrant statements. He has defended controversial pesticides and opposes government intervention in health care. Hoyer is strongly pro-business and has criticized unions repeatedly. Although Doyle is not as progressive as some other legislators, he has always stood up for progressive issues like labor rights, public schools, and the environment when it counts.