Rusk County

Dr. Chris Kapsner is running to heal Wisconsin's healthcare system, public schools, infrastructure, and environment. He believes in investing in transportation and rural broadband funding, fully funding the DNR, fair maps, and Medicaid expansion. As an ER doctor, he sees the GOP response to the COVID-19 as a failure of inaction and believes more can be done. Incumbent Republican Representative Rob Summerfield was a part of that inaction, opposing the Safer at Home order. Summerfield also wrote a letter opposing federal aid to states but received federal aid himself in the form of a forgivable PPP loan to his immediate family member's business. Kapsner is the more progressive choice.

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.

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.

Richard Pulcher is the Democratic candidate for the 87th District. Pulcher's biography includes a varied work history; he is recently retired from the Clark County Health Care Center and his 2020 candidacy is endorsed by Wisconsin AFL-CIO. Pulcher supports reforming the drawing of legislative districts and getting big money out of politics. Assemblyman James Edming supported overturning of the Safer at Home order, and is endorsed by conservative PAC Wisconsin Family Action, the NRA, and extreme anti-choice group Wisconsin Right to Life. He has minimized the COVID-19 crisis and was also the author of a bill that allowed children of any age to hunt while supervised and allowing the child to carry their own gun. There is no verifiably progressive candidate in this race.