Democratic gubernatorial candidate David Crowley and Senator Tammy Baldwin visited the University of Wisconsin-Madison on Tuesday, Oct. 20 for a campaign event on the first day of in-person early voting.
During the event, which took place near Library Mall, Crowley and Baldwin discussed past Republican wins in state races and emphasized their view that momentum was shifting toward Democrats going into November.
Baldwin spoke first, beginning with using the recent success of the Milwaukee Brewers as an analogue to the Democratic Party in Wisconsin. “They [The Brewers] had some years since they’ve gotten this opportunity. And those are rebuilding years. And there is an analogy here because… in 2010, we saw an election that turned things around in our state in a bad way”
She then criticized former governor Scott Walker’s tenure. “We had a governor who took away collective bargaining rights. We had a governor who didn’t support healthcare and expanding Badgercare.” Baldwin was referring to Act 10, a Wisconsin law from 2011 that restricted collective bargaining for public employees.
Baldwin ended with a call to action for Democratic voters in Madison. “We’ve been rebuilding and rebuilding, and now victory is within our grasp. But again, unlike the World Series, when we will be cheering spectators rooting for our team, this is participatory. We are not spectators in our democracy.”
Crowley continued with the message of changing the national political environment. “You are seeing your grocery prices rise. You see tuition rise. And that’s why this election is so important because we cannot allow MAGA extremism to continue in the state of Wisconsin.”
Crowley also talked about the need for younger Americans to get involved in politics. “I always say, if you don’t have a seat at the table, you [are on] the menu. Students have been on the menu. Reproductive health has been on the menu. Affordability, being able to unionize, people with disabilities, they’ve all been on the menu.”
He then shifted to discussing what he believed was on the ballot this November. “Defending our democracy is on the ballot,” Crowley said. “Enshrining reproductive health into our constitution is on the ballot. Making sure that our young people have access to affordability in the future… is on the ballot.”
Towards the end, he began criticizing his opponent in the upcoming gubernatorial election, Congressman Tom Tiffany. “I mean, we’re talking about somebody who was literally being bankrolled by billionaires. That’s because they know Tom Tiffany is bought and paid. And we know that they believe that because he’s already done it in Washington.”
He also spent considerable time attacking Tiffany’s voting record in Congress. “He voted to give billions of dollars in tax breaks to these billionaires on the backs of over 270,000 Wisconsinites who are losing healthcare. He voted to protect this war in Iran, where we are seeing our gas and our diesel prices rise.”
As the event concluded, multiple attendees yelled questions to Crowley about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and his views on antisemitism. He concluded without an open Q&A.
