Thread by @benwikler

WI-GOV DEBATE PREVIEW THREAD (and also, chip in to reelect Gov. Tony Evers!)—tonight, Wisconsin’s Democratic Governor @Tony4WI goes up against ultra-MAGA Trumpist Republican Tim Michels for their one debate. Chip in, then read on to see what to expect…
secure.actblue.com/donate/wisdems…

There are five big issues that are likely to dominate tonight’s debate. Here’s what you need to know about them.

1. Freedom to access safe and legal abortion will be a huge focus of the Wisconsin Governor debate tonight—because it’s a central issue in the race. Freedom is on the ballot.

Wisconsinites support the freedom to access abortion. An overwhelming majority of Wisconsinites—83%, including 72% of Republicans—support abortion access in cases of rape or incest. But Wisconsin's 1849 criminal abortion ban has no such exceptions.

https://twitter.com/MULawPoll/status/1580262683038711813

For decades, #RadicalTim Michels has staked out the most radical position possible on abortion access. He’s supported abortion bans, even in cases of rape or incest, and described Wisconsin’s 1849 abortion ban as an “exact mirror” of his position.

Michels’s personal family foundation donated thousands of dollars to radical anti-abortion groups that oppose abortion in all cases, and are seeking to restrict access to reproductive care. jsonline.com/story/news/pol…

One group Tim Michels funded, Pro-Life Wisconsin, is seeking to *remove the life-of-the-mother exception* from the 1849 abortion ban, and opposes all contraception and IVF.
postcrescent.com/story/news/202…

Michels’s family's foundation, where he serves on the board, directed thousands to an organization that tracks the cell phone location data of women who visit abortion clinics. wisconsinexaminer.com/brief/michels-…

Michels has shown a blatant disregard for women's health, suggesting abortion is never needed to save the life of the mother, in direct contradiction to the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists.
thebulwark.com/poor-poor-piti…

In 2004, Michels falsely stated that therapeutic abortions to save the life of a patient are a “hypothetical which just doesn’t exist.”
s3.documentcloud.org/documents/2311…

Wisconsin’s 1849 law, which Michels supports, could lead to doctors being prosecuted and jailed, and delay access to critical medical care.

That’s Tim Michels: a politician who thinks he, not Wisconsin families and their doctors, should make some of the most personal and high-stakes decisions about when and whether to start a family or what kind of care is required.

Governor Tony Evers is the exact opposite. He believes politicians shouldn’t be interfering with personal health care decisions. He’ll always fight to protect reproductive health care and access to safe and legal abortions. His actions through his first term speak for themselves.

Gov Evers has vetoed 9 anti-choice bills in his first term. In 2019, he vetoed 4 anti-abortion bills passed by the Republican-dominated Wisconsin State Legislature. In 2020, he vetoed another 5.

https://twitter.com/tony4wi/status/1543340070731661313

Gov Evers called a special session of the state legislature to repeal Wisconsin’s hideous 1849 abortion ban, a law passed when women didn’t have the right to vote. The GOP legislature refused to act.
jsonline.com/story/news/hea…

So last week Evers called on the state legislature to provide a pathway for voters to directly repeal the abortion ban by amending the state constitution to allow citizen referenda—like the system in Kansas. What did the GOP do? They refused to consider it.cbs58.com/news/gop-lawma…

Meanwhile, after Roe was overturned, Gov Evers—along with our great Attorney General @JoshKaulWI—filed a lawsuit to repeal Wisconsin’s 1849 criminal abortion ban. If you want that lawsuit to continue and prevail, we’ve got to keep Evers and Kaul in office. jsonline.com/story/news/pol…

Moreover, Governor Evers pledged to grant clemency to doctors charged under the 173-year-old abortion ban. jsonline.com/story/news/pol…

Gov Evers led a coalition of 17 governors calling on Congress to pass the Women’s Health Protection Act, federal legislation that would codify Roe into law.
tmj4.com/news/local-new…

Abortion will be on the ballot this November, and it will certainly be on the debate stage tonight.

If you think Wisconsinites should have the freedom to decide when and whether to start a family, chip in here to reelect Gov. Evers: secure.actblue.com/donate/wisdems…

2. The Economy

Wisconsinites in every corner of the state want the freedom to prosper, earn a good living, and care for their families. That’s why we’re proud of the strength of Wisconsin’s economy under Gov. Evers.

Governor Evers has reached across the aisle to deliver historic tax relief to Wisconsin families, signing into law a $480 million tax cut for small businesses affected by the pandemic and a 15% income tax cut for working families.
wisn.com/article/gov-to…

Over the summer, Gov Evers signed an executive order prohibiting gas and diesel price gouging to protect Wisconsin families and drivers from being taken advantage of as they fill up the tank to get to where they need to go: apnews.com/article/wiscon…

Thanks to Governor Evers, Wisconsin’s unemployment rate has reached historic lows—and the labor force participation rate has reached the top 10 in America:
bls.gov/news.release/l…

Under Gov Evers’s leadership, Wisconsin has a record surplus and the largest rainy day fund in Wisconsin history.
upnorthnewswi.com/2022/08/23/gov…

Tonight, however, you’ll likely hear Tim Michels—a multimillionaire from Connecticut—blame rising prices on Evers. But Michels has said inflation is “a federal issue” and that it’s “tough for a governor of any state” to “have a large impact on inflation.” iheart.com/podcast/139-th…

While inflation is a huge issue worldwide, there ARE things state governments can do to help families cope with rising costs—like sending some of the budget surpluses back to families. Gov Evers proposed doing exactly that. (So far, the GOP has refused.) wpr.org/gov-evers-call…

If you think Wisconsinites deserve to live in a state where every family can thrive, chip in here to reelect Gov Evers: secure.actblue.com/donate/wisdems…

3. Schools are on the ballot. The future of quality public education in WI will be debated tonight.

While Gov Evers—a former teacher—knows how to support our students, families & teachers, Tim Michels gets an “F” for spreading false information about Evers’s record on education.

Here are the facts. Governor Evers is known for his personal motto: “What’s best for our kids is what’s best for our state.” He’s made historic investments in Wisconsin’s public education system.

Under Gov Evers, our schools are ranked 8th in America, up from 18th in 2018—according to U.S. News and World Report—and he’s met the state's commitment to providing ⅔ of public school funding for the first time in nearly two decades.
usnews.com/media/best-sta…

During his 1st term, Evers made the largest general aid commitment to schools in over a decade & the 1st increase in categorical aid special education funding in a decade. He’s invested $30M in student mental health through his initiative—“Get Kids Ahead.” fox11online.com/news/state/sch…

And it doesn’t stop there! Gov Evers has proposed additional support for our public schools, using a portion of the state’s record surplus. It’s really no wonder we call him the Education Governor.

https://twitter.com/GovEvers/status/1564653560066965504

Tim Michels? Well, this is the man who’s said that continuing to fund public education is “the definition of insanity”:

Michels’s radical education agenda would drastically raise property taxes and hurt our students. He said he’d “consider” abolishing Wisconsin’s Department of Public Instruction and would open the door to diverting public money to private schools statewide.

While Gov. Evers plans to use our budget surplus to invest in Wisconsin’s public education in order to avoid increasing property taxes, Michels’s education plan would drain money from public schools and could increase property taxes by $577 million.
jsonline.com/story/news/pol…

If you think that Wisconsinites and our children should have the freedom to learn, chip in here to reelect Gov Evers: secure.actblue.com/donate/wisdems…

4. Public safety.

No matter where they live or what they look like, Wisconsinites want to live in safe communities. We know what keeps us safe—curbing gun violence, funding public safety, and addressing the causes of crime. But Tim Michels’s plans would make us less safe.

Radical Tim Michels has proposed a radical guns-everywhere agenda that endangers Wisconsinites. He’s opposed an assault weapons ban and refused to support “red flag” laws that are backed by 81% of Wisconsin voters—and would support guns on school grounds.

During the Republican primary, Michels was so desperate for an endorsement from the gun lobby that he lied about receiving an NRA endorsement.
cbsnews.com/minnesota/news…

Michels has opposed a bipartisan package of common sense gun safety reforms that included background checks for those under 21 purchasing guns and made it harder for deadly weapons to fall into the hands of domestic abusers.
wkow.com/news/capital-c…

Michels didn’t stop there: when discussing red flag laws, he said that abusers shouldn’t have their weapons confiscated because an “angry ex, ex-spouse makes a complaint...”

Meanwhile, in his first term, Gov Evers has vetoed bills that would jeopardize public safety—including a bill that would’ve allowed loaded guns on school grounds that Michels has pledged to sign.
wisconsinexaminer.com/2022/04/19/act…

Tim Michels’s demagoguery on crime is a huge contrast to Governor Evers—who has made major investments in public safety and is ready to make even more in his second term.

Gov Evers has provided over $100 million to law enforcement and violence prevention, including to every single local and tribal law enforcement agency in the state—and has invested in violence prevention and victim services in high-crime areas: jsonline.com/story/news/pol…

Gov Evers plans on building on these investments in his next term, proposing $105 million in his next budget to support public safety across Wisconsin: apnews.com/article/busine…

Moreover, we know that family-supporting jobs, great public schools, and health care—including mental health care—help reduce poverty and the causes of crime. Gov. Evers has invested in all three. Tim Michels has no vision for any of these.

If you think Wisconsinites should have the freedom to live in safe communities, if you think parents have the right to know their kids will make it home safely after school, chip in here to reelect Gov Evers: secure.actblue.com/donate/wisdems…

5. Elections—if you care about our democracy, then you should care about WI’s governor’s race. If you’re worried about Trump Republicans trying to steal the 2024 presidential election, you should care about this race. Because Tim Michels could deliver that victory for Trump.

In Wisconsin, the governor certifies election results. Michels said that illegally decertifying the 2020 presidential election will be “on the table” if he becomes governor, and wouldn’t say whether he would certify the 2024 election.

One thing you can count on Michels to do is undermine our elections. He’s said that “maybe” the 2020 election was stolen.

He’s even refused to commit to accepting the results of his *own* election.
jsonline.com/story/news/pol…

Tim Michels said that he doesn’t think Trump “did anything wrong” on January 6. Michels would rather appease and stay in the good graces of Trump than protect our democracy.

Tim Michels is so completely in step with Donald Trump that he took center stage in a national investigation into the Big Lie candidates running for key offices across the country. Read this story:
nytimes.com/interactive/20…

On the other hand, Gov Evers has been a brick wall against Republican attacks on our democracy. He’s worked to protect Wisconsinites’ right to vote by vetoing every GOP-led bill (over a dozen) that would’ve made it more difficult for us to cast a ballot.

https://twitter.com/GovEvers/status/1425110941235138569

If we had a Republican governor in Wisconsin, those voter suppression bills would be law now.

Gov. Evers will uphold the integrity of WI’s democratic institutions and stop any assaults on elections in our state. As long as he’s in office, WI’s not passing anti-democracy laws.

If you think Wisconsinites should have the freedom to vote and have an equal say in the decisions that impact our lives, chip in here to reelect Gov Evers: secure.actblue.com/donate/wisdems…

Five huge issues that will be debated tonight:
1. Abortion bans
2. The economy and inflation
3. Education
4. Public safety
5. Democracy

In every case, freedom is on the ballot—and do-the-right-thing Governor Evers has the edge over extreme Tim Michels.

Tonight’s debate is the moment to back our champion, Gov Evers, who’s always been there for us. It’s our time to be there for him. Given the stakes—freedom, democracy, bodily autonomy, safety, prosperity, and progress on every issue we care about—we’ve all gotta show up.

So before 7pm CT tonight, when Governor Tony Evers hits the stage, chip in a donation to say you’re #AllInForTony.
secure.actblue.com/donate/wisdems…