We have 334 days — and about a million news cycles — to go until the 2022 elections. Amid the ups and downs of polls and punditry, it’s worth stepping back to look at the big picture: Voters want their elected leaders to get things done. And after years of neglect and incompetence under Republicans, Gov. Tony Evers, President Joe Biden and Democrats in Congress are delivering for people in a big way.
While Republicans continue to spew debunked conspiracy theories, attack our democracy and sow division, Democrats have delivered critical pandemic relief, passed an infrastructure plan that will invest billions of dollars into Wisconsin’s economy, and are set to pass a once-in-a-generation investment in workers, families and kids. With families, small businesses and communities receiving much-needed relief, it's hard to argue that Evers and Biden's accomplishments are not a big deal for Wisconsin.
In fact, Wisconsinites have witnessed the success of Democratic leadership since Evers was elected in 2018. Since then, he’s made historic investments in broadband expansion, expanding access to nearly 300,000 homes and businesses across the state, with a special focus on underserved rural areas. He’s also fixing the roads after years of neglect, with 1,000 miles of highway and 800 bridges repaired between 2019 and 2020 alone.
During the Trump years of federal inaction, Evers led the way on his own. Now, thankfully, Wisconsin finally has a strong federal partner to recover stronger than ever. During his first 100 days in office, Biden and Democrats in Congress passed the American Rescue Plan that put money directly into the pockets of Wisconsin families and helped the economy recover from the brink of collapse in record time. Under Evers’ leadership, millions of ARP dollars have helped Wisconsin small businesses, rural health clinics and mental health facilities build back stronger than before — and 10 months later we continue to see communities from Superior to Racine build back better with these funds.
Then, just a few months later, Biden signed his bipartisan infrastructure deal into law, a plan that has garnered support from labor leaders, unions, local elected officials and even traditionally conservative groups like the Business Roundtable Infrastructure Committee.
Despite every single Wisconsin Republican voting against federal funding that will stimulate the Wisconsin economy for years to come, Biden and Wisconsin Democrats kept their promises to voters by delivering a plan that will make our roads and bridges safer, that addresses systemic racism ingrained in the frequent inadequacy of public transportation, that will ensure clean drinking water in every household and school, and will connect communities across the state with access to reliable, high-speed internet. The bipartisan infrastructure law will help Wisconsin reach its full potential — demonstrating what we can achieve when we elect Democrats at every level of government.
This is a huge contrast with the way things went under the Walker-Kleefisch administration. In 2011, when the president extended a helping hand to Wisconsin, Kleefisch and Walker slapped it away, refusing to accept funds for everything from passenger rail to health care expansion to broadband. The result over the past decade has been billions of lost dollars and unnecessary suffering. It’s such a refreshing change to have a governor who can work with leaders in Washington to make a positive difference.
It comes down to values. Who are public servants actually serving? When Walker-Kleefisch won in 2010, and when Republicans won the White House and Congress in 2016, their first priority was to hand out tax breaks to the wealthiest Americans and biggest corporations. When voters elected Evers in 2018 and put Biden in the White House and Democrats in control of Congress last year, their first priority was to ensure working families, small businesses and the most vulnerable communities were at the center of every policy.
Across the state, community organizers, volunteers and activists are talking to their friends, neighbors and families about how Evers, Biden and Democrats up and down the ballot in Wisconsin have delivered real results where Republicans had failed. This past month, the Democratic Party knocked on doors, made phone calls and sent text messages to more than 100,000 voters in a single weekend — reminding voters of exactly that.
We won’t stop until every single Wisconsin voter knows how the Democratic Party is delivering for them. At the end of the day, if voters want leaders that deliver results for working families, Wisconsin will remain blue in 2022.
