MILWAUKEE — Wisconsin Democrats hosted their state party convention in Milwaukee over the weekend to draw a contrast between the Republican’s national convention that is a little more than a month away.
To help show what the party believes is at stake, Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker lent his voice to the effort, and before taking the stage on Saturday night, sat down for a one-on-one interview with Spectrum News 1 Political Anchor Anthony DaBruzzi to discuss the impact of having both presidential nominating conventions in neighboring states.
For Pritzker, whose state is hosting the Democratic National Convention in August, the biggest difference between the massive political events is values.
“When we have our convention, people are going to be there celebrating the fact that we have a president who stands up for a woman's right to choose, a president who is actually bringing jobs home, manufacturing jobs, particularly, and a president who really believes in the power of working families and standing up for them,” Pritzker explained.
“Here in Milwaukee, the Republican National Committee will be holding their convention, and it'll be all about the cult of personality around Donald Trump. It seems to me you're going to see an awful lot of people that are abandoning the Republican Party and voting for our president, for Joe Biden, because the values of the Republican Party have been, well, run away with by Donald Trump,” he added.
The Democratic Party of Wisconsin invited the Illinois governor to be the keynote speaker at its state convention in Milwaukee over the weekend. Pritzker said it was an important opportunity to connect with the people on the ground making phone calls and knocking on doors.
“I felt it's my obligation to, wherever I can in the country, but particularly in my neighboring state, Wisconsin, it's important to, for people to see governors and senators from around the country, paying attention to the state of Wisconsin and helping to amplify the messages that I think are going to be so effective at winning over Wisconsin voters,” Pritzker said.
It’s no secret that Pritzker has been a huge financial supporter of Wisconsin Democrats. Last year alone, when the party was campaigning hard to elect Supreme Court Justice Janet Protasiewicz, Pritzker donated nearly a million dollars. He said he plans to stay involved this election cycle too.
“When I get asked to support Democrats across the country, I'm usually pretty responsive to that, and particularly in the state that's our neighbor to the north,” Pritzker said.
Wisconsin isn’t just a neighbor to Pritzker, who applauds fellow Democrat Gov. Tony Evers for being a partner. Last month, President Joe Biden announced a nearly $3.3 billion investment by Microsoft, which is building a new artificial intelligence center at the previous Foxconn site in Racine County. The project is just across the state line from where, earlier this year, Pritzker announced a plan to make Chicago the nation’s “quantum technology capital.” However, he said he believes it’s not a matter of competition but collaboration.
“Wisconsin is going to be a hugely important element of what I think will be the bringing of the next generation of forward thinking and important technology to the United States,” Pritzker explained of the partnership between the University of Wisconsin-Madison and institutions in Illinois. “Quantum technology, if the Chinese win at this, will mean that the United States will become a second-tier power, but if we win, and I think we will, it will be the Midwest that carries the day.”
Pritzker also hopes the Midwest carries the Biden-Harris administration to a second term.
“I’ve said it from the very beginning—we have a ‘blue wall’ in the Midwest that we have got to make sure we are shoring up and maintaining,” Pritzker said. “That includes not just Wisconsin, of course, Illinois, Michigan, Minnesota—where, by the way, you’ve got four great Democratic governors who share similar values and are fighting for the same things.”
Though there seems to be infighting ahead of the DNC, especially among young voters who are unhappy with President Biden’s handling of the Israel-Gaza war, Pritzker, again, reiterated that values should drive people to the polls in November.
“I think, ultimately, when you get to the November election, there are people who of course, talk about third-party candidates or people who are not thoroughly satisfied with the candidates of their own party,” Pritzker responded. “But I can tell you this—they are going to have a pretty clear distinction between these two candidates. They are going to have a choice to make between two candidates. If you really want to make a difference, you're going to have to show up and vote for the candidate that's most in tune with your values. Young people don't see Donald Trump as in tune with their values. It's the Democratic Party and what we stand for that will ultimately win them over.”