WASHINGTON — State Treasurer Sarah Godlewski said she’s hoping to be a voice for farmers in Washington as she runs to unseat Republican Senator Ron Johnson.
She said she brought her Senate campaign to Roger Rebout & Sons Farm in Janesville just to listen.
“My mom always said, ‘God gave you two ears and one mouth for a reason,’” she said.
She’s been to so many farms since entering the senate race a year ago, it’s hard to keep track.
“I am traveling, I am listening and then I'm taking that back with me and we are producing policy papers,” Godlewski said. “Because I want to show people when I get elected, what I'm going to do for them.”
She said these visits will help her stand out in a crowded primary and pay dividends with Republican voters in the fall.
“That's why I'm talking to those Obama-Trump voters, because in the state of Wisconsin, you only win by 20,000 votes,” she said. “So every single voice matters.”
But the state’s Republican Party isn’t buying it. The party believes her across-the-aisle pitch is disingenuous.
“Godlewski doesn’t really care about the issues facing Wisconsin and she seems more interested in returning to her D.C. condo that she bought before running for state treasurer,” said Anna Kelly, communications director for the Republican Party of Wisconsin.
But Godlewski said she’s steadfast in her commitment to helping the state’s agriculture industry. Her first policy proposal centered rural Wisconsin as the state leads the nation in farm bankruptcies.
“Wisconsin is America's Dairyland,” she said. “And for me, I want to make sure that our farmers are always getting a fair shake. It is a critical part of our economy. It's also a critical part of our history. And so we have to make sure that in Washington, we are doing everything we can to fight for our farmers.”
To Godlewski, that also means fighting for them inside the Senate Committee On Agriculture, Nutrition & Forestry chambers. She’s the only top candidate to announce her intentions of serving on the panel. If elected, she’d be the only Wisconsin lawmaker on any such panel in Congress.
“We don't have a representative, not on the House or on the Senate side,” Godlewski said. “And yet, we have the Farm Bill up in 2023. Wisconsin deserves a voice at that table.”
Godlewski’s current job as state treasurer has put her near the top of this crowded race. But a recent Marquette University survey found that Godlweski, like the rest of the Democrats running, is still not well known.
“She is the state treasurer, she won a statewide race,” said Charles Franklin, director of the Marquette Law School Poll. “But the treasurer's office in Wisconsin is a very limited office over the last 30 or even 40 years. Both Democratic and Republican governors have moved to limit the powers of that office and to take most of the treasurer's duties into the executive branch. As a result, the treasurer and Godlewski in particular, has a pretty limited portfolio of things they do.”
Godlewski’s bid has also been costly. Although she’s raised more than $5 million dollars on her campaign, nearly $3 million of it was her own money according to the Federal Election Commission.
“Look, if there's one thing that we know, it's Republicans are going to do whatever they can to outspend us, and I'm not going to let them do that,” Godlewski said. “We have to make sure we have resources at the table to win.”
If she wins in August and November, Godlewski would be the second woman, but first mom, from Wisconsin to serve in the Senate. And at 41 years old in November, she would be among the youngest senators. She said, it’s an important frame of reference as she looks to tackle issues like child care, abortion rights and student loan debt from Capitol Hill.
“This perspective is very different as being the only woman in the race right now,” she said. “And I think that's a voice that really matters in Washington.”
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