It’s not just that Gov. Tony Evers changed Republican Jessie Rodriguez’s Assembly District, she says a flood of out of state dollars, and a radical opponent who mischaracterizes her positions is making it a tough go this election season.
Rodrigues represents the 21st Assembly District which covers Milwaukee County, including Oak Creek and Greenfield. Gov. Evers redrew her district earlier this year and added a part of the city of Milwaukee that tilts the political balance.
“It’s changed a lot. It used to be a lean-Republican district, about a 52% Republican-district,” Rodriguez, R-Oak Creek, told News Talk 1130 WISN’s Jay Weber. “By our accounts it's about a 46% Republican-District now, so it's changed a lot. It leans-Dem now.”
Evers redrew Wisconsin’s political map, Republicans are calling it Tony-mandering, and Rodriguez is one of the Democrat’s top targets in this election cycle.
“I think the governor's idea was to make sure that he could secure as many Democrat seats as he possibly could,” Rodriguez explained. “So, he definitely made this district more blue than it has been in the past.”
Rodriguez is running against Democrat David Marstellar.
Marstellar’s campaign website says he first got into politics when he joined the Obama Campaign in Iowa, in 2008. From there he settled-in with his longtime partner Issy who is a Marquette graduate and was later appointed by Gov. Evers as Milwaukee County Register of Deeds in May 2019.
Marstellar has never held office but serves on two committees with the Democratic Party of Wisconsin.
Rodriguez said, like his resume, his support is mostly from out of state.
“This election is being bought-out by people who are out of state. Not people from Wisconsin,” Rodriguez said. “I looked at my opponent's [campaign finance] reports. I think over 90% of [his] money comes from out of state. A lot of it is from New York and California.”
Rodriguez also accused Marstellar of being too radical for the folks in Milwaukee County.
“He's a Democrat activist. He's been active on social media platforms like Threads, it's definitely one of the platforms that he's used a lot: Rodriguez added. “I mean a very radical in the sense that he's promoted post calling police Neo-Nazis. He’s promoting ideas of letting criminals out early, or he has called empowering parents to make decisions for their children as stupid.”
Marstellar has deleted some of his Threads posts, but none of the Thread posts that have survived mention anything about Neo-Nazi police officers or call parents stupid.
Marsetllar is heavily endorsed by Planned Parenthood, the Sierra Club, and other liberal causes.
Rodriguez says she is knocking on doors and talking to voters in an attempt to overcome her disadvantages in the race.
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