Randy Bryce Won His Primary Tuesday-- Now Comes The Hard Part

Tuesday's primaries in Connecticut, Vermont, Wisconsin and Minnesota added up to a very good day for Democrats and for progressives up and down the ballots. In every state and in every contested congressional election, far more votes were cast in Democratic races than in Republican races. That's a clear indication of Democratic enthusiasm and Republican lack thereof.

Let's take Vermont, a state that went for Hillary, and Wisconsin, a state that went for Trump, as examples. Both states had highly contested gubernatorial races. Democrats overwhelmingly nominated progressive Christine Hallquist in a 4-way contest. The Republican race pitted popular incumbent Phil Scott against a far right challenger backed by the NRA. Not only did Hallquist, a transgender woman, win more votes than Scott, but 57,102 voters participated in the Democratic primary, while only 35,840 bothered to show up for the Republican primary.

In Wisconsin, 537,840 voters showed up for the Democratic primary but just 456,007 came for the GOP primary, where GOP incumbent Scott Walker is polling significantly under State Superintendent of Education, Tony Evers, who won the Democratic primary.

And in the big congressional races, progressives won the day-- Ilhan Omar in Minnesota, Jahana Hayes (who faced down a Chamber of Commerce establishment shill) in Connecticut, and Randy "IronStache" Bryce in southeast Wisconsin.

There's a good chance that the first time you heard about Randy it was from us. Why would I say that? We helped the Working Families Party and state Senator Chris Larson recruit him to run long before the DCCC had ever heard about him. He was "just" a grassroots veterans and union leader activist at the time. But he was the answer to our decades-long prayers about finding someone who could stand up to Paul Ryan. Bryce didn't only stand up to Paul Ryan, he built a brand and a campaign team for himself that drove Ryan, speaker of the House, out of the race.

After the primary results showed a 20 point win-- and showed more Democrats coming to the WI-01 polls than Republicans-- Bryce wrote that "I’d really like to take the opportunity to thank Blue America for all of the incredible help getting us to where we are today. This wouldn’t be possible without amazing people doing amazing things."

"Next stop," he continued, "is to take out Paul Ryan’s handpicked successor. He claims to be a 'manufacturer.' Truth is-- he’s a corporate lawyer who outsourced American jobs to Mexico and China. Trump recently tweeted out an endorsement for him. I really hope he comes to campaign for him."

Like in most districts across the country, voters have an opportunity to get even with Republicans for what they've done to us, while Randy Bryce is telling Wisconsinites what he plans to do for them. "The top issue in the district," he told us, "is health care. It’s really heartbreaking to listen to someone say that they can’t afford to live. Health care isn’t a privilege and I’m going to fight like hell to make sure that we get Medicare-for-All passed. There IS enough to go around but we need to stop giving the wealthiest donors all of the breaks and help out those who do the work."

Needless to say, by Wednesday Ryan's SuperPAC had already started spending big to smear Randy. "It’s not a surprise-- we knew they were coming," he said. "The Republicans don’t have any ideas that help us so it’s all that they have left. It just keeps the batteries charged and makes me want to work even harder. Again-- thank you! I wouldn’t be where I am today if not for you."

But now the hard work starts. Ryan's SuperPAC is slated to spend as much as $5 million dollars against Randy. They were already spending during the primary in the hope of knocking him out then. That didn't work. Nor did it deter them from pushing the Ryan clone they picked as their candidate, Bryan Steil. Please help Randy get through the next two-and-a-half months and take back Wisconsin's first congressional district for working men and women instead of for the rich and privileged. There's a reason why Bernie picked Randy as his first candidate to endorse and why he picked Racine as the first city he campaigned in for a congressional candidate. He wants to see Randy Bryce in Congress. If you do too, please consider contributing what you can by clicking on the 2018 Blue America congressional thermometer on the right.

The DCCC begs candidates to not include controversial issues on their websites. Randy Bryce has done the exact opposite-- straight talk from someone who plans to work in Congress reforming it. Check out his campaign platform. These are some of the issues he wants to tackle in Congress:

• Criminal Justice Reform

Randy believes we must transform our criminal justice system to end the state of violence perpetrated against people of color. Right here in Wisconsin, the incarceration rate for black men-- 13 percent-- is nearly double the rest of the country’s rate. Our justice system must be one that recognizes the dignity and humanity of all people. This will require action within our communities and on all levels of government. Specific steps Congress can take to end mass incarceration and police violence include:

• End the privatization of prisons and policing, and instead insist on community oversight for police departments.
• Eliminate mandatory minimum sentencing, laws that inhibit prosecutors and judges from using just, reasonable discretion in sentencing.
• End the school-to-prison pipeline- Jobs and education are what make communities stronger and keep them safer-- not massive spending on incarceration.
• Provide Marijuana Amnesty and Legalization
• Pass the Wage Theft Prevention and Wage Recovery Act
• Establish federal standards for police training and community oversight for policing so that officers are accountable to the communities they serve.

• Healthcare

• Pass Medicare for All
• Oppose Paul Ryan’s Healthcare Cuts
• Lift Restrictions on Medicare Negotiating Drug Prices
• Tackle the Opioid Crisis
• Support Minimum Safe-Staffing Levels for Nurses
• Drive Down Pharmaceutical Prices

• Gun Violence

• Mandatory Background Checks
• Ban Semi Automatic Assault Weapons, Bump Stocks, and Military Style Weapons and Accessories
• Mandatory 48 Hour Waiting Period
• Close the Charleston Loophole
• Reject NRA Money and Influence

• An Economy that Works for Working Families

• Pass the Butch Lewis Act-- Pensions that hardworking union members have paid into their entire careers are in grave jeopardy. Many retirees have already seen their monthly payments cut by a third or more. The Butch Lewis Act would provide a responsible solution so that the hardworking men and women who responsibly paid into their pension are not forced into poverty.
• Pass a Federal Domestic Bill of Rights-- All workers should have the right to join a union, but currently a law passed roughly 90 years ago does not allow people who work in the home to organize. These workers, including health aides, care for our families. They have some of the most important jobs in this country, and they should have the right to form a union.
• Fully Staff OSHA
• Raise the Minimum Wage to $15/hour.
• Pass Paid Medical and Family Leave and Ensure Equal Pay for Equal Work
• Pass a Financial Transactions Tax.
• Incentivize Veteran Hiring and Entrepreneurship
• Protect and Expand Social Security
• Support Family Farms

• A Green New Deal

• Fund a Green New Deal-- As a Congressman, Randy would support a massive investment in green infrastructure that would generate tens of thousands of new jobs and transform Wisconsin communities into energy manufacturers. One model for this Green New Deal is the Climate Change Adapt America Fund Act of 2017, which would create a fund administered by the Department of Commerce for green infrastructure and to adapt existing infrastructure for climate change. That bill would also provide Americans who want to take on climate change the opportunity to buy up to $200 million in “Climate Change Bonds.” As an ironworker, Randy got to see firsthand how labor could lead the way on solar technology and other renewable energy sources.
• Put America on a path to 100 percent renewable energy by 2035
• End Subsidies to Fossil Fuel Companies
• Oppose Further Fossil Fuel Pipelines
• Protect the Land and Water Conservation Fund
• Rejoin the Paris Climate Agreement
• Protect Funding for Great Lakes Restoration Initiative

• Women's Rights

• Support a Woman’s Right to Choose
• Ensure Equal Pay for Equal Work
• Pass Paid Medical and Family Leave
• Alleviate the Burden on Caregivers
• Accountability for Lawmakers Guilty of Sexual Harassment
• Support Women in Combat in the Military
• End Violence Against All Women

• Education

• Expand Access to Early Childhood Education
• Tuition-Free Public Colleges and Universities
• Protect Federal Funding for Low-Income Students and Students with Disabilities
• Oppose Policies that Take Money from Public Schools to Fund For-Profit Schools
• Fight for Funding to Keep Class Sizes Small and Students on Grade Level
• Fight for Student Loan Debt Relief
• Protect Students from Predatory For-Profit Colleges
• Increase Vocational Training
• Protect Funding for Arts and Music in School
• Listen to our Educators-- Randy believes our schools thrive when educators have a voice. These are, after all, the people working closest with our children. So, before taking any votes on education policy issues, Randy will meet with educators from all sides of the education debate to get meaningful input from educators who will ultimately implement policies.

• Immigration

• Pass a clean DREAM Act
• Pass DAPA
• End private prisons
• Abolish ICE
• Oppose cuts to legal immigration