With just 49 days until the U.S. Senate election, candidate and current State Senator Leah Vukmir, R-Brookfield, was in high spirits at the University of Wisconsin College Republicans’ first meeting of the fall semester.
Vukmir, a UW alumna, brands herself as a “mom of the cause.” As a mother of two and a nurse for more than 25 years, Vukmir said she was always an activist in her own right, often fighting for things she believed.
“That’s how I got my start,” Vukmir said.
Independent voters could prove vital in upcoming election, Republican party fears
Vukmir was a member of the Wisconsin State Assembly for eight years before she decided to run for state senator against incumbent Democrat Jim Sullivan in 2009. The seat she proceeded to win flipped the balance of power back into the hands of the Republican Party.
Vukmir said she hopes to unseat another incumbent Democrat this November, Tammy Baldwin, D-Wisconsin, who has represented Wisconsin in the U.S. Senate since 2012. Vukmir largely based her campaign speech on the things she accomplished as a State Senator.
According to Vukmir, she was a part of turning around the budget deficit in Wisconsin and lowering unemployment by six percent.
“I want to take what I have done for you in Wisconsin and go do it in Washington,” Vukmir said.
Vukmir discussed her policy, including her conservative views on health care, gun laws and veteran affairs.
Vukmir said she was proud to see so many conservatives stand their ground in a “campus full of liberalism,” however, she encouraged College Republicans to make friends from other parties and said she’s an advocate of bipartisanship.
Vukmir stressed the importance of the College Republicans’ voice and vote and pledged to make a positive change in the country with the Constitution held at the highest value.
“Tammy Baldwin has not represented us,” Vukmir said.
