Kamala Harris headlines Baldwin rally
Senators hammer GOP hopefuls for taking out-of-state money
Tammy Baldwin got some more big-league help in her re-election bid.
On Saturday, Baldwin was joined by U.S. Sen. Kamala Harris, D-Calif., at a rally at Milwaukee’s Italian Community Center.
And there was certainly plenty of buzz as someone in the crowd shouted to Harris: “Run for president.”
Harris responded: “Thank you. But I’m here for Tammy.”
Harris is Baldwin’s fifth Democratic Senate colleague to visit the state in the campaign, following appearances by Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts, Maggie Hassan of New Hampshire, Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota and Cory Booker of New Jersey.
In a state Donald Trump won in 2016, Baldwin faces a tough re-election battle and is determined to turn out the vote in Milwaukee.
Delafield businessman Kevin Nicholson and state Sen. Leah Vukmir of Brookfield are competing for the
Republican Party nomination.
Harris said Baldwin is a “fighter” but in a Wisconsin way, “truly modest” while “always standing for working families, always standing for what is practical, what is right.”
Harris and Baldwin both hit on the theme that outside money has poured into Wisconsin to oust the first-term Democrat.
Nicholson has benefited from $6 million in outside spending, with $1.5 million supporting Vukmir and $1 million in favor of Baldwin.
In addition, $3 million in outside spending has gone against Baldwin.
“Now, you all know this, they’ve been running ads since January of last year,” Harris said. “We’ve got a lot of folks up for re-election. I don’t think any of them were looking at campaign commercials against them since January of last year.
“These folks are spending tens of millions of dollars trying to take her out. You have to ask why would they be putting so much in trying to take her out. And the answer is pretty obvious, because she is a force of power.”
In her speech, Baldwin discussed taking on special interests across a range of issues, including taxes and health care. She talked about being a child of nine, with a pre-existing medical condition, and being hospitalized for three months.
“It made me want to be in public service to create opportunities for everyone to have affordable health care,” she said.
Health care is emerging as a key fault line in the race. Baldwin backs the Affordable Care Act, known as Obamacare, and has signed on to independent U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders’ “Medicare-for-all” proposal.
Vukmir and Nicholson both support repealing and replacing Obamacare.
The Trump administration said Thursday that it won’t defend key parts of the Affordable Care Act against the latest legal challenge filed by attorneys general from 20 states, including Wisconsin.
One of the major elements of the law at risk is the provision that prohibits insurers from denying coverage to those with pre-existing medical conditions.
Baldwin said Friday that she opposes the Trump administration’s move: “The people of Wisconsin did not send me to Washington to take people’s health care away, and I will continue my fight against these relentless efforts to make things worse for Wisconsin families.”
The Republican campaigns hit back at Baldwin’s stance.
“Tammy Baldwin is getting yet another liberal out-of-state senator fly-in because she’s in serious trouble,” said Brandon Moody, political strategist for Nicholson’s campaign.
“Tammy Baldwin can’t defend Obamacare and the disaster it has caused. It needs to be repealed and replaced with a market-based solution free of unconstitutional mandates and market-rigging schemes that do nothing to control costs.”
Moody added: “Covering pre-existing conditions is something Kevin fully supports at the state level. Each state will know best how to manage its own high-risk insurance pools.”
Vukmir reaffirmed her stance against Obamacare.
Mattias Gugel, a Vukmir spokesman, said: “As a nurse, Leah wants to ensure all people have access to quality health care. Here in Wisconsin — that’s exactly what we had for people with pre-existing conditions before Obamacare was forced on us. Leah has long supported Obamacare’s full repeal and free-market solutions that cover people with pre-existing conditions.”