Governor
David Crowley
Democrat
Tom Tiffany
Republican
COST OF LIVING & AFFORDABILITY
David Crowley
Crowley proposed increasing childcare subsidies, eliminating the minimum markup for gas prices, and lowering property taxes to address affordability.
JOBS & WAGES
David Crowley
Crowley would repeal Wisconsin’s right-to-work law, restore state prevailing wage laws, and protect project labor agreements on public construction and infrastructure projects.
Crowley pledges to roll back Act 10 and restore collective bargaining rights for Wisconsin public employees — the teachers, nurses, corrections officers, and county workers the law stripped of a voice at the table.
Crowley supports raising the minimum wage to $15 now and $20 by 2030, indexing to inflation, and letting local governments set higher floors than the state.
Crowley: WRJN, 8/25/26.
Tom Tiffany
As a state senator and close ally of Gov. Scott Walker, Tiffany helped pass Act 10 in 2011 — the law that ended collective bargaining for public employees and brought as many as 100,000 people to the State Capitol in protest for weeks. Between 2010 and 2019 Wisconsin lost roughly 137,000 union members. When a Dane County judge ruled Act 10 unconstitutional in 2024, Tiffany attacked the decision as “judicial activism by a radical Dane County judge” and said efforts to undo the law were “nothing more than an attempt to raise your taxes and expand government control.” He has also pushed to make Act 10-style policy national.
Tiffany introduced federal right-to-work legislation to repeal the provisions of the National Labor Relations Act and Railway Labor Act that let employers and unions negotiate union security agreements.
Tiffany voted against the Paycheck Fairness Act, which would have closed gender wage gaps by preventing retaliation against workers who discuss their pay and barring employers from using prior salary history.
Quality Health Care
David Crowley
Crowley proposed expanding BadgerCare as an alternative to for-profit insurance, allowing anyone who wants to pay into the system with a small premium to get coverage. This would help lower costs and put the state in a better position to negotiate lower prescription drug prices.
Crowley: Cap Times, 8/25/26.
Tom Tiffany
Tiffany voted for the CHOICE Arrangement Act, which would roll back basic Affordable Care Act protections. Also voted for federal cuts that will result in the loss of health coverage for 10 million Americans, including over 212,000 people in Wisconsin.
Attorney General
Josh Kaul
Democrat
Eric Toney
Republican
COST OF LIVING & AFFORDABILITY
Josh Kaul
As Attorney General, Kaul enforces Wisconsin’s price gouging law, which bars sellers from charging more than 15% above pre-emergency prices during a period of abnormal economic disruption. His words: “Our price gouging law protects Wisconsinites from being charged exorbitant prices,” and he has repeatedly urged people to report suspected gouging so the state can act on it.
Kaul joined the multi-state lawsuit to force the federal government to keep SNAP — FoodShare in Wisconsin — running during the shutdown. His words: “This is about preventing Wisconsinites and millions of others around the country from losing food assistance.”
Kaul: Center Square, 3/25/2020; Wisconsin DOJ, 3/24/2020; Kaul: WPR, 12/3/2025; Leader-Telegram, 10/28/2025.
Eric Toney
Toney has not commented on cost-of-living issues, including price gouging or consumer protection.
Toney does not appear to have spoken about affordability, or more specifically, in support of food security programs like SNAP—known as FoodShare in Wisconsin.
JOBS & WAGES
Josh Kaul
The Department of Justice brought a wage theft enforcement action against a Dane County business owner after the employer ignored a National Labor Relations Board order to rehire workers with back pay. Kaul’s standard for stepping in: cases with significant money at stake, a number of people affected, or egregious flouting of the law. His words: the DOJ works “to ensure that when that happens, that companies are held accountable and that workers are protected.” He has publicly called on the Legislature to pass tougher penalties for worker misclassification.
Kaul: Worker Justice Wisconsin, 4/10/2024; Cap Times, 12/12/2024.
Eric Toney
No wage theft or misclassification enforcement record. Toney’s prosecutions as a county district attorney are criminal, not wage-and-hour, and his campaign has not proposed any worker-protection or labor-enforcement use of the office.
Toney: erictoney.com, 11/12/25.
Quality Health Care
Josh Kaul
Kaul has made combating the opioid epidemic a central part of his tenure, including holding companies accountable for their role in it. He secured more than $80 million for Wisconsin from Purdue Pharma over its role in the opioid crisis and reached a settlement with Meta that will bring Wisconsin up to $313 million over claims its platforms harmed children’s mental health.
Kaul: NAAG profile; joshkaul.org; Wisconsin DOJ, 2/1/2024
Eric Toney
Toney has not commented on many health care issues, including public health or access to health coverage.
Congressional District 1
Mitchell Berman
Democrat
Bryan Steil
Republican
COST OF LIVING & AFFORDABILITY
Mitchell Berman
Berman supports cracking down on grocery price gouging, rent price-fixing, and hidden junk fees. He also supports lowering childcare costs and making housing more affordable by banning private equity from buying up family homes.
Berman: “Priorities,” accessed 9/25/26, BermanforCongress.com.
Bryan Steil
Steil voted repeatedly in favor of policies that have caused the average family in his district to spend over $540 more on gas. He also voted against a bill that would have cracked down on gas price gouging at the pump during energy emergencies.
Steil: U.S. House,Roll Call 114, H.Con.Res. 40, 119th Cong., 4/16/26, Congress.gov; U.S. House, Roll Call 199, H.Con.Res. 86, 119th Cong., 6/3/26, Congress.gov; U.S. House, Roll Call 232, Consumer Fuel Price Gouging Prevention Act, HR 7688,117th Cong., 5/19/22, Congress.gov.
QUALITY HEALTH CARE
Mitchell Berman
Berman is a registered nurse and opposes federal cuts that will result in the loss of health coverage for 10 million Americans, including over 26,000 people in the district. He also supports lowering prescription drug costs by taking on the middlemen who drive up prices, capping out-of-pocket prescription costs, and making $35 insulin available to everyone.
Berman: “Priorities,” accessed 9/25/26, BermanforCongress.com.
Bryan Steil
Steil voted for legislation that will kick over 26,000 people in his district off their health insurance and put rural hospitals at risk. When asked about millions losing health coverage, he responded that it was “a great piece of legislation.”
Steil: U.S. House, Roll Call 190, One Big Beautiful Bill Act, HR 1, 119th Cong., 7/3/25, Congress.gov; “7/10/25 Congressman Bryan Steil,” 7/10/25, WCLO.com.
SUPPORT FOR WORKER
Mitchell Berman
Berman is an active union member and supports passing the PRO Act to protect workers fighting for fair wages, better benefits, and safer workplaces.
Berman: “Priorities,” accessed 9/25/26, BermanforCongress.com.
Bryan Steil
Steil voted against the PRO Act, which would protect workers fighting for fair wages, better benefits, and safer workplaces.
Steil: U.S. House, Roll Call 70, Protecting the Right to Organize Act of 2021, HR 842, 117th Cong., 3/9/21, Congress.gov.
Congressional District 3
Rebecca Cooke
Democrat
Derrick Van Orden
Republican
COST OF LIVING & AFFORDABILITY
Rebecca Cooke
Cooke supports cracking down on price gouging at the gas pump and grocery stores. She supports making housing more affordable by helping first-time homebuyers with property taxes and expanding funding for affordable housing.
Cooke: “Priorities,” accessed 9/12/26, CookeForWisconsin.com; “Here’s how Van Orden and Cooke compare on economic issues,” 9/17/26, UpNorthNewsWI.com.
Derrick Van Orden
Van Orden voted for policies that have caused the average family in his district to spend over $600 more on gas. He also voted to cut millions of dollars in SNAP funding that families relied on to buy groceries.
Van Orden: U.S. House, Roll Call 199, H.Con.Res. 86, 119th Cong., 6/3/26, Congress.gov; U.S. House, Roll Call 190, One Big Beautiful Bill Act, HR 1, 119thCong., 7/3/25, Congress.gov.
QUALITY HEALTH CARE
Rebecca Cooke
Cooke supports reversing federal cuts that will result in the loss of health coverage for 10 million Americans, including more than 26,000 people in the district.
Cooke: “Priorities,” accessed 9/22/26, CookeForWisconsin.com.
Derrick Van Orden
Van Orden voted for legislation that will kick more than 26,000 people in his district off their health insurance and put rural hospitals at risk. When confronted online with those consequences, he responded, “YES!” That legislation also limits Medicare’s ability to negotiate lower prescription drug prices.
Van Orden: U.S. House, Roll Call 190, One Big Beautiful Bill Act, HR 1, 119th Cong., 7/3/25, Congress.gov; “Rep. Van Orden appears to celebrate millions losing healthcare in since-deleted X post,” 7/3/25,WXOW.com
SUPPORT FOR WORKER
Rebecca Cooke
Cooke supports passing the PRO Act to protect workers fighting for fair wages, better benefits, and safer workplaces. She comes from a union family and vows to be an active advocate who will “rally my colleagues to get it passed.”
Cooke: “Priorities,” accessed 9/18/26, CookeForWisconsin.com.
Derrick Van Orden
Van Orden has opposed the PRO Act, which would protect workers fighting for fair wages, better benefits, and safer workplaces.
Van Orden: Derrick Van Orden (@DerrickVanOrden), 3/15/21, X.com.
Congressional District 3
Tom Suozzi
Democrat
Mike LiPetri
Republican
COST OF LIVING & AFFORDABILITY
Tom Suozzi
Suozzi opposes policies that are driving up prices on everyday goods, including groceries, for working families. He supports lowering utility and housing costs by expanding clean energy, cracking down on price gouging, and helping homebuyers get lower-interest mortgages.
Suozzi: “Tom Suozzi’s five-point ‘American affordability plan,’” accessed 9/17/26, SuozziForCongress.com.
Mike LiPetri
LiPetri supported policies that have caused the average family in New York to spend over $500 more on gas.
LiPetri: Mike LiPetri (@TheMikeLiPetri), 2/28/26, X.com.
QUALITY HEALTH CARE
Tom Suozzi
Suozzi cosponsored a bill to reverse federal healthcare cuts and protect health coverage for 10 million Americans, including nearly 25,000 people in his district. The bill also extends health insurance tax credits for hardworking New Yorkers.
Suozzi: U.S. House, Protecting Health Care and Lowering Costs Act of 2025, HR 4849, 119th Cong., introduced 8/1/25, Congress.gov.
Mike LiPetri
LiPetri supported legislation that will kick nearly 25,000 people in the district off their health insurance. That legislation also limits Medicare’s ability to negotiate lower prescription drug prices.
LiPetri: “Issues,” accessed 9/22/26, MikeLiPetriForCongress.com; “House nominee Mike LiPetri lights up RNC midterm convention stage with a pithy, yet powerful speech,” 9/9/26, RedState.com.
SUPPORT FOR WORKERS
Tom Suozzi
Suozzi has cosponsored the PRO Act to protect workers fighting for fair wages, better benefits, and safer workplaces. He also cosponsored bills to improve safety for health care workers, protect workers from dangerous heat exposure, and end tax breaks for union busting.
Suozzi: U.S. House, Workplace Violence Prevention for Health Care and Social Service Workers Act, HR 2531, 119th Cong., introduced 4/1/25, Congress.gov; U.S. House, Richard L. Trumka Protecting the Right to Organize Act of 2025, HR 20, 119th Cong., introduced 3/5/25, Congress.gov; U.S. House, No Tax Breaks for Union Busting Act, HR 2692, 119th Cong., introduced 4/7/25, Congress.gov; U.S. House, Asunción Valdivia Heat Illness, Injury, and Fatality Prevention Act of 2025, HR 4443, 119th Cong., introduced 7/16/25, Congress.gov.
Mike LiPetri
LiPetri has remained silent on protecting the right of workers to fight for fair wages, better benefits, and safer workplaces and on ending tax breaks for union busting.
LiPetri: “Issues,” accessed 9/12/26, MikeLiPetriForCongress.com.