“We leverage our experience organizing communities throughout Wisconsin, not just in Madison and Milwaukee, but also in the northern part of Wisconsin where there are large communities of the Hmong and people of color,” Her said. “In Green Bay, there is a large Latino community. In the northwest part of Wisconsin, there is large Somalian immigrant community. How do we connect with those communities of color and folks in general who connect with the fact that I always say, ‘My children are living proof that the American Dream endures. They are the fruit of the vision their grandparents have. They got on the plane with nothing but the clothes on their back to come to America so that I and my children would have opportunity. They are that American Dream.’ People from around Wisconsin relate to that lived experience and why it has led me to this path of public service.”

Her also recognizes that Democrats shouldn’t concede the rural vote.

“We recognize that we need to show that Democrats do care about rural Wisconsin,” Her emphasized. “There are things that Democrats are doing that support the family farms. I firmly believe that Wisconsin has had a rich heritage of farming. When these large factory farms called CAFA come in, they pollute the environment. We have to protect our farmland and protect our farmers from these large factory farms coming in. Those are issues that we’ve been hearing about and we want to make sure that we support our farmers too.”

Her is most concerned that their vote won’t count if Republicans have their way.

“A lot of the legislation that Republicans are trying to pass saying the legislation is going to make our elections safer really isn’t about that,” Her observed. “It’s about disenfranchising people who look like me because they know that if folks like me are able to vote, the state would be a blue state and Democrats would win. They are going to try to pass laws that make it harder for people to vote. That’s absentee voting as well as ballot boxes, being able to drop it off somewhere that is secure that is also closer to their home. We also have to make sure that we have fair maps, that there is representation in the districts so that everyone’s voice is heard and not gerrymandered maps where only a certain party wins every time regardless of who the candidate is. That’s not really our democracy. That’s not really what this country was founded on. It’s founded on the principle that every person gets one vote and one voice.”

What the pandemic revealed was the need for all people to have access to quality healthcare, something that isn’t available in Wisconsin.

“I firmly believe that healthcare is a fundamental right,” Her said. “It’s not a privilege. People should have access to good quality healthcare where they can go and get the services that they need. Expanding Medicaid is something that is easy to do in terms of making sure that folks have access. And continuing to support the American Care Act is important. It’s not universal healthcare that I would support. But it’s a move towards that. How do we move towards universal healthcare because then everyone would be able to get the healthcare coverage that they need.”

Housing is another issue where the Democrats need to take the lead.

“I’ve been fortunate to sit on a statewide taskforce looking at homelessness and the different policies that the state has on making sure there is affordability and looking through the racial lens on how we can improve that for the homeless,” Her said. “We have veterans who are struggling to get housing. There are folks in general who can’t afford housing due to the current market. The prices for housing are higher than we have ever seen. How do we create programs to help individuals to get into apartments? One of the challenges I hear is, ‘I have enough where I can pay rent. But it is the security deposit that keeps me back. Oftentimes they want 1-2 times what the rent is.’ How do we help with their security deposits so that they can pay towards that security deposit whether it is though monthly payments or others ways so that we can get people into housing right away? It’s the same with homeownership. ‘I can afford a monthly mortgage, but that down payment, whether it is 10-15 percent, how can I get help to get that initial deposit to get that loan?’ We have to do better.”

In terms of employment, Her feels that a living wage created through an access to education are important. But quality childcare is equally important.

“When I talk to people in rural areas, especially in northern Wisconsin, whether it is Door County or the Wisconsin Dells, they recognize that a lot of their workers are aging out and are not there anymore and a lot of the women who are mothers want to go back into the workforce, face that childcare shortage,” Her said. “There are childcare desserts all around Wisconsin. We have to make sure that we have more providers and are paying them more so that they can have a life-sustaining wage as a childcare provider and make sure they are trained properly to have good quality childcare so that folks will go back to work.”

Peng Her is ready to serve as Governor Tony Evers’ lieutenant governor and get Wisconsin serving its residents again.