State treasurer will also use her political action committee to help a half-dozen Democratic women running for Legislature.
Saying Wisconsin women need to be “holistic” about preserving and restoring their reproductive health rights, state Treasurer Sarah Godlewski said Thursday she has created a political action committee that will work to unseat Sen. Ron Johnson and also elect women in six key races for the state Legislature.
Godlewski announced the formation of Women Win Wisconsin during an appearance on the UpNorthNews radio show.
“What our whole mission is,” Godlewski said, “is to galvanize and really activate pro-choice Wisconsinites and support candidates in tough elections. I mean, literally, back when the Supreme Court [Dobbs] decision was made in June, half of our population lost rights that they knew. And we know that the state legislature is only going to continue to go after it.”
The focus on the legislative races is called Women Save the Veto, and is designed to protect Gov. Tony Evers’ ability to strike down new attacks on individuals’ rights without facing an override of his vetoes in the Assembly and Senate—something sure to happen if Republicans win a handful of new seats and can claim a supermajority.
Godlewski’s PAC aims to help two incumbent Democratic Assembly members—Reps. Lee Snodgrass (D-Appleton) and Katrina Shankland (D-Stevens Point)—and support four women running in open districts, two in the Assembly and two in the Senate.
The focus on the US Senate race will be done through WAR-PAC (“Women Against Ron”) as a way to get to a Congress that can restore abortion rights that had been protected for nearly 50 years.
“How are we going to be able to move forward?,” Godlewski said. “We’ve got to make sure that Roe v. Wade is actually the law of the land and pass Tammy Baldwin’s Women Health Protection Act. To do that we have to make sure Mandela Barnes is in the Senate—and really elevate how awful Ron Johnson’s record is on this stuff.”
Godlewski noted Johnson celebrated the repeal of Roe in the Dobbs decision, even though public opinion in Wisconsin is decidedly pro-choice—with this week’s Marquette Poll showing 63% of all respondents opposed to Dobbs, including nearly 30% of Republicans surveyed.
