Sen. Kelda Roys, D-Madison, discussed standing up to President Donald Trump’s administration, the importance of investing in the University of Wisconsin System and the critical role of governors in an interview with The Daily Cardinal on her decision to run for governor.
Roys, an attorney, small business owner and mother, launched her campaign for governor on Sept. 15. She has represented the Madison-area in the State Senate since 2021 and served two terms in the State Assembly from 2009-2013. Roys previously ran for governor in 2018.
She joins Democratic candidates Lt Gov. Sara Rodriguez, Milwaukee County Exec David Crowley, Rep. Francesca Hong, D-Madison, and Ryan Strnad and Republican candidates Washington County Exec Josh Schoemann and businessman Bill Berrien.
Roys pledged to University of Wisconsin-Madison students she would be an advocate for higher education.
“I want everyone at UW to know that I'm always going to be a champion for public higher education in the state, to make sure that every single person — no matter who you are or where you're from — has a great public education from early childhood through to college and beyond,” Roys said.
Roys said she would address the student loan debt crisis as well, ensuring students have the opportunity to achieve their career goals without financial pressures.
Role of Governors
Roys mentioned California Gov. Gavin Newsom, Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker and Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, saying it’s crucial for state leaders to resist the Trump Administration’s actions, including “crackdowns” on American citizens’ right to free speech and the deployment of the National Guard to cities like Los Angeles, Washington D.C. and Memphis.
Wisconsin’s next governor needs a “spine of steel” to “stand up to the bullies and billionaires in Washington D.C.,” Roys said. “I've spent over 20 years working to make progressive change in the state of Wisconsin, traveling around the state and listening to people and translating their concerns into meaningful public policy.”
She also criticized federal budget cuts to education, child care, public health and health insurance, arguing Wisconsin’s governor must protect Wisconsinites from these cuts.
“I think governors play a really important role in standing up for the core principles of democracy — like the rule of law, free speech, freedom of religion, due process and pluralism and tolerance,” Roys said.
Lowering costs
Roys emphasized the importance of investing in the UW System and the Wisconsin Technical College System, saying they’re critical for the state’s economy.
She noted the frequent tuition increases, which she said are largely due to decades of Republican-led budget cuts to the UW System, making it harder for universities to attract and retain top professors and researchers.
The UW System Board of Regents voted to raise undergraduate tuition by 4% for the 2025-26 academic year, with an optional 1% increase for individual campuses in July. The decision followed an agreement between Gov. Tony Evers and Republican legislative leaders to provide the UW System with a $256 million funding increase — the largest in about two decades — significantly less than the $856 million originally requested.
Roys also highlighted the state’s affordable housing crisis, where she said she is working not only to increase the housing supply but also restore tenant protections.
“We face an affordable housing crisis because there just isn't enough being built,” Roys told the Cardinal. “I've taken the lead on that in the legislature… trying to restore the tenant protections that the Republican landlord caucus has decimated over their 15 years in power and working on zoning reforms and state housing programs to increase the supply of housing and take the pressure off of the housing market.”
In 2011, the Republican-controlled Legislature began passing laws weakening tenant protections by allowing landlords to access more personal information about their tenants, preventing local government from prohibiting winter evictions and restricting what information tenants could receive.
Reproductive Rights
Before her time in the Senate, Roys served as executive director of the National Association for the Repeal of Abortion Laws Pro-Choice Wisconsin, where she helped pass the first abortion rights legislation in a generation despite a Republican-controlled Assembly.
“I've been fighting this fight since before most people realized that there was a threat to abortion rights,” Roys said.
As co-chair of the Legislature’s Reproductive Freedom Caucus, Roys said she plans to keep working to remove Wisconsin’s abortion bans and remove “politically motivated restrictions” that make abortion more difficult and costly to access.
She also called for the expansion of all forms of health care, including mental health services, access to prescription drugs, contraceptives, prenatal care and comprehensive, medically-accurate sex education.
Zoey Elwood is copy chief for The Daily Cardinal. She also covers state news.
