Democratic gubernatorial candidate Lt. Gov. Sara Rodriguez discussed her support for increased funding for the University of Wisconsin System, saying tuition hikes are a “burden” for families in an interview with The Daily Cardinal Monday.
Rodriguez highlighted Democrats' opportunity to flip control of both the state Assembly and Senate, where they can make an “actual difference in people’s lives.” With a Democratic-controlled Legislature, she is “excited” about what Wisconsin can do for their universities, like hopefully lowering UW System tuition.
“This is a jewel that we have in our state. We have such great universities,” Rodriguez said. “We also know that we're losing younger people out of the state. We are an aging state. If we want to keep people here in the state… we're going to have to continue to invest in education.”
Rodriguez said this issue is personal to her, as her son is a freshman at the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater.
“I had to write a check for tuition for him, and so I know how expensive it is for many families across the state, and some families just can't make it work,” she said. “It’s a real burden.”
Rodriguez, the first Democratic candidate to jump in the race, is one of many candidates vying for Governor next fall, including Democrats Milwaukee County Exec. David Crowley, Sen. Kelda Roys, D-Madison, Rep. Francesca Hong, D-Madison, Milwaukee Brewers beer vendor Ryan Strnad and Carthage College student Zachary Roper, and Republican candidates Washington County Exec. Josh Schoemann and U.S. Rep. Tom Tiffany.
K-12 education
Rodriguez called for “fixing” the formula for how public K-12 schools get state funding, saying once schools get more funding they can increase teachers’ salaries which will help with teacher retention.
“We continue to vote in these referendums to increase our own property taxes. So we know Wisconsinites want it [increased public education funding],” she said. “We know Wisconsinites are supportive of public schools, so changing that formula to make sure that they have the resources they need is a priority.”
Wisconsinites approved 53 school referendums this spring totaling about $950 million, the most funding approved in an off-year election since 1990, according to the Wisconsin Policy Forum.
Health care
Rodriguez spent most of her career in health care, where she started as a nurse before becoming an executive for Advocate Aurora Health working on population health management. She also previously served as vice president of a Fortune 100 company.
She flipped a Republican-held Assembly seat in 2020, saying she decided to run because she was “frustrated” with leadership, specifically that the legislature didn’t meet for eight months while misinformation and disinformation about the COVID-19 pandemic was spreading.
Two years later, Rodriguez ran alongside Gov. Tony Evers and was elected lieutenant governor.
With a background in health care, Rodriguez said expanding Medicaid is a top priority. She believes Wisconsin could finally expand Medicaid with a Democratic-controlled legislature, but said she remains hopeful even if both chambers do not flip.
“I think we can continue to have the conversations with our Republican counterparts, and again putting pressure on them to make sure that people understand that they're the ones who are not actually doing what Wisconsinites want,” she said.
Wisconsin is one of just 10 states yet to expand Medicaid coverage under the Affordable Care Act.
The Republican-controlled Legislature has continued to vote against fully expanding Medicaid, despite the Wisconsin Department of Health Services estimating the state has spent about $2.6 billion more to cover the costs of a partial expansion compared to the projected cost under a federal expansion.
Trump administration
Rodriguez said President Donald Trump’s “illegal” tariffs are hurting Wisconsin farmers, specifically soybean farmers, adding that she plans to assess other markets for farmers and put pressure on the federal government to stop the tariffs.
After Trump placed tariffs on China in spring 2025, they retaliated by refusing to buy soybeans. China purchases more soybeans from the United States than all other countries combined.
Rodriguez also called for immigration reform, saying former President Joe Biden had a plan that was stopped by Trump so he could use rhetoric for his presidential campaign. She stressed that Wisconsin is a welcoming community for everybody.
Approximately 70% of Wisconsin dairy farmers are undocumented. Rodriguez sympathized with them, saying the issue is also personal to her as her husband is a naturalized citizen.
“He's an immigrant from Mexico, and when Trump won for the second time, I told him to keep his passport card in his wallet,” she said. “If I was worried about my family, I can't imagine how scared other families are out there.”
Act 10, abortion and marijuana
Rodriguez said she supports overturning Act 10 — which eliminated collective bargaining for most public sector employees — saying it would lift wages for everyone across the state.
“We want to make sure that workers have a say in their pay, their benefits and the safety of their workplace. This is common sense,” she said.
Even if she cannot reverse Act 10, Rodriguez said she plans to implement policies to help workers have a seat at the table, such as labor management councils, meeting and conferring with people working for the state government or a way to have grievance policies addressed.
She also said she supports removing Wisconsin's 20 week abortion ban, 24 hour waiting period and in-person appointment and ultrasound requirements because “decisions [should] be between the person and their provider. Politicians should have no say in getting into that exam room.”
“I'm a nurse by background. I know what happens when we have abortion restrictions. People die,” she said. “I want to make sure that we can enshrine Roe within the state of Wisconsin.”
Notably, Rodriguez said she believes in restrictions on third trimester abortions.
Rodriguez also said she supports legalizing marijuana with certain restrictions, and plans to look into and model what other states like Colorado have done.
“Marijuana is not harm free. We want to make sure we get it out of kids hands,” she said. “It is not regulated in the state of Wisconsin, that means you don't know what you're getting within the state. So it's actually quite unsafe to be able to not have it regulated.”
Datacenters
Rodriguez said she supports datacenters, specifically as a way to create long term jobs for the state, but has concerns about their water and electricity, saying the electricity burden should not land on taxpayers.
“On the front end, we need to make sure that these large corporations are paying for the amount of energy that they're using, and particularly has to be done with renewable energy, not just a promise, but contractually,” she said.
Rodriguez said Evers and her worked well together and complemented his job as governor, but said she will govern differently because they are different people. She also said she is excited to travel to every county in the state and hear from all Wisconsinites.
“I want to be a governor for all. I think we need to make sure that people in Wisconsin are not only able to survive, but thrive. And what that looks like is making sure there's food on the table, a roof over your head, a job that you like and you can take your kids on vacation once a year,” Rodriguez said.
The primary is set to take place on Aug 11, 2026.
Clara Strecker is the state news editor for The Daily Cardinal. She previously served as copy chief. Clara has written in-depth on the 2025 Wisconsin Supreme Court race, the 2024 presidential election and abortion rights. She will spend the summer interning with WisPolitics. Follow her on X at @clara_strecker.
