MADISON (Milwaukee Journal Sentinel) - Lt. Gov. Sara Rodriguez is the first Wisconsin Democrat to announce a campaign for governor, launching her candidacy less than 24 hours after Gov. Tony Evers said he would retire in 2026 instead of seeking a third term.

Rodriguez, who was elected in 2022, told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel she is seeking the office to help families navigate economic pressures.

"I'm running for governor because it is such a critical time for Wisconsin and our future," Rodriguez, 50, said in an interview.

"I'm a daughter of a veteran and a union member, and I can see within Wisconsin how families are being squeezed. They are having a difficult time being able to make ends meet, and they need somebody who can lead the state, who can fight for them — just everyday working families."

Rodriguez, who grew up in Brookfield and lives there now, is making a bid for governor after serving in the state Assembly for two years before being elected lieutenant governor in 2022, when former Lt. Gov. Mandela Barnes left office to run for U.S. Senate.

Outside of elected politics, Rodriguez started a health care consulting business in 2020 after working as the vice president of population health and integrated care management for Advocate Aurora health system.

Before that, she held a range of health care positions, including as an emergency room nurse in Baltimore, overseeing nursing in a Denver-area county health department and as an epidemic intelligence service officer for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Rodriguez defeated Republican incumbent Rob Hutton in the Milwaukee suburbs after one of the most expensive legislative races of 2020. She said then that a chief reason she ran was that the Legislature opted not to meet during 2020 when the coronavirus pandemic was at its most threatening. 

In an ad introducing herself, Rodriguez quipped, "I've got two kids that are way too embarrassed to be in this video. A dog named Chico and I met my husband salsa dancing. All true."

"My grandparents were Wisconsin dairy farmers. Dad served during Vietnam and fixed telephones at Wisconsin Bell. Mom was a union member who helped kids with special needs," she told the camera while walking through Humboldt Park in Milwaukee. "They lived in a trailer right before they had us. My mom would want me to tell you that I was a national merit scholar. I know you don't care, but she does. So hi, mom."

Rodriguez told the Journal Sentinel tariff policies of President Donald Trump, whom she refers to as a "maniac" in her campaign ad, will damage sectors of Wisconsin's economy — a key contrast with Republican candidates for governor, Bill Berrien and Josh Schoemann, who support the president's tariffs.

"It is not going to be helpful to small-business owners here in Wisconsin, and we need to acknowledge that these tariffs are a tax upon Wisconsinites," Rodriguez said. "It is going to make it more expensive for Wisconsinites to just make ends meet, and they're already having trouble."

Rodriguez would not say whether she would have signed the state budget Evers recently negotiated with Republican leaders of the state Legislature, which has been criticized by some Democrats as not providing enough funding for schools.

"I think Governor Evers did the best that he could in terms of negotiating that budget," Rodriguez said. "It's important that we acknowledge what a fantastic job he has done for what is now coming up on two terms, and he was able to get the best budget, to negotiate the best budget, that he could."

On policy, Rodriguez said she supports overturning former Republican Gov. Scott Walker's signature legislation known as Act 10, which curtailed collective bargaining rights for most public employees.

She said she supports lifting restrictions on abortion access, which is currently capped at 20 weeks of pregnancy, but maintaining restrictions in the third trimester of pregnancy.

Rodriguez also said she supports the legalization and regulation of marijuana use, citing tax revenue possibilities.

Should Democrats take control of one or both houses of the Legislature, Rodriguez said she would pursue new laws on health care, housing and child care.

Rodriguez could face a vast Democratic primary for governor, with Barnes, Attorney General Josh Kaul, Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley, Milwaukee Mayor Cavalier Johnson, and state Sen. Kelda Roys, among others.

On the Republican side, Whitefish Bay manufacturing CEO Bill Berrien and Washington County Executive Josh Schoemann have launched campaigns. Congressman Tom Tiffany, who represents the 7th Congressional District, also is considering a run.

In a statement, Berrien said Rodriguez "is the very embodiment of Tony Evers and the Madison Democrats’ failed record over the last six years."

"Wisconsin cannot afford to have a continuation of the Evers’ policies that kept us stuck in reverse. It doesn’t matter whether it’s Sara Rodriguez or another one of the radical left Democrats that decide to enter this race, one thing is for certain: I plan to win.”