In governor's race, Rodriguez proposes state-run health insurance option; says police should honor ICE detainers
MILWAUKEE (CBS 58) -- The state of the race to be Wisconsin's next governor is a tale of two completely different primary races. Seven Democrats are vying to be the party's nominee as they push to keep control of the governor's mansion this fall.
Republicans, meanwhile, have cleared the way for Congressman Tom Tiffany, who last month received an endorsement from President Donald Trump before Washington County Executive Josh Schoemann promptly ended his campaign.
Lt. Gov. Sara Rodriguez was the first Democrat to enter the 2026 race. She launched her campaign on July 25, one day after Evers announced he would not seek a third term as governor.
In a wide-ranging interview with CBS 58 Friday, Rodriguez outlined proposals to creating a housing czar position, as well as a state-run health insurance option on the marketplace. Rodriguez also answered questions about property taxes, education policy and cooperation with federal immigration officers.
Work as lieutenant governor and wanting a housing czar
When asked for examples of work she's done as lieutenant governor that tangibly improved people's lives, Rodriguez pointed to her chairing an interagency council on homelessness, and how that colored her perspective on how Wisconsin can add to its housing stock.
She also pointed to her background in healthcare when working on ways to address a nursing shortage that is estimated to have as many as 30,000 openings by 2030.
Rodriguez said many of the task forces' proposed solutions made it into Evers' proposed budgets, but Republicans in control of the Legislature stripped them out during the last two biennial budget cycles.
Rodriguez said she believed Wisconsin needs a point person who can oversee three key aspects related to housing in the state. She said, as governor, she would work to create a position tasked with monitoring issues related to housing laws, local and professional regulations, and financial considerations.
"You've got legislation, you've got administrative rules - how you build, what the laws are and regulations for building, and then you've got funding," she said. "And within the state, there's not one person who looks across all of those things and makes sure they align."
Healthcare plan highlighted by public option
Rodriguez released her healthcare plan earlier this week in Madison. The most substantial proposal calls for the creation of a state-run public health option residents could choose if they go to the marketplace to select an insurance plan.
Evers has previously proposed having Wisconsin create a state-based health insurance exchange, which more than 20 other states have done. Republicans in the Legislature have removed those budget proposals.
What Rodriguez wants to do -- have the state offer its own actual insurance plan -- is currently being done in only two states, Colorado and Washington. A policy review posted last month by Health Affairs Publishing found the Colorado plan was about $100 cheaper than corresponding premiums in comparable states.
Rodriguez said the plan would pay for itself, as long as enough people signed up for the Wisconsin-run insurance policy.
"The cost of being able to administer that would be paid by premiums of individuals who are buying into that particular plan," she said.
Rodriguez's plan also echoed standard Democratic proposals, such as expanding eligibility for BadgerCare, the state's version of Medicaid for low-income people, as well as extending Medicaid postpartum coverage from 60 days to 12 months, which would bring Wisconsin in line with 48 other states.
The postpartum extension is widely supported in the Legislature, having passed in the Senate 32-1, but Assembly Speaker Robin Vos has refused to allow the bill to come up for a vote in that chamber.
Rodriguez says police should honor ICE detainers
Rodriguez has previously called for the state to place restrictions on how federal immigrations officer can operate in Wisconsin. She's proposed requiring immigration officers to show their faces and display badges while working.
Similar to her healthcare ideas, though, those proposals would require the Legislature to be on board.
Two other Democratic candidates, State Rep. Francesca Hong (D-Madison) and State Sen. Kelda Roys (D-Madison), have said they'd support abolishing U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) altogether.
Rodriguez did not directly answer a question about whether she'd sign a bill prohibiting local law enforcement agencies from honoring ICE detainers. When asked if she thinks agencies should honor detainers now, she said they should.
"Yes. If they have an administrative warrant, that somebody has been asked to leave the country because they have an order to leave," Rodriguez said. "And they know they are there, and they know they can go to that particular agency because they know they are there and they're looking for a specific person."
Rodriguez said she did not support ICE operating large detention centers in Wisconsin, citing reports from other states where immigrants said they were being held in poor conditions and subjected to physical abuse.
Rodriguez had previously said she had been a target of ICE. When asked to clarify what she meant by that, she referenced her last name. She said her husband is a naturalized citizen and added she was not concerned his immigration history would become a campaign issue.
"He's a naturalized citizen," she said. "[President Donald] Trump signed his citizenship papers within his first administration, so no."
A property tax freeze and an end to school vouchers
Rodriguez said she'd support a freeze on property taxes statewide, which would be funded by state aid to local governments and school districts. It's similar to a $1.3 billion property tax relief plan Evers promoted last month.
Property taxes across the state have risen for a number of reasons, including funding for K-12 education that has lagged the rate of inflation, as well as Evers' decision to make a partial veto to the 2023-25 budget that allows school districts to raise property taxes every year for 400 years.
Rodriguez defended the 400-year veto.
"So, that was the tool he had available to him with a hostile Legislature, so yes, I think that was appropriate," she said. "But what we should be doing is actually funding our public schools."
Rodriguez said she would want the state to revisit its current funding formular and see how other state scale district aid based on poverty levels, percentage of students speaking English as a second language and whether the district is in an urban, suburban or rural community.
When asked if part of the solution is districts downsizing staffing and facilities to align with declining enrollments and birth rates, Rodriguez said she was satisfied that was already happening, pointing to school closures planned in Waukesha.
"I live in Waukesha County, and they've had a strategic plan to make sure they are rightsizing for their community," she said. "So encouraging school districts to look at that is something I'd be in favor of."
Rodriguez said she'd support eventually ending Wisconsin's School Choice program, which provides publicly funded vouchers for kids to attend private schools.
She said that would be a long-term goal, noting nearly half of children in the city of Milwaukee currently attend a charter or voucher school.
"Working to make sure we are appropriately funding our public schools, so they can build capacity, and then, continually moving it forward so public dollars are used for public schools. That's a goal of mine," she said before being asked to confirm she'd want to eliminate vouchers. "Eventually, eventually, but it needs to be a in a stepwise manner than keeps kids and their success central to that process."
On Epstein files
As the U.S. Department of Justice released another batch of the documents tied to late convicted sex criminal, Jeffrey Epstein, Rodriguez said anyone found to have committed crimes against underage girls should be in jail, regardless of their political ties.
The latest release found communications Epstein had about his private island with Reid Hoffman, the co-founder of LinkedIn and a massive donor to Wisconsin Democrats in recent years, as well as right-wing tech billionaire Elon Musk, who's poured millions into the Trump campaign and last spring's election for control of the state Supreme Court.
Neither Hoffman nor Musk have been accused by investigators of criminal wrongdoing.
"If there is anybody in the Democratic Party that are in these files, that abused children, that is a hard line for us," Rodriguez said. "We absolutely need to investigate and make sure people who are brought to justice, and I don't care who it is. I don't care if it's a Democrat. I don't care if it's a Republican. Every single one of those men need to be brought to justice."
You can watch past CBS 58 interviews with the following candidates:
David Crowley