Former Dem state Rep. Kelda Helen Roys said today she will formally launch her bid for guv early next year.
“I’m very energized about the possibilities of 2018,” Roys said in an interview. “I believe that Wisconsin is a place where we can have economic opportunities and fairness for everyone again and that voters of Wisconsin are ready for new leadership.”
Roys posted to a private Facebook page today that she is looking for finance personnel and “interns of all kinds.” The Facebook group is dedicated to promoting opportunities for female operatives in Wisconsin politics.
The Madison Dem left the Assembly to run for Congress in 2012 and has been openly looking at a bid for guv.
She joins an increasingly crowded field for guv with 17 Dem candidates having registered to run for the office as of today. Roys said she will formally file for the seat when she launches her campaign, and Madison Mayor Paul Soglin has not yet filed, though he has said it is likely he will run.
The state GOP quickly knocked Roys, pointing to her loss in the 2012 Dem primary to then-state Rep. Mark Pocan, who took 72.2 percent of the vote.
“Madison extremist Kelda Roys was rejected for her far-left views by Madison voters in 2012,” said state GOP spokesman Alec Zimmerman. “While Governor Scott Walker has fought to return power to hard-working Wisconsin taxpayers, Roys’ positions on taxing small businesses and other issues are too liberal even for Madison — and too extreme for Wisconsin.”
