Contact: Brandon Weathersby, 414-364-6729, brandon@andygronik.com

MILWAUKEE — On day one of his candidacy, Andy Gronik sent a clear message to the state of Wisconsin that he’s interested in championing the best ideas no matter where they come from. This past weekend was no exception when Gronik spent all three days camped outside the Republican Party of Wisconsin convention holding Facebook Live events with everyday Wisconsinites to talk about how Gov. Scott Walker’s policies have failed them for nearly eight years. Naturally, Gronik’s mobile Facebook Live studio caught the interest of Republican convention-goers as they exited the convention center.

Even the hecklers, one of whom approached Gronik live on Periscope, couldn’t resist engaging in an optimistic conversation with him about the future of Wisconsin. Andy’s interaction with them couldn’t have been further from Walker’s claims of ‘hate and anger.’

When approached by a gentleman broadcasting live on Periscope, Gronik greeted him and explained that he was at the convention to spread an optimistic vision of the state that actually makes Wisconsin work again for the people — and not the special interests that Walker has carried water for:

Even as the conversation turned outwardly political and Andy was asked about his chances of beating Scott Walker, he remained engaged and repeated his optimistic vision for the state. As if on cue, Republican trackers that follow Andy at nearly every event he attends statewide, attempted to disrupt the conversation by asking pointed political questions and refusing to have an open and productive conversation about the issues everyday people face:

Republican trackers left the scene after only capturing video of Andy’s optimistic plan to turn Wisconsin into a state that works for the people once again (as opposed to the opportunistic, ‘gotcha’ sound bites they were obviously looking for):

But, the conversation on Periscope continued at the insistence of the live stream host who continued to pepper Andy with loaded questions regarding public education in Wisconsin. Andy asked him to “leave the red meat in the fridge” so they could engage in a real conversation about the issue:

“I knew that being the only Democratic candidate to send a roaming billboard callout Scott Walker’s special interest ties would cause some attention at the Republican Party convention, but as I’ve said all along, this campaign is about using the best ideas to move our state forward — no matter where they come from,” concluded Gronik. “I engaged the Republicans who approached me because I genuinely feel like their ideas matter, too. And, when I’m governor of this state, we’re going to get back to having conversations that engage both sides of the aisle and leaves the politics aside. But, it’s going to take someone who is unafraid to walk across the aisle and have those conversations. I did it this past weekend with people I knew didn’t agree with me on every issue and had every motivation to embarrass me and my campaign. I’ll continue to do that as a candidate and it’s that kind of bipartisan approach that will – in part – define my tenure as the next governor of Wisconsin.”

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