La Crosse, WI – Today, Alex Lasry will speak at the 2022 Democratic Convention in La Crosse, these are his remarks as prepared:

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Four years ago, I was walking through Fiserv Forum. It was one of the Bucks’ first games in the new arena. I ran into Kanita Hunter.

 

I’d known Kanita for a few years. See, when we built the new arena, we teamed up with organized labor and some elected officials you see right here in this room.

 

We went neighborhood by neighborhood, held town hall after town hall, recruiting Milwaukeeans for good-paying, union jobs… And one of those Milwaukeeans was Kanita. She was there from start to finish.

 

So I run into her at this Bucks game. And while we’re catching up, she turns to her friend and says, “I helped build this! How cool is that?”

 

Most of you know me by now. For those who don’t, I’m Alex Lasry: senior vice president for the Milwaukee Bucks, Lauren’s husband and most importantly, Eleanor’s dad.

 

And I’d like to just take a quick second to thank my wife Lauren, who’s chief of staff at Planned Parenthood Wisconsin, and all of her colleagues for their tireless work on the frontlines. They’re doing their part, and now it’s time to do ours.

 

I’m running for Senate because of a simple idea: with the right people in the right places, working together, we can build great things right here in Wisconsin.

 

And I don’t just believe that. I’ve seen it. And I’ve been part of it.

 

And so have all of you. With the incredible leadership of our chair Ben Wikler, we’ve built the strongest state party in the country.

 

We beat Scott Walker, made Tony Evers our Governor… And sent our great Senator – Tammy Baldwin – back to Washington.

 

There’s just one problem. And I think we all know what his name is.

 

The spirit that Kanita expressed to me, this idea that we can build great things together… Ron Johnson just doesn’t get it. He gave tax breaks to his rich donors while raising taxes on the middle class.

 

He’s attacked organized labor. Spread lies about COVID. Tried to overthrow the government. And he’s even advocating to ship Wisconsin jobs to South Carolina.

 

Contrast that with my record. While I’m proud to have worked in the Obama White House, I’m not a career politician. Instead, I’ve spent my career working with communities across Wisconsin to build something special.

 

When we set out to bring the 2020 Democratic Convention to our state: We delivered.

 

When we set out to build not just a basketball arena, but a jobs program that gave opportunities for minority owned and women owned businesses while paying a $15 minimum wage with a union: We delivered.

 

And, after 50 years, we set out to win an NBA Championship… Giannis delivered.

 

There’s no way I’d take credit for that.

 

We showed that progressive values are good for business and for workers.

 

Because I don’t think we have to choose between fighting for the causes we believe in, or focusing on bread-and-butter issues that make families’ lives better every day.

We need to do both.

 

We need to end the filibuster to codify Roe v. Wade,

To pass the John Lewis Voting Rights Act,

and protect our kids from gun violence.

 

While at the same time, we have to make sure every family has access to clean water, broadband, and we’ve got to pass Tammy’s “Dairy Pride Act.”

 

We can’t just do some of it. We’ve got to do all of it.

And that brings me to the kind of race I’ve been running… and the one we plan to win.

While Milwaukee and Madison are important, I’m gonna continue to visit union halls in Racine, V F W halls in Green Bay, and small businesses in Hudson.

 

Because Democrats have the best ideas for all Wisconsinites… and we should have the confidence to say so.

 

My daughter Eleanor, she’s just ten months old. And when I look at her, I’m not thinking about November. I’m thinking about ten years from now, or twenty.

 

Will she grow up in Ron Johnson’s Wisconsin, where communities are pitted against each other,

Where politicians rob women of the right to make their own healthcare choices and kids live in fear of gun violence,

Where the rich get richer and everyone else has to fend for themselves?

 

Or will Eleanor grow up in the Wisconsin we believe in? The Wisconsin we love, and that we fear is slipping away?

 

I’m asking for your vote, because together, we won’t just fight for our values – we’ll deliver.

 

One day, we’ll look our kids in the eye, and we’ll tell them about everything we accomplished together,

 

How we built a stronger, fairer, more democratic Wisconsin… and together we’ll say:

 “We helped build this.

 

How cool is that?”

 

Now let’s build it together.

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