The Rodriguez Report: Catching up with Sara
Hi there!
If you're receiving this, it means you've been following Sara's campaign — maybe you met her at a town hall, a local Democratic Party event, or heard her speak somewhere along the way. Either way, welcome.
This newsletter is going to be different from the political emails flooding your inbox. No panicked subject lines. No artificial deadlines. Just real updates about what Sara's doing, what she's hearing on the trail, and how we're building the campaign that's going to win in November.
Let's catch you up.
Sara Rodriguez is a nurse, a working mom, and Wisconsin's Lieutenant Governor.
She's the proud granddaughter of Richland County dairy farmers and grew up in a working-class union family in Brookfield. Her mom was a teaching assistant for kids with special needs and a proud WEAC member. Her dad served in the Navy during Vietnam and came home to fix phones for Wisconsin Bell.
Sara worked ER night shifts in Baltimore to pay her way through college. She was on the first commercial plane that landed in New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina, leading outbreak investigations as a CDC Epidemic Intelligence Service Officer. She went on to serve in senior leadership at one of Wisconsin's largest health systems and as a vice president at a Fortune 100 company — all while raising two kids and caring for her father with Alzheimer's.
Politics was never the plan. But in 2020, fed up with the Republican response to COVID, Sara ran for State Assembly. She campaigned door to door in Waukesha County — not exactly a Democratic stronghold — making sure people knew her not just as another politician, but as a PTO mom, a nurse, their kids' Girl Scout leader. She flipped a Republican-held seat, defeating a four-term incumbent.
Two years later, she ran and won statewide alongside Governor Tony Evers, winning by three and a half percentage points — or as the Governor likes to call it, "a landslide." Last year, Sara was the first Democrat to announce her campaign for governor. Watch Sara’s launch video here →
We’re building a 72-county coalition to win in November.
Since becoming Lieutenant Governor, Sara has traveled to all 72 counties — nearly four times now — listening to families, workers, and small business owners about what's making life harder and what needs fixing.
Everywhere Sara goes, she hears different versions of the same story: Wisconsinites are doing everything right, working hard, and still getting squeezed. Property taxes keep going up. Health care costs are out of control. Child care costs more than rent. Utility bills keep climbing while the power companies rake in record profits.
That's what this campaign is about changing.
Sara’s running for governor to make life better for Wisconsinites.
She’s not just talking about problems. She's putting forward concrete plans to fix them. Here's what she's released so far:
🏥 Lower Health Care Costs with BadgerChoice
Health care costs are out of control. Sara's plan creates BadgerChoice — a public health insurance option that:
-Anyone can buy into, whether you're working part-time, self-employed, or between jobs
-Uses Wisconsin's bargaining power to negotiate lower costs for prescription drugs, hospital care, and mental health services
-Ensures Wisconsinites have affordable coverage no matter what chaos is happening in Washington
The bottom line: Sara’s a registered nurse. She's held the hands of patients who couldn't afford their medications. She knows what's broken — and she knows how to fix it. Read the full plan here → [link removed]
📋 Pass a Wisconsin Health Care Bill of Rights
Sara will enshrine core health protections into Wisconsin law so they can't be rolled back by Congress or the courts. Her Health Care Bill of Rights will:
-Permanently protect people with pre-existing conditions from being denied coverage, charged more, or kicked off their plan
-Ban lifetime and annual coverage limits so no family is cut off from care when they need it most
-End surprise medical billing and strengthen hospital financial assistance requirements
-Guarantee protections remain in place regardless of what happens in Washington
The bottom line: People shouldn't live one election or one court ruling away from losing their care. Wisconsin can take responsibility for our own future and build a health care system that works.
👶 Make Childcare More Affordable for Working Families
Child care in Wisconsin costs more than college tuition — and it's pricing parents out of the workforce. Sara's plan caps costs and ensures quality care is available:
-Cap child care costs at 7% of family income so no family pays more than they can afford
-Give parents real choices — including in-home care, faith-based programs, and family child care providers
-Raise wages for child care workers to $18/hour to stop the workforce exodus and keep quality providers in the field
-Expand care in child care deserts where families have no options within a reasonable distance
The bottom line: Sara's a working mom who knows what it's like to juggle drop-offs, pick-ups, and finding care that doesn't cost more than rent. Child care isn't a luxury — it's what lets parents work. Read the full plan here → [link removed]
📱Hold Big Tech Accountable and Keep Wisconsin Kids Safe Online
As a mom of two teenagers and a nurse, Sara has seen firsthand how social media is harming kids' mental health. Her plan:
-Bans addictive design features (infinite scroll, autoplay, manipulative notifications) from being accessed by kids under 18
-Prohibits surveillance advertising to anyone under 18 — our kids are not products
-Gives parents the right to sue social media companies when platforms cause harm
-Holds tech companies accountable when their products sexualize kids, including AI chatbots engaging in sexual roleplay with minors
-Requires transparency and creates a state Office of Digital Safety and Technology Policy
The bottom line: Big Tech designed these platforms to addict our kids, then told parents to fight the problem alone. Sara's going to hold them accountable. Read the full plan here → [link removed]
🛡️Keep Wisconsinites Safe and Stand Up to the Trump Administration
Sara was the first candidate in Wisconsin to stand up and say: not here. Not in our state. When Trump’s ICE activity escalated across the country, she called for immediate action. Her plan:
-Protects sensitive locations — no ICE raids at schools, hospitals, courthouses, child-care centers, domestic violence shelters, or places of worship
-Requires judicial warrants for any civil immigration arrest or detention
-Demands ICE agents identify themselves, remain unmasked, and wear body cameras
-Allows individuals to sue officers who knowingly violate constitutional rights during enforcement
-Ensures full transparency around ICE facilities operating in Wisconsin
The bottom line: Wisconsin can be a state that enforces the law and a state that protects families, patients, students, and worshippers from reckless and unaccountable actions. Read the full plan here → [link removed]
What's Next: The Road to November
Sara is continuing her tour across Wisconsin, listening to voters and rolling out more plans to lower costs and fix broken systems to make our lives better. Here's what's coming:
✅ More town halls and listening sessions in communities across the state
✅ Additional policy rollouts on housing, education, and supporting veterans
✅ Grassroots organizing to build the coalition we need to win in August and November
This is a team effort. Sara is running to be your governor — not a governor who shows up once every four years asking for your vote.
What you can do right now
This campaign runs on your support. Here's how you can help:
Share Sara's story. Forward this email to friends and family. Post about the campaign on social media. The more people who know Sara, the stronger we are.
Follow Sara on social media:
Facebook: [link removed]
Twitter/X: [link removed]
Instagram: [link removed]
Threads: [link removed]
Sign up to volunteer. We need people knocking doors, making calls, and organizing in their communities. [link removed]
Chip in if you can. This campaign is funded by people like you. Every dollar helps. [link removed]
Talk to your neighbors. Sara won in Waukesha County by showing up as a nurse, a mom, a Girl Scout leader — not just as a politician. You can do the same in your community.
This is Wisconsin's moment. We have a real chance to keep the governor's office and flip the legislature — which means we can finally pass the agenda Wisconsinites have been asking for.
Sara's ready to lead. The plans are ready. Now we need to win.
Thanks for being part of this fight.
— Team Rodriguez
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