Hi John,
I am hard at work campaigning in Beloit, a new part of the First Congressional District, because we will not leave any vote on the table. It’s my priority.
In Beloit, I hear about issues that are a focus to voters across the state. The cost of groceries and gas, crime, and education are all front of mind for voters.
Our team is working hard in Beloit and the new areas of the district as we work to earn every vote and win in November.
Read more about our efforts to bring a Red Wave to Beloit this November below or on the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel’s website here.
Want to help fuel our campaign efforts in Beloit? Click here to donate or volunteer.
BELOIT – U.S. Rep. Bryan Steil stood outside a Clark Gas & Oil less than a quarter-mile from the Illinois border and scanned the line of cars waiting for an open pump.
When someone with a Wisconsin license plate pulled up, he’d wait for the driver to begin pumping gas before approaching and giving a familiar introduction.
“Can I introduce myself?” Steil asked customers at the gas station one evening in late June. “I’m Congressman Bryan Steil. I’m running for reelection, and I represent this area now.” Nearly every time, he’d ask how much it costs to fill up the car’s tank.
“This thing? You don’t even want to know,” said one man with a Hummer. Another woman said it costs her $74 to fill up her car. It used to be about $46. “You trying to lower food prices, too?” she asked.
“One hundred percent,” Steil responded.
This wasn’t the first time the Janesville Republican could be seen hanging around a gas station in the Rock County border city.
Steil spent a handful of afternoons over the last several months at the pumps in Beloit — putting in what he calls “a lot of shoe leather” in an attempt to win over residents in the Democratic city, which became part of his 1st Congressional District under new maps approved earlier this year.
The stops are part of the second-term congressman’s strategy to connect with voters during an election year that will be, at least on paper, more challenging for him than those of the past.
The addition of the historically blue city of Beloit and the removal of the Republican suburbs of southern Waukesha County from the 1st District during redistricting shifted Steil’s seat from solid red to more purple, much like it was in the 1990s.
Now, with the seat more competitive, Democrats hope the blue precincts added to the district and recent hot-button issues like abortion can energize voters to flip the seat at the same time they battle to hang on to western Wisconsin’s 3rd congressional district.
“I think that voters in Rock County and the 1st CD really don’t see any action coming from Bryan Steil,” said Democratic Party of Rock County Chairman Shawn Reents. “And we’re looking for somebody who is actually going to go out there and do something.”
Still, Steil is favored in November over his Democratic opponent Ann Roe, whom he has outraised by a factor of about 5.5 to 1, according to campaign finance reports released last week. The nonpartisan Cook Political Report rated the district “solid Republican” during a midterm cycle seen as favorable to the GOP.
But Steil indicated he still plans to get out in Beloit and have conversations “about the direction that we want to take our country.” He's doing that largely by hitting on issues like gas prices, crime and education, where he hopes to differentiate himself from what he sees as Democratic inaction while not alienating himself from the majority of the city's voters.
“I’m excited,” Steil told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel when asked about Beloit becoming part of the 1st. “I think that people in Beloit, like people across Wisconsin, have been punched in the face by the policies of the left.”
“I think people are ready to listen to an alternative path that has not been the vote of this community in the past,” he added. “I’m optimistic.”
'A real opportunity'
At the gas station in late June, Steil handed out cards with the words “Working for You. Delivering Results.” On either side of the flyer, he pledged to work to lower gas prices by “unleashing American energy independence,” something he’s often tweeted about in the past few months.
He said oil and natural gas are necessary as the U.S. continues to transition toward clean energy sources like solar and wind, and he attributed the recent high gas prices to a supply problem, deriding the Biden administration for actions like killing the Keystone XL pipeline and not tapping into new oil sources.
“They’ve been actively working on rules and regulations that restrict domestic supply,” Steil said. “... It's a full-blown, intentional policy of this administration to increase the cost of oil and natural gas.”
The Biden administration has blamed the high prices, in part, on Russia's invasion of Ukraine and recently called on Congress to temporarily suspend the federal gas tax. House Democrats in May passed a bill targeting price gouging, and Wisconsin’s delegation was divided along party lines on the legislation. Steil said the bill was a way to “score political points” and not address the supply problem.
Inside the convenience store, however, Rajeshkumar Patel, the gas station’s owner, told the Journal Sentinel he does not know why gas prices are high. But he, too, feels the effects.
Fewer people buy food and drinks and other items from the store when gas is expensive, Patel said. He has had to increase the price of those items so he can keep his station running.
“The price going up is everywhere,” said Patel. “The grocery store, every place you go. Everything is going up.” The of gas at Patel's station has decreased about 30 cents in the past couple weeks.
Public safety is another integral part of Steil’s pitch to Beloit voters. He said crime has increased “across the board” in the city, noting there are shootings and claiming drugs like fentanyl are also an issue.
Patel said he’s heard more gunshots around the gas station in recent years. And one Beloit resident, Alex Jimenez, told the Journal Sentinel he was surprised to see the congressman near the gas station on Broad Street and Park Avenue.
“You could get shot over here,” Jimenez said. “It’s a bad area. Down the street, a couple streets down, there’s always shootings.”
Data from the Beloit Police Department show homicides in the city increased from two in 2020 to four in 2021. The number of instances of assault increased by 46 over the same period. The city recorded three homicides in the first four months of 2022, according to the public police data.
The solution to these problems, according to Steil, is to provide resources to local law enforcement. “I think that is going to be a real opportunity,” he said, “to distinguish the policies from the right from, in particular, this administration and those on the far left calling to defund the police.”
Schools in Beloit have also been challenged, Steil said, referencing the School District of Beloit’s one-star rating from the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction. He touted charter schools and school choice as answers — something Roe, his Democratic opponent who lectured at the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater for about 20 years, slammed as “not a productive option.”
The School District of Beloit did not respond to requests for an interview.
Democrats still optimistic
Despite the headwinds, Democrats remain optimistic for November in the 1st District.
Elsewhere in the state, the party isn't putting up a fight in more heavily Republican-leaning districts. Democrats failed to field a candidate in two such districts — the 6th, represented by Glenn Grothman, and the 8th, represented by Mike Gallagher.
Reents, the Rock County Democrats chair, noted the changes to the 1st district map and said they give his party "a really good opportunity" to carry the district.
He called Roe, who has said her priorities are bringing more jobs to the district and expanding affordable health care, a "great candidate."
Roe, who is originally from Chicago, has spent the last 27 years in Janesville. In addition to lecturing in the past, Roe owns Custom College Solutions, a service that helps high school students prepare for college.
"I have enjoyed success at the teaching level. I have enjoyed success at the community level," Roe told the Journal Sentinel. "And what I want to see moving forward, I know that I need that federal platform to get that work done and get all of our communities and people represented."
State Rep. Mark Spreitzer, a Democrat from Beloit, echoed Democrats' hopes. He noted the city is diverse, with a significant Black and a growing Hispanic population — groups he doesn't think Steil is "in step" with.
Spreitzer acknowledged the issues of high gas prices, crime and education in Beloit but emphasized that gas prices have fallen in the last few weeks. Beloit's school district needs stable leadership, he added, and a bigger investment in the schools.
"If a congressional candidate wants to talk about our public schools, I hope they're talking about how to bring home more federal support to help us actually give students the education that they deserve," Spreitzer said.
He added: "This is obviously a slightly Republican-leaning district, and so we probably need something to break Democrats' way to win the district this year. I certainly hope that will happen."
And for Steil, Beloit is no stranger. He worked in the city for eight years as counsel for a manufacturing company not far from Clark Gas & Oil. And, he said, there are a lot of people in the city whom he has known for a long time.
"I’m down here," Steil said. "I’m going to put in a lot of shoe leather to get out, talk to people and earn their vote.”
Thank you for reading! I appreciate your support.
On Wisconsin,
Bryan
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Bryan Steil
Congressman
