The election for U.S. Congress is a little more than a year away.
Some candidates for the 7th district in Wisconsin, which encompasses much of northern Wisconsin, have started their campaigns.
Jessi Ebben, a Trump Republican from Stanley, says she wants to ensure her children and grandchildren have a chance at the American Dream.
“I know how important it is that we get government out of the way to unleash the economic potential that we have here in northern Wisconsin. Our rural communities can truly flourish if we make sure that we remove over burdensome regulation, that we get the government out of the way so that the people who know business best can make the best decisions,” said Ebben. “Businesses can flourish, people can flourish, and then therefore communities can flourish as well.”
Ebben talked with WXPR’s Katie Thoresen about her campaign. The following interview was edited for clarity and brevity.
Katie Thoresen: Why did you decide to run for Congress?
Jessi Ebben: I'm a seventh generation Wisconsinite. I'm a conservative. I'm a Trump Republican. The seventh congressional here is extremely important. I know the people, I know the issues, and I know we need to get government out of the way to unleash the economic potential that we have here in northern Wisconsin. As a mother, I want to ensure my children and grandchildren still have a chance at the American Dream. Right now, that dream is under attack by left wing Democrats and weak Republicans. Now more than ever, we need Republicans. We need strong conservatives who will stand with the President and deliver on policies and make sure that we have someone who's a political outsider that hasn't had a silver spoon, who's worked hard in the private sector and beyond, getting real life experience and taking that to Washington, DC to make change.
KT: Could you talk little bit about your experiences that you believe qualify you for this office?
JE: My background is public relations. That's the degree I graduated with from UW Eau Claire. The first part of my career, I was in local government, doing crisis communications as a public information officer, working with local government. Then right after that, I went into healthcare and did more outreach, community engagement, along with public relations in northwestern Wisconsin. In Chippewa, Barron, and Rusk counties, I did work on opening local rural healthcare clinics to make sure that there was good local healthcare. As someone who grew up in a small rural community, I know how rare that is but also how vital it is, and so I was happy to do that work.
In the last five plus years, I've been working in manufacturing and specifically within how policy impacts manufacturing, both domestically and internationally. When I'm talking policy, it often ends up being mostly federal regulation that I work within and have had to do a lot of combating of overburdensome regulation that has completely stifled innovation and the opportunity to reinvest back into the company, reinvest back into people, back into the community.
KT: What do you see as the most pressing issue for people in the seventh district?
JE: There's a lot. When I'm out having discussions with folks, and we've been on the trail now for three weeks, having a lot of great conversations. People want to see, I mentioned the American Dream, people want to see the American Dream be attainable again, be something that if you work hard, that you can have a roof over your head, food on the table, a car in the garage, your kids in a safe school, in a community that's safe and secure as well, so doing what I can to make sure that we still have that for everyone here.
I'm hearing a lot about reckless spending, right? Just overspending of our own taxpayer dollars. That is a top issue. People are still really passionate, and as am I, about securing our border, removing criminal illegal aliens, and then with that, standing with local law enforcement to make sure our communities are safe. Then talking with a lot of farmers, we want to make sure our farmers are protected. We're in the beautiful Northwoods. I want to make sure I'm standing alongside our northern Wisconsin sportsmen and women because we understand and engage with the Northwoods, with our natural resources here, more than anyone else. There's a variety of issues, but those are the top ones. I keep coming up again and again.
The election is a little more than a year away.
Ebben says she plans to spend that time hearing directly from people that live in the district about what they want to see at the federal level.
“[I’m] making sure that I'm hearing directly from the approximately 700,000 people that live here in the seventh congressional district: what they value most, what's most important to them, what do they want to see at the federal level, and what do they want you to advocate for? What voice do they want to have? It gives a lot of time to go listen, to be there, to be within the communities, to be amongst the people,” said Ebben.
The 7th Congressional District is an open race as current Representative Tom Tiffany is running for Governor.
WXPR will continue to bring you information about candidates as part of our election coverage.
