Peter Barca on Foreign Policy and the 2024 Election

Zac Schultz:
The last time a Democrat represented Wisconsin’s 1st Congressional District was in the early ’90s and that man was Peter Barca, who recently announced he is challenging Steil again this fall. Peter Barca, thanks for joining us today.

Peter Barca:
Very good to be with you, Zac. Thank you so much.

Zac Schultz:
You’ve spent the last few years serving as the secretary of the Department of Revenue in the Evers administration. Why did you decide to leave that job and run for Congress this fall?

Peter Barca:
Well, it’s a difficult decision. I served for 5 and a quarter years in the Evers administration. It was a great opportunity. We accomplished a great deal. We were able to cut taxes for middle class families. We were able to give law enforcement tools on everything from vaping laws. You have to have registries, because my law enforcement agencies that worked for me told me that people end up, especially children, end up in the emergency rooms from this dangerous vaping. One of the last bills he signed was near and dear to my heart and that was to use the tax system for organ donations, something vitally important. In fact, at the end of that bill-signing, I had four people from the UW organ donation center, they said Secretary Barca, you have to tell your staff, you are definitely going to save hundreds if not thousands of lives through this aspect. So it was a great opportunity. I loved doing it every single day. It was a difficult decision to leave, but like most people in America and I haven’t talked to anyone yet that doesn’t feel we have a do-nothing, dysfunctional Congress. I don’t like what I’m seeing. I think it’s something that absolutely has to change. When I worked in the political system, whether it was in Congress or the state Legislature, I was the kind of person that believed you roll up your sleeves, you work with both parties, and you solve the major issues of the day. Right now there’s too many political games going on. There’s too much intense partisanship but not enough effort to try to resolve the issues of our day and to make progress for the American people and the people of Wisconsin, who I care deeply about.

Zac Schultz:
There was one thing that Congress passed recently, and that was the foreign aid package. I want to get your perspective on how you would have voted had you been in Congress. I’m going to run through the four elements of the bill. Give me a quick yes or no, and then we’ll talk about them. Yes or no, would you have supported the aid to Taiwan?

Peter Barca:
Yes.

Zac Schultz:
Yes or no on the aid for Ukraine?

Peter Barca:
Yes.

Zac Schultz:
Yes or no on forcing TikTok to divest from its Chinese parent company?

Peter Barca:
Yes.

Zac Schultz:
And yes or no on funding for Israel.

Peter Barca:
Yes.

Zac Schultz:
So give me a perspective. Representative Mark Pocan, a Democrat from Wisconsin voted “no” on both TikTok and aid for Israel. Why would you have supported those two elements?

Peter Barca:
Well, I would have certainly voted for it because, you know, for the entire bill. We have to protect our national security and we have to protect our allies. And it’s vitally important that America continue to have a strong presence in the world and support our allies and defend our national security over the long-term. This bill did accomplish that. I’m glad it passed, and it’s a very important measure.

Zac Schultz:
So looking at the campaign ahead, the 1st Congressional is a consistently Republican district. What needs to happen for you to be able to put it in play this fall?

Peter Barca:
Well, the district changed two years ago. It’s a district — even when I represented it, you had parts of Waukesha County, which is deep red, very difficult for a Democrat. That was taken out. And instead, parts of Milwaukee were put in. It still has all of Kenosha County, all of Racine County, all of Walworth, virtually all of Rock County, and so it’s a very — it’s a typical purple-type district that, especially for someone like myself, who had many people encouraged me to run. It turns out that Kenosha, Racine area are the most swing parts of the district. An area I represented for over a decade before joining the Evers cabinet, and I have a strong reputation here of working with people of both parties and getting things done. I just feel like it’s time for change. When things are not working, I believe accountability is the cornerstone of a democracy. Right now we have serious problems. I have a very full agenda of items I’d like to bring forward to try and make a difference. But first and foremost, I think people know they can count on me to go to bat for people. In fact, in my home district in the Assembly, I’ve always won by overwhelming margins because I’ve had support from Democrats, independents and Republicans, and I’m very proud of that.

Zac Schultz:
So what impact do you think the top of the ticket, Biden versus Trump for president, will have down-ballot on the rest of the state including your race?

Peter Barca:
It’s difficult to know, quite frankly, and I really can’t worry about that. I have to worry about my own race. We have a dysfunctional, do-nothing Congress, and we need to change that. I think people believe in accountability. That’s why I like my chances. I’m a person known for getting things done. In the Legislature, I was the leader for seven of my — seven of the 10 years that I was here. And I’m somebody that was known for standing up for the people in my home district and we accomplished a tremendous amount. Some of the things that are most vital right now. We have people that are hurting, having trouble making ends meet. You’ve got people struggling to get into the middle class, but even in the middle class, they’re having trouble. There are things we can do. We can have “Buy America” provisions which I champion. In the Legislature, I was the lead author. Also in the Congress, when I was in the Congress, I got a “Buy America” provision, the defense authorization bill, so ships engines would have to be made in America and that brought back hundreds of people that were laid off at Fairbanks-Morse, and many more were hired. We have to support unions. Unions are what gave us a pathway to the middle class. And we have to get rid of these disastrous trade deals that are hurting American businesses, hurting American competitiveness and hurting American workers. So those are the kinds of things that I plan to champion, but as a former small business owner, both my parents were entrepreneurs, workforce is the biggest issue I heard about, traveling the state for five years as secretary and same thing down in the 1st Congressional District. So one of the things I’ll champion is it’s ridiculous to have earnings restrictions on people that are getting social security. Maybe that made sense 20 years ago, but people desperately need workers. So if people want to work — they’re now restricted 15, 20 hours a week in many cases. If they want to work 30, 40 hours, God bless them. They’re helping to propel this economy. So those are the kinds of things I will champion and things that I think are important. I will stand up for our freedoms or taking away freedoms for women to make their own healthcare decisions. People’s right to vote. It’s unbelievable.

Zac Schultz:
All right. Peter Barca, we’ll follow this throughout the fall. Thank you.

Peter Barca:
Thank you so much. Nice talking to you Zac. I appreciate you keeping your listeners and viewers informed.