Assemblymember Rachael Cabral-Guevara (R-Wis.), who represents Neenah and the communities west of Appleton in the Wisconsin State Assembly, is seeking a promotion, as is her opponent, Appleton Alderperson Kristin Alfheim, both of whom are running for an open seat in the Wisconsin State Senate. The incumbent, Senator Roger Roth (R-WI) is running for Lieutenant Governor.
Cabral-Guevara lives with her family in Fox Crossing, Wis. and is a nurse practitioner. Before being elected to the State Assembly, she taught as a nursing professor at the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh.
Cabral-Guevara is frustrated by political stereotypes and assumptions, and discussed the various ways in which she is not aligned with the extreme right elements of her party. For example, she says that she is against abortion, but supports exceptions for rape, incest, life of the parent and nonviable pregnancies. She also mentioned voting to make over-the-counter birth control easily accessible, which she says makes contraception easily accessible. She sees adoption as a viable alternative, but recognizes that there are problems in the adoption system and that it’s not affordable for everyone, and wants to make the process more streamlined and affordable for those who want to adopt.
“It is ignorant to assume all Republicans have the same stance,” Cabral-Guevara said.
Cabral-Guevara acknowledges the reality of climate change, and drives an electric car herself.
She said that she introduced a bill that would have promoted solar panels in Wisconsin but said that Democrats didn’t sign onto it because according to her, they claimed it wasn’t “100% union”. She also mentioned working with Assemblywoman Lee Snodgrass (D-Wis.) to educate voters about the budget. She has also worked to increase mental health funding and crack down on exploitative insurance companies.
In April 2022, the Republican-controlled State Legislature passed the “Parental Bill of Rights,” which according to Cabral-Guevara, would give parents more rights in their children’s curriculum, but Governor Tony Evers (D-Wis.) vetoed it. Opponents of the bill have accused it of forcing schools to out students and not teaching the truth about the racist history of the United States. Cabral-Guevara did not respond to criticisms of the bill. Cabral-Guevara does consider herself an ally of the LGBTQ+ community, and added that she has no issues with any group of people.
Cabral-Guevara would also like to make Wisconsin an income tax-free state, or at least for people over 65, and would also like to see property taxes go down. She would also like to see an increase in police funding, including training them to address mental health situations, and is interested in exploring legislation to help rehabilitate certain offenders back into society.
Cabral-Guevara is running for a State Senate seat that leans Republican but has a large liberal constituency, including the Lawrence campus. She stressed her commitment to listening and feels that stereotypes based on political parties aren’t true for individual candidates.
“Stereotypes and assumptions hold us back,” said Cabral-Guevara. “Educate yourself [and don’t] fall for political marketing.”