MILWAUKEE — The seat in Wisconsin's 28th Senate District is up for grabs.
That race is between republican Julian Bradley and democrat Adam Murphy. Both men would be freshmen lawmakers.
If Bradley wins, it is believed he would be the first Black Republican in Wisconsin's State Senate.
"It’s such an honor to even be a candidate for office and it let alone find out what the history is that would be made. It’s almost humbling to hear that because there’s a lot of responsibility," said Bradley.
But should he be elected, Bradley wants to stand out more for his actions.
He believes the biggest issue facing Wisconsin is public safety, relating to keeping peace in our communities and handling the pandemic.
"As a freshman coming in there’s not a lot of that bad blood already so I’m hoping to be able to use that as really something that can bring everybody together," said Bradley.
Bradley is running against Democratic entrepreneur Adam Murphy.
The district includes parts of Milwaukee, Waukesha, and Racine counties. A Republican has led the district since 1998.
Murphy looks to end that streak
"The entirety of my 30 years of business experience has been to make things more efficient to make things more effective, and that has been by delving into the issues, delving into the multiple layers that we’re dealing with when we’re talking healthcare when we’re talking economics," said Murphy.
In preparation, Murphy says he went back to University Wisconsin-Milwaukee to study topics he thinks politicians should know more about, from economics to ethics in healthcare.
To him, COVID-19 is easily the biggest issue facing the state.
"One of the things that is missed when we talk about COVID is the economic impact. Of course, people know about it and talk about job losses and that sort of thing but more importantly, there hasn’t been a response from state legislature associated with the financial impact for people," said Murphy.
Both Murphy and Bradley believe their experience in the private sector will help guide their work if elected.