BROWN DEER — Having a choice in healthcare coverage is a top priority to the voters we spoke with in the eighth state senate district.
"I think a person should have a choice," said Richard Gray Jr. "If he or she is happy with their plan or policy, they should stick with it."
"Which one will offer the best value to us and not going to dominate our money?" said Willy Damon.
"Having the option exactly," said Monroe Shaw. "That's the point. Having the option."
These are voters in Brown Deer, which is in the 8th senate district that covers parts of Milwaukee, Ozaukee, Waukesha, and Washington Counties.
It's where Democratic challenger Neal Plotkin is the target of an attack ad on healthcare coverage.
It claims Plotkin wants to put all Wisconsin residents on a government-run healthcare plan and eliminate private insurance.
Plotkin told the progressive group Citizen Action Group of Wisconsin that he supports expanding Medicaid coverage for "...Wisconsin citizens struggling in the COVID-19 pandemic."
Citizen Action Group has endorsed Plotkin, but he has not specifically called for Medicare for all.
Separate from their endorsement, Citizen Action Group lays out a long-term plan, ""...to achieve Medicare for All in Wisconsin..." moving away from private insurance providers to a "... progressively more public system."
Back to that ad, which claims, "Plotkin and his allies would end private health insurance....forcing you onto a government-run plan."
It's paid for by the Wisconsin Manufacturers and Commerce lobby's "Issue Mobilization Council," not Plotkin's opponent state Sen. Alberta Darling.
The group is on the other side of the healthcare debate, opposing Medicaid expansion and supporting the employer-based insurance model.
The Issue Mobilization Council has political non-profit status, meaning we can't see who's fundraising the group. These types of groups are often referred to as dark money.