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Tom Nelson (Wisconsin)
Tom Nelson (Democratic Party) was a member of the Wisconsin State Assembly, representing District 5.
Nelson (Democratic Party) ran for election to the U.S. Senate to represent Wisconsin. He lost in the Democratic primary on August 9, 2022. Nelson unofficially withdrew from the race but appeared on the primary election ballot on August 9, 2022.
Nelson completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2021. Click here to read the survey answers.
Biography
Tom Nelson was born in St. Paul, Minnesota. Nelson graduated from Little Chute High School in 1994. He earned a B.A. in political science from Carleton College in 1998 and an M.P.A. from Princeton University in 2004. Nelson's career experience includes working as the county executive of Outagamie County. He has been associated with Christ the King Lutheran Church, the Loaves and Fishes Food Pantry, the Nichols Historical Society, the Outagamie County Democratic Party, and the Seymour Historical Society.[1][2]
Elections
2022
See also: United States Senate election in Wisconsin, 2022
General election
General election for U.S. Senate Wisconsin
Incumbent Ronald Harold Johnson defeated Mandela Barnes, Adam Nicholas Paul, and Scott Aubart in the general election for U.S. Senate Wisconsin on November 8, 2022.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ |  | Ronald Harold Johnson (R) | 50.4 | 1,337,185 |
 | Mandela Barnes (D)  | 49.4 | 1,310,467 | |
| Adam Nicholas Paul (Logic Party) (Write-in) | 0.0 | 67 | ||
| Scott Aubart (American Independent Party) (Write-in) | 0.0 | 0 | ||
| Other/Write-in votes | 0.2 | 4,758 | ||
| Total votes: 2,652,477 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
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Withdrawn or disqualified candidates
- Bradford Spencer (Independent)
- Aaron Frank (Independent)
- Neal Long (L)
- Deliala Gaustad (Patriot Party Party)
Democratic primary election
Democratic primary for U.S. Senate Wisconsin
The following candidates ran in the Democratic primary for U.S. Senate Wisconsin on August 9, 2022.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Mandela Barnes | 77.8 | 390,279 |
 | Alex Lasry (Unofficially withdrew) | 8.9 | 44,609 | |
 | Sarah Godlewski (Unofficially withdrew) | 8.1 | 40,555 | |
 | Tom Nelson (Unofficially withdrew) | 2.2 | 10,995 | |
 | Steven Olikara | 1.1 | 5,619 | |
 | Darrell Williams | 0.7 | 3,646 | |
 | Kou Lee | 0.7 | 3,434 | |
 | Peter Peckarsky | 0.5 | 2,446 | |
| Other/Write-in votes | 0.0 | 177 | ||
| Total votes: 501,760 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
Withdrawn or disqualified candidates
- Gillian Battino (D)
- Chris Larson (D)
- Adam Murphy (D)
- Chantia Lewis (D)
- Jeff Rumbaugh (D)
Republican primary election
Republican primary for U.S. Senate Wisconsin
Incumbent Ronald Harold Johnson defeated David Schroeder in the Republican primary for U.S. Senate Wisconsin on August 9, 2022.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Ronald Harold Johnson | 83.6 | 563,871 |
 | David Schroeder | 16.3 | 109,917 | |
| Other/Write-in votes | 0.1 | 693 | ||
| Total votes: 674,481 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
Withdrawn or disqualified candidates
- John Berman (R)
- Mike Mangan (R)
- Brad Beyer (R)
- Justin Doty (R)
- Adam Benedetto (R)
2016
Heading into the election, Ballotpedia rated this race as a race to watch. The seat was left open following incumbent Reid Ribble's (R) decision to retire. Mike Gallagher (R) defeated Tom Nelson (D) in the general election on November 8, 2016. Gallagher defeated Frank Lasee and Terry McNulty in the Republican primary on August 9, 2016.[3][4]
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican |  Mike Gallagher |
62.7% | 227,892 | |
| Democratic | Tom Nelson | 37.3% | 135,682 | |
| N/A | Write-in | 0% | 18 | |
| Total Votes | 363,592 | |||
| Source: Wisconsin Elections Commission | ||||
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Mike Gallagher |
74.5% | 40,322 | ||
| Frank Lasee | 19.8% | 10,705 | ||
| Terry McNulty | 5.7% | 3,109 | ||
| Total Votes | 54,136 | |||
| Source: Wisconsin Elections and Ethics Commission |
||||
Nelson was added to the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee's Emerging Races program on April 8, 2016. Emerging Races is the second tier of the Red to Blue program. According to the DCCC, it includes the districts "where campaigns are on track and working hard to put seats in play."[5][6]
2010
Nelson did not seek re-election for Assembly District 5, but instead ran for Lieutenant Governor of Wisconsin. In the September 14, 2010, primary election he defeated three challengers, winning with 51.82% of the vote.
Nelson faced Rebecca Kleefisch (R) and Terry Virgil (L) in the general election on November 2, 2010.
2008
On November 4, 2008, Nelson won re-election to Assembly District 5, receiving 64.44% of the vote.[7]
| Wisconsin Assembly District 5 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Candidates | Votes | |||
| Tom Nelson (D)
|
19,384 | |||
| Jim Steineke (R) | 10,684 | |||
Campaign themes
2022
Ballotpedia survey responses
See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection
Tom Nelson completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2021. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Nelson's responses. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.
| Collapse all
In 2004, I ran to represent my hometown community. After knocking over 20,000 doors, I was the only Democrat that year to unseat a Republican incumbent in the state legislature (2004). In 2011, I became the Outagamie County Executive where I’ve worked across party lines to maintain a rare Aaa bond rating.
I’m running for U.S.Senate to defend us in our fight against corporate politicians and Foxconn-like special interests. As your Senator, I’ll relentlessly fight for you against a corrupt system to find Main Street solutions to our rigged economy and the existential threat of climate change. I’ve won six elections in a Trump county because I get things done, including saving 300 union jobs at the Appleton Coated paper mill the big banks wanted to shut down.
- We need to revive the American labor movement, bring manufacturing jobs back, save our family farms and make sure we are investing in Wisconsin manufacturing and small businesses, not foreign companies like Foxconn who wrench billion-dollar taxpayer subsidies from the state with broken promises of job creation and economic development. That means breaking up corporate monopolies, repealing Taft-Hartley, a $15 minimum wage, making sure all workers have the right to organize, and tossing out the bad trade deals that have shipped Wisconsin jobs overseas to put workers ahead of Wall Street.
- I lost my mother and stepmother to cancer and my wife is a breast cancer survivor. It’s immoral that we are the only industrialized country without universal health care. Millions fear going bankrupt if they go to the hospital or can’t afford their medication. I support Medicare for All to make sure we put patients first, not the interests of insurance and drug companies. Climate change is real and it is an existential crisis. We need a blue-green coalition that unites the environmental and labor movements. Wisconsin with its proud progressive history can lead a labor-led Green New Deal. We can do that by re-tooling our economy by building 21st century infrastructure and investing in renewable energy and sustainable food systems.
- I’m a lifelong resident of Wisconsin. I grew up in and represent the heart of the Fox River Valley which the New York Times notes is the area “where statewide elections are won or lost.” As the former Assembly Majority Leader, and now Outagamie County Executive, I’ve won six times in red Trump areas. I have an extensive record of accomplishment, including saving a local paper mill, creating jobs with my airport expansion, and guiding my county through the COVID crisis.
Tax reform to make sure billionaires and corporations pay their fair share, antitrust law to break up corporate monopolies and stop inflationary price gouging.
Medicare for all: Health care is a human right and no one should go bankrupt because they are sick. Our for-profit healthcare system values shareholder profits instead of saving lives.
A Blue-Green coalition of labor and environmental groups is needed to create good-paying union jobs through a Green New Deal, leaving no community behind.
Wisconsin has lost over 70% of its dairy farmers in the past 20 years. We need food sovereignty that invests in our local food economies, not out-of-state hog factories that threaten our water quality and rural way of life.
It describes a few important tenets of my outlook on what the government should be doing, including partnering with business and labor institutions, and thinking how to use the influence of local government in innovative ways to fight corporations and Wall Street interests who care more about profit and nothing about local communities.
Note: Ballotpedia reserves the right to edit Candidate Connection survey responses. Any edits made by Ballotpedia will be clearly marked with [brackets] for the public. If the candidate disagrees with an edit, he or she may request the full removal of the survey response from Ballotpedia.org. Ballotpedia does not edit or correct typographical errors unless the candidate's campaign requests it.
Campaign website
Nelson's campaign website stated the following:
| “ |
Labor and the Economy Tom’s values were formed by the labor families he grew up with in the small town of Little Chute, Wisconsin. They worked at the local paper mills of the Fox Valley and their family-supporting jobs built the foundation of thriving communities — until they were betrayed by decades of corporate globalization and the lack of a coordinated national industrial strategy. Tom wants to go to the Senate to make sure the economy works for families like these and to make sure its benefits flow not just to Wall Street and billionaires. Along the way, Tom wants to repair broken supply chains while saving Wisconsin’s family farms and small businesses WITHOUT plowing more money into foreign companies like Foxconn, who wrench billion-dollar taxpayer subsidies from the state with broken promises of job creation and economic development. Tom wants to INVEST in American workers and restore power to labor unions in ways that restore our communities — like the one he grew up in on Carol Lynn Drive in Little Chute. When COVID first hit, we saw the embarrassing photos of frontline workers not able to access basic PPE, masks and other supplies as America no longer made these things. The panic run on toilet paper showed why it’s so important that we still make that product here for the most part, and are not reliant on imports. Low prices and “just-in-time” efficiency are false idols when confronted with events out of our control. They’ve also contributed to our staggering levels of income inequality. The saving of Appleton Coated showed the rare successful story to counter the sad tales of heartland job loss. The linked inflation and supply chain crises should be our clarion call for a national industrial strategy to start making it here in Wisconsin. Tom’s Agenda:
Tom’s Record:
In 1978, the top 0.1 percent owned about 7% of the nation’s wealth. In 2019, the latest year of data available, they owned nearly 20%. The richest 1% now hold more wealth than the entire middle class in America. And in just the first year of the pandemic, the world’s 2,365 billionaires increased their worth by $4 trillion, or by 54%. This is wrong. The rich are getting richer and they’re doing it by breaking the law, as billionaires and corporations cheat on their taxes and exploit workers, with the recent Panama Papers merely showing the tip of the iceberg. Tom’s tax plan for economic fairness for working families is simple — TAX THE RICH. Tom’s Agenda:
Tom’s Record:
Too often, our national rhetoric about climate change focuses on coastal cities, ignoring states like Wisconsin. But even without an ocean coast line, we’re greatly impacted by the climate crisis, with ever-present threats of wildfires, flooding, and rising temperatures threatening our Great Lakes and forests and rivers. The climate crisis is already adversely affecting our industries in significant ways. From tourism to agriculture, our economy is in trouble if we can’t find a path towards swift and bold action. Wisconsin needs a Blue- Green New Deal and is the ideal state to lead it with our progressive environmental and labor histories. In order for a Blue-Green New Deal to succeed, there must be a strong partnership with organized labor and family farmers. Tradecraft unions will rebuild our nation’s infrastructure and accomplish the objectives of a Green New Deal including decarbonizing our economy, rebuilding our electric grid, investing in renewables and energy efficiency. We call this the Blue-Green coalition. Blue for labor; green for conservation and environmentalism, which happens to be the signature colors of this website and Tom’s campaign. A compact with our nation’s unions ensuring good paying jobs and benefits, workplace safety, job security and collective bargaining will solidify this partnership. Over 60 percent of Americans support a Green New Deal to deal with the threat of catastrophic climate change. It’s time we recognize the urgency of climate change and lead the nation with swift action, especially as reliance on fossil fuels is helping to fund Russia’s devastating invasion of Ukraine. For Wisconsin, the path forward must prioritize clean energy, green infrastructure, a commitment to worker rights, sustainable agriculture and a partnership with local racial, indigenous and climate justice activists. Tom’s Agenda:
Tom’s Record:
Nothing is more critical than investing in our children and we must continue to bolster educational opportunities for everyone. Lack of funding, the disastrous impact of Act 10 and the COVID crisis has led to a teacher shortage crisis that urgently needs to be addressed. We must also expand educational opportunities for vocational education and apprenticeships working with trade unions. Our technical colleges should be fully funded and more investments should be made to serve as a pipeline to Registered Apprenticeship programs. Not every Wisconsinite needs to attend a 4 year college in order to make a decent living. Another facet of making sure education is open to all is removing the specter of crushing student debt. Tom believes we should cancel up to $50,000 of student loan debt, and start controlling the runaway costs of higher education. Further, in addition to technical college being free, community college should be free for the first two years. Tom’s Agenda:
Wisconsinites are known for their thrifty and budget conscious ways. Tom’s frugal budgeting as County Executive ensures taxpayer dollars are spent wisely and budgets are balanced all the while making sure employees receive a fair wage and good benefits. Tom is committed to responsible fiscal stewardship for our federal budget and to make sure waste and fraud is rooted out of the government, and reversing the budget-busting Trump / Ron Johnson tax cuts. Tom’s Agenda:
Tom’s Record:
From Columbine to Oak Creek to Charleston, Americans have become numb to tragic mass shootings. It’s long past time to comprehensively tackle gun violence. As a father of two, Tom knows the fears that grip parents when they drop their children off at school– will THIS day be the next Newtown? Tom believes we can honor the 2nd Amendment and Wisconsin’s cherished hunting traditions while getting guns out of the hands of criminals and making our communities safer. Tom’s Agenda:
Tom’s Record:
Tom wants to go to Washington not to merely “expand” coverage or hope a few million more Wisconsinites get access to health care. He’s running for Senate so NO AMERICAN ever has to worry again about dying if they can’t afford healthcare and that means implementing Medicare for All. Our current healthcare system is an embarrassment, with millions denied coverage, millions more going bankrupt due to unaffordable costs and outcomes that show Americans are paying more while seeing poor results compared to other industrialized nations with universal health care systems. No one should have to forgo seeing a doctor or taking their medication because they need to pay for groceries instead. We also know communities of color have higher rates of uninsured and in Wisconsin, we shamefully lead the country in infant mortality for black infants. We must enact universal health care that stops this wasteful system that benefits insurance and big Pharma profits at the expense of patients. We need a single-payer system like Medicare for All. Health care is especially personal to Tom. His wife and mom had cancer. They were lucky to have had good insurance. Too many others cannot say that and that is wrong. Health care is a human right. Universal health care will carry enormous benefits and savings for county health and human services departments. In this respect, Medicare for All can be viewed as tax savings – or a tax cut – for property taxes, one of the more regressive taxes that are levied locally or at any level of government. If Outagamie County had Medicare for All, we could raise workers wages with the money saved and conserve precious tax payer dollars by diverting foregone health care demands and expenditures into other areas of need. Getting rid of copayments, deductibles, nonsensical in-network requirements, and surprise hospital billings means workers would see more money in their pockets at the end of the day. The pandemic has shown that we need universal health care not tied to employment. Our health care system has been pummeled by the COVID crisis. A for-profit system that prioritizes certain levels of care — namely “profit centers” like cardiovascular, cancer and orthopedics and at the expense of other health areas – and does not incentivize the kind of leadership and cooperation you need in a crisis. In some instances, hospital systems did not share information on bed capacity and ventilators. Medicare for All would address, if not solve these problems. Tom’s Agenda:
Tom’s Record:
As the son of a Lutheran pastor, speaking and advocating on behalf of communities without a voice who don’t give big campaign donations is why Tom entered into public service. He is committed to fighting for every community in Wisconsin. Racial Justice While Wisconsin has a proud progressive history, it also has some of the worst racial disparity statistics in the country. That is unacceptable. COVID exposed once again that minority communities were disproportionately impacted with higher rates of death. Wisconsin has the highest rate of black imprisonment in the U.S. (1 of every 36 Wisconsinites) and leads the nation in infant mortality for black babies. Tom believes the best way to help address these shameful facts is through 1.) stopping the outsourcing of good family-supporting jobs that has impacted many black communities struggling with deindustrialization and 2.) passing Medicare for All to ensure health care for all that will dramatically decrease the gap between white and non-white Americans for health outcomes. Medicare was a historic achievement for the civil rights movement and now Medicare for All must be the goal if we are truly serious about eliminating health disparities once and for all. Other reforms needed to close the racial gap include investing in affordable housing, funding more accessible and better public education, legalizing marijuana and reforming the criminal justice system. A Blue-Green New Deal should prioritize racial equity so that projects such as the expansion of the I-94 highway should be opposed in favor of a more sustainable vision that expands public transportation and reduces pollution. Immigration Outagamie County has welcomed immigrants and refugees and we are proud of our diverse communities. Our government should prioritize humane immigration policy that treats people with dignity and respect. Few politicians are addressing the root causes of this problem. Instead, they are using Trump’s Title 42 to continue our broken immigration policy. The United States has coddled Central American dictators and despots over the years, many of whom run oppressive regimes that threaten and kill dissidents and whole communities sending them to the U.S. border for asylum. Corporate globalization free trade agreements like NAFTA and CAFTA have fueled migration as well by driving farmers off the land. There’s a reason Republicans have never brought up a real immigration bill to fix the problem – because their business model depends on exploiting workers. LGBTQ+ Rights Wisconsin has a rich history of LGBTQ+ activism and advances, including passing the nation’s first state-wide gay rights law in 1982, which outlawed discrimination in housing and employment based on sexual orientation. In 2006, Wisconsin voted overwhelmingly to approve an amendment to the state constitution banning same-sex marriage. At the time, Tom was in his first term in the Assembly. Despite representing a red district, Tom chose to vote against the ban when it came before the legislature, even when some of his Democratic colleagues supported it. One of the highlights of his public service career was getting to marry couples in 2014 after Wisconsin’s gay marriage ban was struck down. Despite all the progress made on LGBTQ issues, we see a resurgence of backwards and mean-spirited legislation being passed attacking trans children and “Don’t say gay” bills. In the Senate, Tom will continue fighting for dignity for all communities from those who would scapegoat them for political gain. Tribal Issues Wisconsin has 11 federally recognized tribes. Indigenous treaty rights have been under assault in the last decade. In the Senate, Tom will be their advocate when it comes to water rights, fishing rights, and access to tribal lands. This country owes them an enormous debt of gratitude. Often they are the only group with standing that successfully brings suits against oil or mining companies. We saw that on full display with the so-called Back Forty Mine in the upper peninsula. The Menomoniee’s dogged pursuit of litigation is the reason why the project was eventually scrapped. New legislation is needed to empower and recognize tribes currently without status, ratify treaties that were never signed, and fully comply with the treaties that have been ratified. If these priorities are captured in legislation and coupled with support for indigenous development, education, and labor, the lives of indigenous peoples throughout the United States will be improved and protected. Tom fully supports expanding pioneering food sovereignty efforts that can help create jobs while providing culturally appropriate and nutritious diets. He is the only U.S. Senate candidate to oppose Enbridge’s Line 3 and Line 5 pipeline projects as violating tribal sovereignty, threatening our water supply while contributing to catastrophic climate change. Tom’s Agenda:
Tom’s Record:
Tom counts among his family seven veterans. Dozens of veterans populate the Outagamie County workforce while veterans are 7.2% of Wisconsin’s population. The cost of war goes far beyond beans and bullets. Our veterans have made great sacrifices for our nation and they deserve the best care we can provide. The Veterans Administration is the largest medical system in the United States. It is time to modernize the VA so it can deliver on the promises we made to our veterans while ensuring the system is never privatized into corporate hands. While the overall number of veterans in our population is declining, we must address the real needs that they and their families face every day. Our recent wars in Iraq and Afghanistan have seen a significant increase in veterans with severe disabilities. Improved capabilities and life-saving measures on the battlefield means a greater chance of survival than ever before. We need to improve long-term medical care, expand mental health care to treat PTSD, automate and integrate medical records, expand telehealth capabilities, recognize and treat other battlefield concerns like exposure to burn pits and other toxic chemicals. We must continue to support essential programs like veterans education benefits and home loans, transition programs like Troops to Teachers, and burial benefits. Our veterans and their families made personal sacrifices to preserve our way of life. We owe them nothing less than the best care and support we can provide. Tom’s Agenda
Tom’s Record
Russ Feingold was right about the threat money and unchecked power poses to democracy. Without fundamental reforms in redistricting, voter protection, securing the right to vote and campaign finance reform, American democracy will continue to be whittled away. As our democracy has eroded, those things that help working families, as intended, have been stymied. So, without reforms in democracy and protections for democracy, we’ll never be able to enact Medicare for All, a Green New Deal or tax fairness. It’s time to get serious about protecting American democracy. Tom’s Agenda:
The promise of Americans retiring in dignity with full economic and health security is one of the top responsibilities for Members of Congress. It is a tradition that has been upheld since the New Deal (Social Security) and Great Society (Medicare). As a U.S Senator, Tom would protect this indispensable program and stop the false narrative that the fund is careening toward insolvency. It is an argument put out by the right wing to undermine this life-saving program. He would also look for options to expand savings programs for Wisconsinites that are more effective than 401Ks that mostly benefit Wall Street investment managers. Tom’s Agenda:
Growing It In Wisconsin - Demanding Food Sovereignty and a New Dairy Revitalization Plan Tom grew up in Little Chute where his father founded a Lutheran church. His grandparents operated a dairy farm in Polk County. He understands intimately the joys and struggles of rural Wisconsin and how they are being left behind as a result of corporate globalization and Wall Street greed. The Dairyland state has lost over 70% of its dairy farmers in the past 20 years. This is tragic to lose the heartbeat of so many of our small towns. Meanwhile, the decline in manufacturing, including our paper industry, has also contributed to our struggle to retain population and vitality in our small towns. We need to invest in food sovereignty that invests in our local food economies, not out-of-state hog and dairy factories that threaten our water quality and rural way of life. And we need to reform our tax and trade policy to stop favoring offshoring manufacturing to China and start making things here again in Wisconsin. Tom’s Agenda
Tom’s Record
Security at home means we must renew American leadership around the world and build an effective international order that can respond to our many challenges in a multipolar world that faces global threats like rising authoritarianism, a belligerent Russia invading Ukraine, climate change and pandemic disease. History has shown that neo-conservative foreign policy has been an abysmal failure and that former President George W. Bush and Dick Cheney have blood on their hands. You’d think they would have learned their lesson by now. They haven’t. The current system is broken which has left our national security weakened. And the system is broken because both Democratic and Republican administrations embraced a neo-liberalism domestic policy and a neo-conservative foreign policy. Instead of developing a national industrial strategy that builds an economy from the perspective of the American worker, we focused on supply-side economics, tax cuts, free trade deals and building up other countries in our image. Every other developed country has an overarching national policy that strengthens industry, keeps a check on foreign imported goods, makes the rich pay their fair share and invests billions into basic science research. But not us. (The Chinese economy did not become the largest in the world by relying on free market forces like wide-open trade deals with minimal government involvement.) And we got sucked into almost every conflict because we thought it would foster a “new, new world order.” Instead, we found ourselves chasing our tails or playing a game of whack-a-mole in which the next military flare-up popped up before the previous one was extinguished. Hate to break it to you, our elites could care less. Tom is tired of losing blood and treasure to these black hole military conflicts while diverting precious resources away from building up our local economies and strengthening our communities. Russia Russia’s unchecked and illegal invasion of Ukraine must be defeated. This cannot be allowed and Biden is right to pursue sanctions and a multilateral response with our European and NATO allies. The Ukraine invasion also shows the importance of getting off fossil fuels so we are not dependent on corrupt petrochemical states for our energy needs. The invasion of Ukraine also demonstrates the need for a stronger welcome policy for refugees. As a U.S. Senator, Tom will always strive to make the United States a place where those driven from their homes have a place to belong. China China has been eating our lunch thanks to their national industrial strategy and our corporate elites who have handed them our technology and offshored our jobs and manufacturing. Now we are dependent on them for everything from PPE to basic pharmaceutical drugs to shipping containers. It is high time to crack down on their intellectual property stealing, currency manipulation and recognize the national security threat they pose to American interests. China’s incompetent and dishonest handling of the COVID crisis impacted everyone on the planet. The U.S. needs to be better prepared for the next pandemic and to confront China’s continued coverups and hold them accountable for human rights abuses. Middle East The United States has a long and proud linkage with Israel through our shared democratic values. Tom is a firm believer that violence does not induce peace, and both Israel and the Palestinian territories have seen more than their fair share of violence that has taken too many innocent lives. Israel has the right to defend itself from terrorist attacks and indiscriminate rockets being fired upon civilians. That is non-negotiable. At the same time, we must insure that the Palestinian people have an avenue to peace and dignity. In the Senate, Tom will always speak out in favor of human rights. That means that he will condemn Hamas’ immoral attacks on civilians, and he will condemn the forcible acquisition of Palestinian homes by Israeli settlers. The opportunistic terrorist acts committed by Hamas and the implicit support from Palestinian leaders is also unacceptable. We must preserve and strengthen the long-term security of both sides, and protect those who are unable to protect themselves. Military Budget and Readiness We need to end war profiteering and a bloated military budget that enriches defense contractors at the expense of our troops. In addition, corporate monopolies and private equity have weakened our ability to maintain our readiness as deindustrialization and outsourcing meaning we are dependent on our foreign competitors such as China for critical technology such as 5G. Nearly two thirds of DoD major weapons system contracts have only one major bidder, and the top 10 aerospace and defense companies account for 86 percent of industry revenues. Tom’s Agenda:
With the onset of the pandemic, we have seen crime rates rise across the country including in Wisconsin. We have to invest in robust public safety, violence prevention efforts while ensuring communities of color are not being unfairly targeted by law enforcement. Outagamie County has proven we can accomplish both. We must invest more in police training to ensure our officers are equipped to handle the difficult situations they are oftentimes thrown into. And we should pair this with expanded funding for intervention services, so proper professionals are handling mental health crises. Law enforcement should be held accountable for their actions when using deadly force. The tragic deaths of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor show we cannot tolerate any “bad apples” when it comes to the folks we rely on to protect our communities. Tom’s Agenda:
Tom’s Record:
The ramifications of overturning Roe v. Wade would be devastating. This is especially true for Wisconsinites because we still have a total abortion ban on the books from 1849 that would criminalize abortion with NO exceptions for rape or incest if Roe is overturned. We can’t let doctors be threatened with prison simply for providing safe reproductive care. With Wisconsin’s 1849 criminal abortion ban still on the books, we need bold, immediate action in the U.S. Senate to protect women’s lives. Tom has always been a pro-choice champion, despite representing a conservative area, and has never wavered in his belief that women have a right to make decisions about their own healthcare. Tom has a 100 percent NARAL and Planned Parenthood lifetime rating as a member of the Wisconsin State Assembly (2005-11), and has the longest proven track record of any Senate candidate standing up to Republican attacks on women’s reproductive rights. Tom’s record on a woman’s right to choose is why he has been endorsed by State Senator Kelda Roys, the former head of NARAL Pro-Choice Wisconsin, who said, “Tom’s unwavering support for abortion rights is one reason I’m enthusiastically supporting him in this primary. It’s easy to be pro-choice in Madison, but Tom is a proven champion for choice from a conservative red area, where it’s not always easy to advocate for abortion rights. While other Democrats have wavered on these tough issues, Tom never has.” Tom’s Agenda:
Tom’s Record:
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” |
| —Tom Nelson's campaign website (2022)[9] | ||
2016
The following issues were listed on Nelson's 2016 campaign website.
| “ |
|
” |
| —Tom Nelson's campaign website | ||
Campaign finance summary
Note: The finance data shown here comes from the disclosures required of candidates and parties. Depending on the election or state, this may represent only a portion of all the funds spent on their behalf. Satellite spending groups may or may not have expended funds related to the candidate or politician on whose page you are reading this disclaimer. Campaign finance data from elections may be incomplete. For elections to federal offices, complete data can be found at the FEC website. Click here for more on federal campaign finance law and here for more on state campaign finance law.
See also
2022 Elections
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ Information submitted to Ballotpedia through the Candidate Connection survey on December 30, 2021
- ↑ LinkedIn, "Thomas Nelson," accessed August 5, 2022
- ↑ Wisconsin Government Accountability Board, "Candidate Tracking by Office," accessed June 2, 2016
- ↑ Politico, "Wisconsin House Primaries Results," August 9, 2016
- ↑ Roll Call, "Democrats Land Colorado Recruit to Expand House Playing Field," April 8, 2016
- ↑ DCCC, "DCCC Chairman Luján Announces First 31 Districts In Red To Blue Program," February 11, 2016
- ↑ Wisconsin State Elections Board Results of Fall General Election-11/04/2008
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑ Tom Nelson For U.S. Senate, “Issues,” accessed July 28, 2022
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by - |
Wisconsin State Assembly District 5 2004–2010 |
Succeeded by Jim Steineke |
