Political tenure, agriculture, health care, veterans, and bipartisanship, 7 Investigates profiles the District 3 Congressional race

The voters in Wisconsin's third congressional district are unlike most in the country, one of only 35 districts out of the 435, in fact.

The district covers most of the western side of the state along with portions of Portage, Wood, and Adams counties. According to the nonpartisan Cook Political Report, people in this district voted for President Barack Obama twice, then elected President Donald Trump in 2016. The Cook Political Report shows that voters here do not necessarily stick with party lines, casting votes for candidates of different parties on the same ballot.

Though Congressman Ron Kind, a democrat has held his seat for nearly 22 years, his republican challenger, Steve Toft, is hoping to change the tide and be the candidate that meets the needs of those voters.

"I've talked to hundreds of groups and thousands of people and they want change," Toft told 7 Investigates.

Toft is aiming high for his first go at political office as he has no experience as a local, state, or federal political leader. He confidently stated his life experiences have given him the insight to make the changes people living in the district want.

"People have told me across this 18-county district, they're angry, they're upset that farmers and veterans especially have been neglected," he said.

As a farmer, Toft said he plans to become a member of the Agriculture Committee, a committee that does not have any Wisconsin representatives. Kind said in response, that a representative does not have to be on that committee in order to create bills or have influence on bills relating to agriculture.

While Kind serves on the Ways and Means Committee, which handles international trade among other areas, Toft said farmers he has talked with want a representative in those agriculture meetings.

"They don't have anybody to help write the farm bill, they don't have anybody to help work out trade agreements, they don't have anybody to help out world markets," said Toft. He urged that lawmakers need to focus on Chinese tariffs, which he said are unfairly taking advantage of American farmers.

"They're relying on us to buy their products and we can use that leverage, which has already worked with the European Union and it's already worked with NAFTA," he said.

July 18 this year, Kind and other members of the Ways and Means Committee heard from a panel of farmers talking about how the trade tariffs are impacting their livelihoods. Kind told the farmers their testimony is consistent with what he has heard from Wisconsinites and that the Trump Administration needs to file more World Trade Organization complaints against China because that has been effective in the past. He also listed off bills he has proposed to help make progress in solving the tariff issues.

Kind has also urged for an updated NAFTA agreement as well, saying the current deal is hurting workers, farmers, and families.

On the Farm Bill, Kind said he has voiced concerns about big farm companies taking advantage of subsidy payments in the current Farm Bill, which is hurting smaller farmers.

When it comes to veteran issues, Toft believes he is an expert. He has served more than 30 years as a medical officer in the Army, retiring as a colonel, which is the most senior officer ranking. He added he is disabled and received his care at the V.A.

"I have an intimate knowledge of the VA system and I ran a large government medical system before I retired, so I understand what it means to have quality health care for soldiers and then for veterans," he said.

On health care, he said the Affordable Care Act needs to be repealed and replaced with block grants so that health care can be managed at the state rather than the federal level.

He said voters also want congressional term limits, which is why he is limiting himself to four terms should he win.

"We get congressmen that get to Washington, they stay there too long," he said, "special interests are what drives them. We need to have term limits and I will fight for term limits."

When asked about how he will work with democrats to move legislation forward, he responded that his military experience had him work with people of all backgrounds and beliefs. He added the organization, With Honor, backed him in this race. The group selects veterans of all political parties running for office to support in order to create a less polarized, more cross-partisan government.

This sit down with Toft is just the first part of this week's continuation of 7 Investigates Campaign 2018 series of special reports looking into some of the biggest races in our viewing area. Thursday on NewsChannel 7 at 6, the coverage of the third congressional district race continues with a look at the incumbent, Rep. Ron Kind, an overview of his time in office and his plans for future service if he is reelected.