Chew's Views with Richard Chew (Featured Interviews)

Richard Chew is joined for an in-studio town hall by 2026 candidates for U.S. House in Illinois Donna Miller (2nd District), Patty García (4th District), and La Shawn Ford (7th District). Here are a few key points from the conversation:

 - All three candidates emphasized maximizing turnout during the final 30 days of the campaign, encouraging early voting, mail-in voting, and voter-to-voter mobilization.
- Their stated priorities included affordability, health care access, economic accountability, immigration reform, senior benefits, and protecting democratic institutions.
- Garcia identified Judiciary and Transportation and Infrastructure as her two preferred committees, with emphasis on immigration accountability and transportation investment.
- Miller highlighted health care, preventative care, maternal health, workforce development, and potential service on Energy and Commerce.
- Ford emphasized Medicare for all, restoring business health care tax credits, taxing the ultra-rich, and seeking placement on Ways and Means or Energy and Commerce.
- All three supported bipartisanship when it produces effective legislation, while maintaining progressive priorities and opposing harmful compromises.

Catch "Chew's Views with Richard Chew” weekdays from 6:00 to 8:00 a.m. Central on WCPT (heartlandsignal.com/programs/chews-views).

 

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Richard Chew is joined by Thomas Hicks, former chair of the federal Election Assistance Commission; he was fired on July 9 when President Donald Trump dismissed all three serving commissioners.

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Richard Chew is joined by Heather Williams, president of the Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee (DLCC).  The discussion focused on the DLCC’s strategy for strengthening Democratic power in state legislatures and connecting state-level results to broader elections.

Here are a few key points from the conversation:
- Williams said the DLCC is focused on increasing name recognition for state legislative candidates, communicating their records, and competing in battleground and traditionally Republican states.
- Heather cited 31 recent wins and opportunities to build meaningful power in 27 states, emphasizing community conversations and kitchen-table issues.
- State legislatures shape voting laws, redistricting, election administration, health care access, labor laws, wages, and education policy. 

Key quote: "So much of the work that could or should be federal responsibility is getting pushed into the states. And so you are actually seeing work get done, both because states are designed to move faster -- that is the actual design of government there -- but also so much of the work is being pushed down, and this administration is saying, you know what, it's not our responsibility; you can go deal with that in the states. So when you talk about access to health care, when you talk about access to reproductive health care, when you talk about labor laws, when you talk about wages, when you talk about costs and kids in school, all of that stuff is in our states. And when you've got good people leading in those states, you can get stuff done. . . . It's not just the people that get to benefit from that in the state, but it's a story about what can be done when Democrats win . . . and that conversation is how we show who we are as Democrats and what we can do at all levels of the ballot."

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Richard Chew is joined by Illinois State Rep. Margaret Croke, Democratic candidate for Illinois comptroller.  The discussion focused on Croke's priorities and approach as the Democratic candidate for Illinois comptroller.

Here are a few key points from the conversation:
- Croke said fiscal responsibility and protecting vulnerable communities must advance together.
- She emphasized that timely payments support nonprofits, pensions, public services, and individual livelihoods.
- She described preparing Illinois to withstand potential federal pressure by keeping its finances strong.
- She prioritizes transparency, efficient government operations, and clear public access to spending information.
- She would maintain the comptroller’s independence while collaborating with the governor, Chicago, and Cook County.
- She proposed improving local governments’ interactions with the office and hiring staff familiar with Chicago finances.

Catch "Chew's Views with Richard Chew” weekdays from 6:00 to 8:00 a.m. Central on WCPT (heartlandsignal.com/programs/chews-views).

 

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Richard Chew is joined by Emily Williams, host of the Webby Award-winning podcast "Beyond Voting." The conversation focused on voter engagement, civic education, and sustaining political participation beyond elections. 

Here are a few key points from the interview:
- Williams described the Chicago: Are We Voting? campaign, a collaboration between Beyond Voting and Queer News Podcast that connects with Chicagoans about voting plans, key issues, and barriers to participation.
- In conversations with Chicagoans Williams has found that people generally understand the stakes of the midterms, plan to vote, and want to encourage others to participate.

"Because of the extreme circumstances that we have encountered over the last two years as a country," she told WCPT, "people have a better sense of how government works and what needs to change. People are rallying around term limits; people feel a lot of conviction that we have to instate term limits for our members of Congress, also on the Supreme Court. People are feeling even more conviction around Medicare for all, for example, ensuring that people can actually benefit from our government's programs and their policymaking, because over the last two years, people have really felt as though the everyday American has not benefited from American policy. And so there's a lot of conviction about that. And what I've also found is that people are also feeling as though they want to connect with other Chicagoans, with other Americans, and encourage them to vote, encourage them to get out and make their voices heard." 

- Williams emphasized that Gen Z is not necessarily disengaged but often feels unprepared to participate in democracy; weakened civics education has contributed to this gap.
- Voters, she said, should verify registration and polling locations, review the full ballot, research candidates and judges, and understand local ordinances before voting.

Catch "Chew's Views with Richard Chew” weekdays from 6:00 to 8:00 a.m. Central on WCPT (heartlandsignal.com/programs/chews-views).

 

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Richard Chew is joined by Jason Heaser, Democratic candidate for Minnesota House District 34A. Heaser, an Army veteran and first-time candidate, discussed his campaign and legislative priorities.

Here are a few key points from the conversation:
- Heaser is seeking to flip a long-held Republican seat in the Minnesota House.
- He said his campaign has knocked nearly 40,000 doors. "I've knocked 5,000 myself  and we've gotten really good responses," he said.
- He emphasized direct conversations with residents, many of whom are "eager for change."   
- He focused on affordability, health care accountability, protecting patients, and preventing health care organizations from prioritizing profit over care.

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Richard Chew is joined by Maya MacGuineas, president of the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget. The discussion explored how federal deficit reduction could improve affordability and why durable fiscal reforms require politically difficult choices.

Here are a few key points from the conversation:
- MacGuineas explained that roughly $2 trillion in annual federal borrowing contributes to lower wages, higher inflation, and higher borrowing costs.
- Reducing deficits could support productivity, economic growth, wages, prices, and interest rates over the long term.
- Economic growth benefits households only when gains are distributed throughout the economy rather than concentrated among higher-income groups.
- Investments in human capital and infrastructure were presented as more growth-oriented than consumption-based spending.
- Unfunded tax cuts, direct checks, excessive spending, poorly designed tariffs, and endless wars were presented as inadequate structural solutions.

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Richard Chew is joined by Angela Nelson, Democratic candidate for Minnesota State Senate District 35. She discussed her campaign and its focus on community affordability, education, safety, housing, and leadership change.

- A lifelong Coon Rapids resident and school principal, Nelson said residents are struggling with health care costs, prescriptions, housing payments, and access to services.
- Her campaign has engaged voters through extensive door knocking and emphasizes the importance of every vote, particularly in a district with a narrow prior election margin.
- She aims to increase school funding through a proposed constitutional amendment using Minnesota’s land trust, without relying on property taxes; expand mental health support, improve school security, and pursue restrictions on assault weapons; and address limited affordable housing by considering redevelopment of vacant commercial properties.

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Richard Chew is joined by Robert Pape, professor of political science at the University of Chicago and author of “The Escalation Trap” on Substack; his new book, “Our Own Worst Enemies: America in the Age of Violent Populism,” came out last Tuesday. 

The interview focused on political violence, the Iran war, and risks surrounding the upcoming election. Here are a few key points from the conversation:
- Pape argued that political violence has become normalized, citing the use of force in domestic policy and international affairs.
- He said the main dangers to November's election may arise after polls close, during vote counting and challenges to results.
- He identified parallels with the 2020 election, including claims that elections are being manipulated; he also touched on Trump's “stand back and stand by” remark during the 2020 presidential debate and pardons for January 6 participants.

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Richard Chew is joined by Jen Fox, Democratic candidate for Minnesota House District 41B. The conversation focused on Fox’s campaign to flip the district from Republican control (the GOP incumbent is not seeking re-election) and her priorities for local representation.

Here are a few key points from the conversation:
- Fox is a small-business owner, former Hastings City Council member, and former Minnesota Department of Commerce employee with a master’s degree in public policy.
- She ran in 2024 and came within 510 votes of winning; she is running again because the seat is open and to honor the late Minnesota Rep. Melissa Hortman.
- Fox emphasized accountability, pragmatic policymaking, and stronger connections among federal, state, and local governments.
- Residents are concerned about affordability, access to representatives, political divisiveness, and unmet local needs.
- Key policy concerns include PFAS and microplastics contamination, cleanup costs, taxes, child care, education, water rates, small businesses, family farms, labor, and environmental protection.

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