Patti is joined by state Senator Diane Hesselbein, a Democrat who serves as minority leader of the Wisconsin Senate. 

Hesselbein talked about the Wisconsin Supreme Court race, which pits liberal-aligned Judge Susan Crawford against the conservative-aligned Brad Schimel, in an officially nonpartisan contest. The election is April 1st and will determine the ideological balance of the state's highest court; liberals have held a 4-3 advantage since 2023. 

Hesselbein criticized Schimel's record as the state's attorney general (an office he occupied between 2015 and 2019), and expressed concern over Elon Musk's financial support of Schimel. Musk, she said, is "just pouring money into Brad Schimel's campaign in the state of Wisconsin, trying to buy it because he wants that Republican on that Supreme Court so they can continue to take us back hundreds of years." 

At the legislative level, Hesselbein is focused on education funding in the current state budget battle. "We're going to need to take the majority in the next election so that we can put money back into public education," she told WCPT. "We're sitting on a $4 billion surplus right now and the reason we're sitting on that surplus in the state of Wisconsin is because we haven't been funding our public schools like we should have been. There were more referendums for people in the state of Wisconsin in 2024, [where voters] agreed to up their taxes because they want to support their neighborhood schools, than we've ever seen before, and it's because the Republicans refused to fund public education in the state of Wisconsin."

Catch "Driving It Home with Patti Vasquez" weekdays from 5:00 to 7:00 p.m. Central on WCPT (heartlandsignal.com/programs/driving-it-home).

And find the "Driving It Home (Full Episodes)" podcast on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, TuneIn, iHeartRadio, YouTube, and Amazon.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.