Candidates for the 8th Congressional District on the topics: Qualifications

Fourth in a row

(WLUK) — Washington, DC has been in political gridlock for years. Republicans and Democrats have been unable to agree on issues such as immigration, health care and abortion. There are strong differences even within one's own party.

Democratic candidate Kristin Lyerly, a gynecologist, is running against Republican candidate Tony Wied, a former business owner. Everyone wants to represent the 8th Congressional District in northeastern Wisconsin.

We wanted to know how they can cut through the noise in Washington to make a difference for the residents they represent in northeast Wisconsin.

FOX 11

The current Congress is one of the least productive in U.S. history in terms of the number of bills it has been able to pass, due in part to partisan politics. Both you and your opponent are unfamiliar with holding political office and the requirements of a political party. What makes you more qualified to represent Northeast Wisconsin and how can you help achieve more in Washington?

Again

Having been a small business owner and operator my entire life, I know how difficult it is to run a business. I signed paychecks and had to take out personal loans and business loans with personal guarantees. If my business didn't do well, I would lose my house and everything. We were always in danger.

I've spent a lot of time in my business – my wife and I – going through our budgets and going line by line in our budgets and making sure that we're keeping our expenses down and the expenses that we've had are reducing our business. I have a lot of experience in financial responsibility, I also have a lot of experience in leading teams, hiring people and making sure they have a great place to work. I am a team player. I did sports. I played college football. I love being on teams and the House of Representatives is a team sport. So I'm very good at bringing people together to do what's right for the people of District 8.

problems

Lyerly

People are so tired of this division. And they are tired of having a government that doesn't work for them. It is our job as leaders to work together and find common ground so we can create solutions for the people of Wisconsin. And you know I have the history of doing this. I have a long history of working together on difficult issues, even things like abortion and health care, and finding common ground, moving out and working from there.

I do these things every day in practice with my patients. When people come to me, they don't tell me, “I come from this faith tradition” or “I'm a Democrat” or “Republican.” They say, “I have a problem,” and we diagnose what the problem is and figure out how to solve it in a way that works best for them. It's really no different in Congress. We have to diagnose the problem, we have to figure out what resources we have, what everyone brings to the table, and move on. We have to move forward. This is what the people of Northeast Wisconsin need and deserve.