Wisconsin State Senator Kelda Roys is running to become the state’s next governor — and if successful, she would make history as the first LGBTQ candidate to hold the office. With the Democratic primary looming, Roys spoke with us from the campaign trail, quite literally calling in from the road between events.
Roys, who has represented Wisconsin’s 26th Senate District since 2021, previously served in the state Assembly, where she entered office as the youngest then-serving state legislator. She co-chairs the Reproductive Freedom Working Group and is a member of the LGBTQ+ Caucus. She also serves on the Joint Committee on Finance. Voters can learn more about her campaign at keldarroys.com.
“An Existential Threat to Our Democracy”
Roys did not mince words about the stakes of November’s election.
“I view Donald Trump as an existential threat to our democracy and to our rights and freedoms,” she said. As an attorney, she said she strongly believes in the rule of law, describing the most important job ahead as protecting Wisconsinites from what she characterized as an authoritarian regime — citing the actions of Immigration and Customs Enforcement, unprecedented corruption, healthcare cuts, tariffs and rising fuel costs tied to Trump and his ally, Republican Rep. Tom Tiffany.
“Being governor means holding Trump regime officials legally accountable when they commit crimes against our states and our people here and working to protect us from the downsides of Trump’s corrupt economy,” Roys said.
When it comes to safeguarding elections, Roys emphasized the need for robust legal protections against voter intimidation, disinformation and propaganda — forces she said are “run rampant all over social media, on our airwaves.” She accused Republicans of pouring money into the Democratic primary to influence which candidate emerges for the general election, selecting the opponent they perceive as easiest to defeat. She also raised concerns about the weaponization of federal agents and called for rolling back voter suppression laws enacted over 15 years of Republican dominance in the legislature.
KeldaCare: A Path Toward Universal Healthcare
Roys’ healthcare proposal is called Kelda Care. The plan would open up the state employee health insurance plan — the same coverage she receives as a state senator — to anyone who wants to buy in, including individuals, families, employers, school districts, unions and small businesses.
“My plan basically will open up the state employee health insurance plan, the very same coverage I get as a state senator, and let anybody buy in,” she explained. The state plan relies on multiple nonprofit, provider-owned insurers, making it more stably and competitively priced than private options. It would also help keep rural hospitals and clinics open — a pressing concern as Wisconsin braces for roughly 270,000 people to lose their health insurance due to the federal legislation Tiffany supported.
Roys noted that BadgerCare, the state’s Medicaid program, would not be impacted by Kelda Care. Wisconsin is one of the few states that never expanded Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act, and Roys called the Republican blockade on expansion “outrageous.” However, federal changes have taken expansion off the table for now, she said, pointing to the Trump administration’s refusal to approve Arkansas’ renewal request.
“We should have a single-payer system in this country because healthcare should be a right,” Roys said. “And how do you get there from here at the state level? This is one thing that I could do if I’m elected governor in conjunction with the legislature to help deliver healthcare for all.”
When asked whether access to gender-affirming care and non-discrimination protections would be included in Kelda Care, Roys was unequivocal.
“Absolutely. In fact, as I think the first LGBTQ candidate running for governor in Wisconsin history, I am very committed to equality and dignity for all of us,” she said. Drawing on her background in the abortion rights and reproductive justice movements, she framed healthcare access as fundamentally about autonomy: “The idea is that politicians are never in a better position than you and your family and your healthcare providers to know what you need.”
Fully Funding Public Schools
On education, Roys sharply criticized Republican priorities that she said amount to erasing diversity, equity and inclusion programs, targeting trans kids and removing LGBTQ books from shelves.
“I am proud to be the public education candidate in this race,” said Roys, a parent and stepparent of five. She has earned the endorsement of WEAC, the state’s teachers union and largest union in Wisconsin, based on her plan to fully fund public education after what she described as 30 years of Republican-led defunding.
Roys criticized the current funding formula, noting it was established when she was in eighth grade — she is now 47 — and no longer meets the needs of any district. She also targeted the state’s private voucher program, which she said drains $1.5 billion from public schools and redirects it to unaccountable private institutions, many of which discriminate against students with disabilities and LGBTQ students and staff.
“Those public dollars belong in public schools,” Roys declared.
Labor, Act 10, and Raising the Minimum Wage
Act 10, the 2011 Wisconsin law that severely curtailed collective bargaining rights for public sector workers, continues to cast a long shadow. A Dane County Circuit Court judge overturned the law in 2024, but a state appeals court reinstated it earlier this month, and the case appears headed to the Wisconsin Supreme Court.
“It has been an unmitigated disaster for our state,” Roys said of Act 10, arguing that it destroyed civil service protections, triggered the current crisis in teacher retention and contributed to Wisconsin’s wages lagging behind peer states like Minnesota. Calling herself a “union daughter,” Roys pledged to restore collective bargaining rights for both public and private sector workers, raise the minimum wage from $7.25 to $15 with a path to $20, and expand access to affordable childcare.
“We need unions more than ever,” she said, noting that workers are taking home a smaller share of income than at any point in American history.
A Pathway to a Democratic Trifecta?
Following the Wisconsin Supreme Court’s intervention on legislative maps, Roys sees an opportunity for Democrats to reclaim power. While she noted the new maps are “fairer” but “not fully fair” — the Assembly map remains skewed toward Republicans — she expressed optimism about flipping the state Senate and making the Assembly competitive.
“I think we have a very good shot to flip the state Senate, and I think the assembly will be really close one way or the other,” Roys said. She argued that the outcome hinges on who wins the Democratic primary, pointing to independent polling showing her as the strongest candidate against Tiffany among swing and independent voters. She warned that a weaker nominee at the top of the ticket could jeopardize down-ballot races and open the door to a Republican trifecta.
Farmers, Tariffs, and LGBTQ Visibility in Rural America
Addressing the impact of Trump’s tariffs on Wisconsin’s farming communities, Roys was blunt: “Newsflash we are everywhere,” she said, referring to LGBTQ people throughout the Midwest. She described the devastation tariffs have wrought on farmers — lost export markets, soaring costs for fuel, fertilizer and other inputs, and the ripple effects on grocery prices. She argued that while big businesses may eventually recoup losses from the tariffs, average Wisconsinites and small farmers will not.
Democrats Must Stand Up for LGBTQ Rights — “Always, Always”
As MAGA Republicans continue to push thousands of bills targeting LGBTQ Americans, Roys offered a clear directive for her party: “I think Democrats need to be the party that stands up for human rights and equality. Always, always, whether you think it’s politically expedient or not.”
Speaking about trans youth, Roys drew on her personal connections — friends with trans kids and friends who are trans. “I cannot imagine using my political power or position to make any kid feel that way. It is shameful,” she said. She pledged that when Democrats are in power, “we are going to make sure that every single person gets to live their life and be treated with respect and dignity.”
Roys framed the anti-trans political movement as a manufactured distraction: “The only reason we’re talking about this issue is because there are more billionaires in Trump’s cabinet than there are trans athletes in the entire NCAA. They are manufacturing an issue to target marginalized, vulnerable kids so that they can gain politically, and nothing is disgusting to me.”
Building on Wisconsin’s LGBTQ Legacy
Wisconsin holds a proud place in LGBTQ history as the first state to pass employment protections for gay people. Roys said she wants to build on that legacy by repealing a 2006 constitutional amendment banning marriage and civil unions, which she described as having “enshrined hate into our constitution.” She also called for comprehensive non-discrimination protections covering employment, housing and education.
“Every single person deserves protection,” Roys said. She highlighted Wisconsin’s strong queer representation in Congress, noting she is represented by a lesbian mayor, a gay congressman and Sen. Tammy Baldwin, whom she described as “the most popular politician of either party in the state of Wisconsin.”
With early voting underway and the primary just days away, Roys framed the election as a turning point: the chance to flip Wisconsin blue for the first time in 17 years — or cede ground to a Republican trifecta. For LGBTQ Wisconsinites and allies, the choice, in her telling, could not be clearer.
