And wisconsin. We took up that challenge and delivered a resounding yes. Democratic governors not only one big and purple states like michigan and pennsylvania, they also one in ruby red states like kansas, kentucky, louisiana. Democratic governors have one in in six stateswon n in 2016. D trump woo now that they are in office, they are fighting for these values. I am so honored to be introducing todays panel that includes some of these incredible leaders. All of these governors were elected in 2018 and 2019 in those blue waves. We could not have a better moderator. Former gubernatorial candidate stacey abrams. The discussion will focus on what this work looks like in todays political landscape. We cannot stop there. We have critical races in montana, missouri, New Hampshire to name just a few. We need you by our side to add more states to our list. We need you to help. Please text us. We need you to stay with us. We will continue to make a difference in blue states, purple states, red states. Faire help me welcome the fight founder and an american hero, former democratic who editorial candidate, stacey abrams. Brams thank you for such a kind introduction. Democratic the leader in the Georgia House of representatives seven years. I served in the legislature for 11 years. I had the honor of serving as the democratic governor for georgia in 2018. Get acrossxcited to that finish line. I want to introduce my friend Gretchen Whitmer. I want to say hello to governor of wisconsin. Ers and of course the governor of minnesota. He has been doing such extorted a work leading that state. I will kick us off. I wanted to begin with governor whitmer. We know you serve in a moment of challenge. Of the trump how you have to navigate leading your state. Can you talk a little bit about what it means to lead in a divided moment . Gov. Whitmer thank you. I am such a fan of yours. I think the whole world has seen what a difference democratic leadership makes. I am really glad to be here with you. I can tell you what it is like to be in circumstances like these. Once they made this crisis political, it became more dangerous and deadly. It will cost our economy a lot more. Here at my house, as soon as that happened, there was an effort underway in the legislature to impeach me and take away my powers. This nation is the strongest country in the world. It is suffering so badly with his pandemic. We have not been bullied into making decisions that we knew were hurtful to our residents. It is important that we came together. We have been sharing information and lending support. I have found that to be really important in this moment. Lakes to give my great governors a little piece here. I love my fellow democrats. It was normally increased by the fact that they made a political. Abrams governor hebrews evers, you are the poster child for what is happening between pandemic in the election. Where you are and wisconsin, we watched with horror what occurred during that time you were trying to do your job, maintain the democracy, and support your communities against covid19. Your issue and all the way to the spring court. Talk about how you are navigating leading estate that is politically divided. Thank you for your good words. It is always fun being with like thinking people. I started out my term in office before i took over. In a lameduck session. They took away several important authorities that the governor had. On. Ontinued we tried to move it and it didnt happen. They essentially made the election a dangerous one. At the end of the day, there was some bright light there. They had a large turnout. Previous to that election, we have the most absentee ballots or mailin ballots, depending on what term you want to use. That could have been in a president ial election. That set the stage for the future. We took out the most conservative vote on the supreme court. He context and wisconsin i dont respond every time. I stick up for my principles. For me, overreacting in situations like that, they do the same thing i do. You have to keep on keeping on. Our roads and our internet. I know that is part of our conversation today. You have to keep going back to the basics. You have to stay above the fray as much as possible. Have the privilege of following a democratic governor. Of lead a state that had one the closest margins of victory in 2016. In 2018, your state continued to move forward. Grapple withe to the extreme polarization we see in our national politics. Can you talk about how your priorities have shifted . How have you navigated leading estate that, while blue, continues to have to manage against a red sea of challenges . You for yourthank work on protection of the ballot. These are folks who have become the touchstone that we talk about. People want results. Governors are worried about the next covid numbers. We have the longest streak of voting for a democratic candidate of every state in the nation. Dating back 50 years. But we are both very divided. It breaks along urban and rural lines. We ran on the idea of one minnesota. We are on in this together. We disagree but we are able to get a budget done. I think that desire to get things done is what this administration is getting harder and harder. You see people like Gretchen Whitmer doing the hard work and then getting a act for doing the right thing. That is very discouraging for many of us. People know i will work across party lines. We have a responsibility to deliver results. Make sure things like equity and inclusion are how we get things done. It is a divided legislature and a divided state. That think there is one was the spark of a powder keg that was ready to go. We have to reflect and look at ourselves. The mask mandate is one. They fight back against him. Imagine if they have a legislature that was working with him. I think a lot of the upper midwestern states, governor dewine across the aisle, they are trying to do these things. But we get pushback. The idea of uniting the country, we have to work for that. I dont think now is the time for that. Ms. Abrams thank you. Theynor beshear, i know have adopted you and the great lakes but we count you among us down here in the south as well. You are a critical part of showing with the south can do. With thebeen grappling racial reckoning. He talked a bit about how you navigate the global and state what it means to be a democratic governor in this moment. For allhear thank you of your work and thank you for your help in my election. It was absolutely necessary. Me if imo tell allowed to wear a tshirt. In kentucky, we are experiencing these two crises at the same time. We are fighting for the lives of our people. Navigating both, it can be complex. This is a lesson we have to repeat. Crisis, you see true character. You see a lack of it as well. People have these deeply held views on this or that. There is a destructive us versus them mentality. Defining yourself as being against someone else. That led level of acrimony. Saying all of this in front of our children. While you know that the vast majority of the people in your commonwealth or state are behind you, we are shut in just like everybody else. Not traveling as much. The noise out there can get really loud. What we seee this, now are democratic governors and a number of our colleagues on the otherss decisions we have to make. A better life with true opportunity. Trying to address the lack of opportunity. It is a time when you have to do the right thing. I know in kentucky we see these disparities. Especially Racial Disparities in a time of covid. Losing black and africanamerican people in thatcky at twice the rate is our population. We are trying to live out our values. That everybody deserves health care. We will make it a priority. Based on the impact of covid. To sign up every single kentucky and for some kind of coverage. This is a challenging time in the u. S. If we step up and do the right thing, people will notice. That half of those falling into polarization come back and Start Talking to each other, then maybe all of this challenge will be worth it. Ms. Abrams thank you. You raise the issue of health care. I want to take it back to governor walz. Can you talk about hell Health Care Place differently on the state level than the National Level . Gov. Walz i have the privilege to be in congress when we passed the aca. Minnesota, like many other states, has a Fine Health Care delivery center. The access to it is very difficult. At the state level, we were still seeing those social determinants of health precovid19. Higher death rates, much more impact. At the state level, we have a Health Care Access provider tax. That allows us to revive minnesota care. To but itursor is hard to hold onto that. The states do not have the capacity. The state provider tax bills that cap. We are driven by federal policy around medicare. They are continuing the lawsuit against the aca during a global pandemic. The number of people who could get left off is dramatic. We need to expand our minnesota care to a true public option. To make sure that the federal government cant do it. We need to do that. In the end, it is right, it is not polarization. It is a blind adherence to your own team. I think you are seeing it in the great lakes. Once we come to covid19, the underlying problems have been exposed and are not going away. The Health Disparities are absolutely critical. I can tell you with certainty which one will have more chronic issues. Which percentage is going to be infected with covid. Gov. Whitmer i was going to say , it is just cruel. And should be criminal that they are trying to take away health care in the midst of a global pandemic. They are mindful of what they Affordable Care act has done in their continuing to challenge it. There is a lot that the states can do to ultimately broaden access. We need a national plan. I said maybe we should start a country. The states have been pitted against each other in covid19. This is republican and democratic governors together. On that call, they essentially say, youre on your own. They said you are on your own. It was in that moment that i realized, we have to build up a Global Procurement office. If we had a National Strategy around covid, if we had a National Strategy around broadening access to health care , and addressing unfair outcomes for people of color, we could make an incredible difference. Right now it is piecemeal. I dont care what state youre in. Using this not just for food. Using it for masks. All of these are aspects that will be so important. We worked together and did it. There are still a lot of people who need to be focused. We have expanded eligibility. There is much more work to do. Gov. Evers i think im the only a state that of has not expanded medicare. That would be a horrible situation for us. We would be able to provide much Better Health care for 90,000 people. It is all about politics. I could talk to any number of republican legislatures to say, we are with you. But our leaders are not. We could get some other Health Care Money that we may not have gotten. This is laid bare the disproportion outcomes of health care. We had a difficult time dealing with that. I want to double down about needing Health Care Policy from the federal level. We need to get protective equipment. We need to save thousands of lives in our state and internation. We would not be having this situation in wisconsin with 10 positivity day by day. We would have some structure and opportunities for people. Fight on those issues. We compete against governors for equipment and testing supplies. Result, it makes no sense. I feel so sad for the people of our country. From a lackuffering of leadership. I will continue to fight for medicare expansion. I use republican states as an example. Now we have missouri jumping ship. There sooner or later. People will start to lose their jobs on the republican side ,ecause the people of wisconsin every time some of the polls on this issue. We will continue to hold andles feet to the fire get to where health care is a top priority. Wisconsin deserve this. In kentucky, people need to be healthier. We are high on diabetes and cancer in the country. But we have one of the lowest death rates per capita from covid. The answer is really simple. We were one of the first states to expand medicaid. It is working here in kentucky. Cannotallenge to the aca only remove coverage for preexisting conditions but also eliminate expanded medicaid. That would crush every rural hospital. People in appalachia might need to drive three hours just to see a doctor. Health care is critically important. There need to be updates to the Affordable Care act. Expanded medicaid is the difference between life and death right now for so many people across the country. Gov. Whitmer you have been saving and preserving medicare expansion. I want to talk for a minute about the unifying issues. We have talked about health care. But what you think of the unifying issues that you think helped bring together your state despite the tribalism and polarization . Is misinformation about what and what is being whispered about. Navigate in the moment before covid and what do see happening after that will continue to unify . We have had a wild year and a half. There have been some wonderful moments where we were able to do some good work around bringing down Auto Insurance rates in michigan. Around criminal justice reform. I am really proud of it. I think there is more we can do. Those are things i think that are important. I had a hope that we would get to work on infrastructure. I know across the country everybody wants to fix roads. The federal government has not been able to get a infrastructure package done. We are moving forward with a bond so we can get to repairing the state roads. These are the fundamentals. They make a difference for everyone. The edges Education System is unsupported. If your child is crammed in a classroom where they are not getting enough attention, people can hire tutors for others. If you cant trust the water coming out of your tap, rich folks can go by water. For people who struggle, that is not it. Rightg the fundamentals is what puts our state and better shape economically. This should be part of every piece of our agenda. We did that because my chief medical executive is a woman who was in er doctor. We have to get this out there. We have to have this agenda. Ms. Abrams what can abide in Administration Learn from what you have navigated . Listening to each of these governors, there is a reason they are meeting with clarity and results. It is setting the vision that people want. Everybody wants that Better Future for their children. Go back toants to finding those sweet spots. All of those things that you would think are associated with rural america. People who are deeply connected and concerned about sustainability. When i first went to congress and started talking about Climate Change, it was in existential threat and an economic driver. What the Biden Administration can do is not assume this is an unbridgeable gap. Be smart about how we message this. Dont sell Climate Change on shaming people who throw away a plastic bottle. This is the right thing to do. I think people are starting to grasp that. There is goodwill out there. Ms. Abrams can you talk about how the Democratic Party can do a better job of turning out that crosssection of voters, not just the voters we consider our base or trump voters. Out people who do not think this is for them . In whichou had races he won in a way that surprised people. Beshear, you won by a thin but mighty margin. Can you talk about how you build crosssections of voters at a time when people did nothing it was possible or did not know how to do it . I think focusing on this is how it happens. Education can be an issue. I really believe that. There is good polling on that. So making sure rural wisconsin has the best broadband possible. I think the basic issue is really important. Issues that arose out of George Floyds murder. Our state, clearly there was an outcry. All across the state in tiny little towns. At the end of the day, they had to protests around george floyd in the small towns in wisconsin. Where frankly a lot of these places are lucky if there is half a dozen the people of color living there. I think that resonates. People who are struggling economically. I think the basics of expanded. Gov. Beshear i think it starts with the issues, education, health care, opportunity. Care things people care about. Just gotten their kids in bed. What are they worried about for that next day . I think being right there isnt just a place you should be. It is the right place to be. To help us move ahead. We have to get back to talking about this. Why are you running . What truly matters to you. What drives you and what are your values. Talk about faith. If you are a person of faith. That is why it drives you where youre going. Much of the transactional pieces. The blatant horsetrading. In a time of crisis. I think people truly want to see that you care. And that is why you are doing it. Noble no one will agree with the decisions you made all the time. Everyone understands that. I am a pro education governor. To be real careful about how we reopen schools. I think people know that you care. They are trying to do the right thing. The true, jenner and genuine nature of the why is what people are hungering for. Ms. Abrams i will ask this last question before we wrap up. I have had the privilege of visiting your state. Every single one of them, either precovid or at some point. Havee privileged that we been able to work in your state and with yources parties to build infrastructure for this upcoming election. We are hearing a lot about the work that is being done by the gop to undermine our election, to erode not only the infrastructure were also are confident. One mission i have is to let people know, now is not the time to panic. Now is the time to make a plan. We have toolboxes for how our democracy can work. Even when things are breaking. Make a 30 minute 32nd pitch for how this works in your state. Thank you for your good work. My pitch to the people of wisconsin is this, we have faced disaster. Settin