Angelina M. Cruz
President, educators union; state representative
Democrat
Racine
Elected Experience
Wisconsin State Assembly (2025-present)
Q&A with the Candidate
Why should voters elect you?
Voters who reside in Assembly District 62 should elect me because I have deep roots in Racine — born and raised here, and committed to building my professional life here throughout my adult years. I understand both the challenges our community faces and the tremendous opportunities we have to grow. My experience as an educator and labor leader has given me the skills to bring together people of diverse backgrounds and perspectives to accomplish shared goals, even across differences. As a freshman legislator, I have carried that commitment into my work on the Education and Government Operations, Accountability, and Transparency (GOAT) Committees, focusing on strengthening public school funding, supporting students and educators, and restoring the dignity and respect that working people and labor deserve.
What is the top issue in your district? How would you address it?
A top issue in our district is wage stagnation alongside rapidly rising costs of living. Racine residents earn roughly 30% below the state average income — Wisconsin's minimum wage has remained frozen at $7.25 per hour since 2009. That's why I introduced legislation this session to raise the state minimum wage to a living wage: increasing to $15 upon enactment, then rising $1.25 annually until reaching $20 per hour in 2030, after which it would be indexed to inflation. The bill raises the tipped wage to 50% of the minimum wage, includes a gradual phase-in for small businesses with 50 or fewer employees, and restores local control so communities may set higher standards. Higher wages strengthen purchasing power and boost state income tax revenue.
How should Wisconsin government operate differently than in the past?
For decades, Wisconsin government has been entrenched in one-party control unresponsive to the will of its people. As one of the most gerrymandered states in the nation, Wisconsin has long denied its citizens fair representation — but newly redrawn maps give us the opportunity to elect legislators who truly reflect the values and aspirations of our communities. The Wisconsin Idea holds that state government should serve as a laboratory of democracy, where the boundaries of the Capitol extend to every corner of the state. That means drawing on a diversity of perspectives, engaging in constructive dialogue, and forging compromise in the genuine interest of constituents -- not party or power.
What is your favorite fun Wisconsin history fact?
Wisconsin was the first state to recognize collective bargaining rights for public employees — a proud legacy that made the 2011 assault on those rights all the more an egregious provocation. When Gov. Walker introduced Act 10, stripping most public workers of collective bargaining, tens of thousands flooded the Capitol in one of the largest protest movements in modern state history. As a public school teacher, I was among them. That attack on my rights as a worker activated me politically in a way nothing else had. It set me on a path of advocacy and civic engagement that ultimately led me to serve as the president of my local union and in the legislature to protect and restore the rights and dignity of working people.