Rick Crosson
Retired transportation/logistics executive; retired U.S. Army Lt. Col.
Democrat
Green Bay
Elected Experience
None
Q&A with the Candidate
Why should voters send you to congress?
I have spent my life solving hard problems and bringing people together to do it. Twenty years in the Army taught me how to lead under pressure, build coalitions at all levels, including nationally and internationally, and get results when the stakes are real. I carried that into running large operations in business. But the part I am proudest of is simpler: I make a point of knowing people, finding common ground, and listening before I talk. That is what is missing in Washington right now. I am not running to score points. I am running to represent every corner of this district, because I believe we get further working together.
What is the top issue in your district? How would you address it?
The top issue is the cost of living. Families here are getting squeezed from every direction with high costs of groceries, gas and diesel, housing, health insurance, and a farm economy thrown into chaos by tariffs and bad policy. People are working hard and still falling behind. Here is what I would do. Push to lower everyday costs by going after the price-gouging and consolidation driving them up. Protect the farm economy from trade decisions made without rural Wisconsin in mind. Support funding for the health coverage families and rural hospitals depend on, while pushing for universal healthcare. And bring the same problem-solving I used in logistics: find where the system is broken, fix the choke point, and measure whether it actually helped people.
What expertise would you bring into congress? How would it help your district?
I solve problems for a living. In the Army and in business, my job was to take something complicated and broken and make it work, on time and on budget, with real consequences if I got it wrong. I have negotiated across borders, run large organizations, and managed budgets where every dollar was accountable to someone. This helps the district because most of what is failing people right now is fixable: supply chains, costs, access to care, a VA that buries veterans in paperwork, common sense policy choices. I see those as logistics problems, and logistics is what I do. I will not just give speeches about them. I will work the problem until it is solved.
Should Congress exert more oversight over the president? Why or why not?
Yes. The Constitution built three branches to keep each other in check, and Congress has been handing its power away for years. That is not how this is supposed to work. Congress holds the authority over the budget and the power to declare war, and I will never vote to give those away. Right now presidential overreach is hitting levels we have not seen, and it is on Congress and the courts to do their jobs and rein it in. Oversight is not partisan. It is the job. I would take that job seriously.
What is your favorite fun Wisconsin history fact?
The name “Badger” is actually originally attributed to thousands of lead miners who lived in horizontal dugout burrows during harsh winters in the 1820s and 1830s.