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Sara Rodriguez: “You can't have AI without the data centers.”

Featuring: Sara Rodriguez, Democratic | Lieutenant Governor of Wisconsin

The Ballot Brief: Sara Rodriguez

Published July 9, 2026 | Video Starts at 34:19

What do you think is the relationship between AI development and the need for data centers? And are they separate conversations or are they interconnected? Should they be separate conversations? So I think they're interconnected, the data centers. You can't have AI without the data centers. Right. And so they are an interconnected policy, but the issues, the effects on our workforce, the effects on Wisconsin are a little different. (34:19–34:23)

CLAIM

Asserts that AI development is dependent on data centers.

This is an excerpt from a raw transcript. The assertions have not been audited or verified. Tap the video to view the source footage and understand the context.

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Sara Rodriguez

“We are top 10 in the country for property taxes.”
The Ballot Brief: Sara Rodriguez | Uploaded July 9, 2026 | 10:27-10:33
“This particular public option requires a 5% reduction in premiums annually with some cost transparency tools in there.”
The Ballot Brief: Sara Rodriguez | Uploaded July 9, 2026 | 22:13-22:21
“If we would have passed [Medicaid expansion] just even last year with the Republican led legislature, we would have had $2 billion to deal…”
The Ballot Brief: Sara Rodriguez | Uploaded July 9, 2026 | 22:53-23:03
“99% of businesses are small businesses [in Wisconsin].”
The Ballot Brief: Sara Rodriguez | Uploaded July 9, 2026 | 27:53-28:02
“The number one employer for apprenticeships is actually UW Health.”
The Ballot Brief: Sara Rodriguez | Uploaded July 9, 2026 | 32:01-32:07
“Hospitals have closed in [the Eau Claire] region and we're looking at cuts to Medicaid and Medicare after the midterms.”
The Ballot Brief: Sara Rodriguez | Uploaded July 9, 2026 | 01:10-01:18
“We already have women who have to drive hours to have babies, and that's a huge issue in the state.”
The Ballot Brief: Sara Rodriguez | Uploaded July 9, 2026 | 01:44-01:53
“I was able to flip [District 13] from red to blue. And that was a four-term Republican incumbent.”
The Ballot Brief: Sara Rodriguez | Uploaded July 9, 2026 | 03:47-03:55
“I have the most endorsements of sitting legislators today.”
The Ballot Brief: Sara Rodriguez | Uploaded July 9, 2026 | 04:56-05:03
“I worked pre Affordable Care Act and after Affordable Care Act.”
The Ballot Brief: Sara Rodriguez | Uploaded July 9, 2026 | 06:32-06:40
“Her premium has doubled or more [on the exchange].”
The Ballot Brief: Sara Rodriguez | Uploaded July 9, 2026 | 07:08-07:20
“The formula we use to fund our public schools is over 30 years old.”
The Ballot Brief: Sara Rodriguez | Uploaded July 9, 2026 | 12:48-12:53
“One of the policies that I have is to make child care no more than 7% of your income.”
The Ballot Brief: Sara Rodriguez | Uploaded July 9, 2026 | 13:33-13:40
“There is a huge amount of money that is being sucked out of our economy because people cannot find childcare or, and cannot afford it when…”
The Ballot Brief: Sara Rodriguez | Uploaded July 9, 2026 | 14:12-14:24
“That's mostly women that are being taken out of the workforce and that's going to hurt us moving forward.”
The Ballot Brief: Sara Rodriguez | Uploaded July 9, 2026 | 14:24-14:32
“The Vermont model is likely going to be the way to go [for funding childcare in Wisconsin].”
The Ballot Brief: Sara Rodriguez | Uploaded July 9, 2026 | 15:15-15:25
“We would also be able to include paid family leave in that [funding model] and it would work like unemployment insurance.”
The Ballot Brief: Sara Rodriguez | Uploaded July 9, 2026 | 15:34-15:40
“The budget process is going to be the same as we have had it with Governor Evers, which is a fully transparent process.”
The Ballot Brief: Sara Rodriguez | Uploaded July 9, 2026 | 17:16-17:25
“Paid family leave is being passed all around us.”
The Ballot Brief: Sara Rodriguez | Uploaded July 9, 2026 | 20:30-20:37
“Badger Choice is a public option on the exchange and it is modeled after Colorado's public option model.”
The Ballot Brief: Sara Rodriguez | Uploaded July 9, 2026 | 21:47-21:56
“Expansion of Medicaid is something that I've also been a proponent of.”
The Ballot Brief: Sara Rodriguez | Uploaded July 9, 2026 | 22:43-22:47
“We know that these cuts that are coming to Medicaid and Medicare are going to hit rural health care way harder than anyplace else.”
The Ballot Brief: Sara Rodriguez | Uploaded July 9, 2026 | 23:21-23:28
“We do have a fund of funds, but it is not capitalized as well as some other states. Even states like Ohio have more dollars within that than…”
The Ballot Brief: Sara Rodriguez | Uploaded July 9, 2026 | 26:52-27:02
“UW Health [does] apprenticeships for certified nursing assistants, for medical assistants, [and] for respiratory therapists.”
The Ballot Brief: Sara Rodriguez | Uploaded July 9, 2026 | 30:05-32:14
“The state does not put any dollars into [apprenticeships for plumbers or electricians].”
The Ballot Brief: Sara Rodriguez | Uploaded July 9, 2026 | 33:00-33:03
“We need to have community input on whether a data center is built in that community.”
The Ballot Brief: Sara Rodriguez | Uploaded July 9, 2026 | 34:47-34:52
“We have to make sure that we're using the right types of labor to get these things built in terms of electricity use.”
The Ballot Brief: Sara Rodriguez | Uploaded July 9, 2026 | 35:08-35:16
“This is going to get us closer to carbon neutral by 2050, which is our goal.”
The Ballot Brief: Sara Rodriguez | Uploaded July 9, 2026 | 35:31-35:36
“We already had an AI workforce task force actually within the Evers Rodriguez administration.”
The Ballot Brief: Sara Rodriguez | Uploaded July 9, 2026 | 36:08-36:15
“I've put out policies on Big Tech overall about social media, about following our kids online, about sexualization of our children online…”
The Ballot Brief: Sara Rodriguez | Uploaded July 9, 2026 | 36:59-37:11
“We need to put restrictions around your bills and other states have looked at that.”
The Ballot Brief: Sara Rodriguez | Uploaded July 9, 2026 | 37:59-38:03
“We should not be giving away tax breaks to billion trillion dollar companies.”
The Ballot Brief: Sara Rodriguez | Uploaded July 9, 2026 | 39:07-39:13
“The tax breaks that we have given those data centers are too generous.”
The Ballot Brief: Sara Rodriguez | Uploaded July 9, 2026 | 39:38-39:46
“I haven't been for a moratorium at this point because I think individual communities need to be able to make that decisions.”
The Ballot Brief: Sara Rodriguez | Uploaded July 9, 2026 | 40:22-40:30
“When I speak to the business community, they speak to me about child care and housing.”
The Ballot Brief: Sara Rodriguez | Uploaded July 9, 2026 | 41:32-41:37
“Government's role is to solve problems and to protect the most vulnerable.”
The Ballot Brief: Sara Rodriguez | Uploaded July 9, 2026 | 43:17-43:22
“Willing to listen to all stakeholders across the state [of Wisconsin].”
The Ballot Brief: Sara Rodriguez | Uploaded July 9, 2026 | 43:22-43:27
“Support the business community all across the state of Wisconsin.”
The Ballot Brief: Sara Rodriguez | Uploaded July 9, 2026 | 43:37-43:41