He’s 32, running for public office for the first time, and hasn’t even slipped up in the polls.
But the Democratic US Senate candidate Steven Olikara has big ideas for shaking up the “political business model”.
Term limitation? It’s for her.
Open primaries and ranking list election? Absolutely.
Fundraising while Congress is in session? He would forbid it.
“We have a system of legalized bribery in Congress today,” Olikara said in an interview as he rolled out his “government agenda.”
A Brookfield native, Olikara is a University of Wisconsin-Madison graduate who left his job to run for the US Senate. He was the founder and executive director of the Millennial Action Project, a Washington-based nonprofit dedicated to “post-partisan political collaboration.”
He now tries to get involved in political arguments and has made more than 120 appearances across the state. He generates interest in his campaign by doing things like selling NFTs, non-fungible tokens.
But Olikara is a long way from the top four of the Democratic primary: Lt. gov. Mandela Barnes, the front runner, Milwaukee Bucks manager Alex Lasry, State Treasurer Sarah Godlewski and Outagamie County Executive Tom Nelson.
Since entering the race in August, Olikara has raised $372,000, a decent number for a first-time contender but far behind many of his rivals.
The latest Marquette University Law School poll showed he had no support from those who said they would vote in the August 9th elementary school, and hardly anyone knew him.
“The majority of voters have not heard of or formed an opinion on any of the candidates, so it remains an open race,” Olikara said.
Olikara relies on his ideas to gain a foothold in a crowded primary field.
He wants lawmakers to work on policy, not raising cash. He would ban members of Congress from fundraising while Congress is in session and crack down on PACs’ money. He would also cap the amount of money individuals invest in their own campaigns at $250,000.
And he would streamline the convention calendar by having members work three weeks in DC and one week at home.
In elections, he’s pro-open primary, Republican and Democrat thrown into the same mix. The top five finishers would proceed to the general election, where voters would rank the candidates in what is known as ranked voting.
He said these and other ideas could resonate with voters, such as eliminating gerrymandering, supporting “non-traditional” candidates running for office and reforming the filibuster.
Olikara said he wants to form a coalition of voters “that can cross party lines”.
“I appeal to this exhausted majority,” he said.