Andi Rich announces bid for 12th Senate District

MARINETTE, WI – (WGBW) – Small business owner, Andi Rich, announces her candidacy for the 12th Senate District. 

The Issues

Rich of Marinette says safe drinking water is one of the priorities of her campaign. She says that while PFAs are a hot topic across the state, rural areas need help.

“We just had a huge win from the EPA, setting some limits and designating two of these substances as hazardous. However, for us here in northern Wisconsin we still have a lot of issues because that regulation is for municipal water supply,” said Rich. “But so many residents here need help and have poison coming out of their taps because they are hooked up to well water.” 

Rich said that growing up in Porterfield helped her to realize that education isn’t the same for rural Wisconsin as it is for the larger cities because the funding just isn’t there. 

“I think rural communities in general deserve to have the same opportunities for our kids,” said Rich. “Obviously, funding those schools is step number one. And to make sure that all of the kids coming out of Northern Wisconsin have the same opportunities as all of the kids coming out of Milwaukee or Madison. That’s critical.”

Running as a democrat in a Republican district

The 12th Senate District is just over 65% Republican. Rich, who is running as a Democrat, says the issues facing the district are broader than red and blue. She is running to be a unifier for the district.

“This campaign is a common sense campaign. So many of these issues that are important, are important to everybody. Not just important to Democrats. Not just important to Republicans. Everybody wants to have clean drinking water. Everybody wants their kids to have every advantage in life,” said Rich. “So especially in this large typically red district, I think it is important for people to know that this is not an R versus D in my mind or in my heart. This is me wanting what’s best for everybody.”

The 12th Senate District covers a wide section of Wisconsin from Rhinelander to Marinette and includes a large portion of the Northwoods areas. Mary Felzkowski, (R-Tomahawk) is the incumbent for Senate District 12 and has announced that she will seek reelection.

Press release:

Andi Rich Announces Candidacy for 12th Senate District

MARINETTE, WI – Today, small business owner Andi Rich launched her candidacy to represent the 12th Senate District, which stretches from Rhinelander to Marinette and includes much of the Northwoods of Wisconsin. Citing Madison’s inability to act to provide basic governmental services, at the expense of thousands of Wisconsinites, Rich is committed to delivering results. 

“There are hundreds of families in the 12th District that cannot turn on their tap and safely drink their water,” said Andi Rich. “This isn’t a new problem – it’s one that’s existed for years and Madison has done nothing to fix it. Mary Felzkowski, herself, chairs the most powerful committee in the legislature and refuses to act. If we cannot rely on our state government to provide something as basic as clean water, what can we expect them to do? I’m running because these issues aren’t Democratic or Republican. The Northwoods deserve more and better representation than what we’re getting.”

Andi was born and raised in Marinette County. After graduating from Marinette High School in 2001, she got her bachelors from Lakeland College, where she graduated with honors, majoring in business administration and marketing. She obtained a Wisconsin General Contractor’s License so she could open her own construction company, and has since shifted to insurance adjusting. She is running to bring commonsense back to Madison — fighting to remove the forever chemicals contaminating our drinking water, working to support and fund our rural public schools, and advocating for our local economy by supporting our roads, bridges, and Main Street economies across the 12th District.