Wisconsin Representative Tammy Baldwin
will address the Democratic National Convention (DNC) on Thursday.
The 50-year-old Baldwin would become
the first openly gay U.S. senator if she captures the seat being
vacated by Wisconsin Senator Herb Kohl. Her Republican rival, Tommy
Thompson, is a former governor of Wisconsin.
Baldwin has been given a prime speaking
slot: on the convention's final evening and in the same stadium where
President Barack Obama will accept the Democratic nomination.
“We've seen Paul Ryan and Scott
Walker on the national stage. I'm going to talk about the Wisconsin
I know,” Baldwin told the Milwaukee-Wisconsin
Journal Sentinel. “We've increasingly seen wealthy,
powerful interests gain power in Washington and, frankly, in Madison,
and write their own set of rules. Hardworking families deserve a
shot.”
Last month, LPAC, the political action
committee formed earlier this year to support candidates and causes
that appeal to lesbian voters, named
Baldwin as its first endorsement.
However, gay
GOP group GOProud endorsed Thompson, knocking Baldwin as being a
“rubber stamp for the disastrous big government policies of the far
left.”