The Democrat running in Wisconsin’s Sixth Congressional District race believes anything is possible as he tries to flip a Republican stronghold.
Brad Smith is a veteran who has lived in the district his entire life, growing up in Winnebago County.
He now lives in Mequon with his wife and two kids.
Smith tells Seehafernews.com that when talking to constituents, affordability has been the biggest concern.
That includes affording something as big as a home or something as common as a tank of gas.
With the War in Iran and limited passage of ships through the Strait of Hormuz, diesel prices have gone up, making everything else more expensive.
But while Congressman Glenn Grothman believes the war could end after the election, Smith does not.
“We were told this war would last weeks in the beginning,” he explained “The number one thing that people expected to happen when they forecast and did strategic war games here were that the Strait of Hormuz would close and that we would have an economic chokepoint. And that is exactly what happened.”
Smith also questioned why Rep. Grothman voted against a War Powers Resolution to remove troops from Iran.
On how to make things more affordable for homeowners, Smith says incentives are available through the Department of Housing and Urban Development.
“I’m talking about duplexes and other forms of lower cost but affordable homes,” he noted. “And so we can use programs at the federal level to be able to incentivize and encourage development on that side of the market and put dollars there to make it equally as attractive for people who are doing property development to do those types of projects rather than simply the higher end of the market.”
Smith has experience working for a software company, so seeing advances in Artificial Intelligence (AI) makes him deeply cautious about how quickly technology is evolving.
The Mequon Democrat says not only is AI already taking jobs, but there have also been issues with programs hacking different websites.
He says Congress needs more people who are savvy about this issue.
“I am not bought, paid for, or sold for by any of these companies funding,” he stated. “But I am eagerly ready to go and pass legislation to protect our people while harnessing whatever opportunities this can bring.”
Smith says he never thought he would be on the journey of running for Congress, but he wants to see his kids and future generations be able to live like he did growing up.
He also feels he can relate to both sides of the political aisle, being an avid deer hunter and gun owner, while also believing in helping grow Wisconsin’s economy.
The 2026 General Election takes place on Tuesday, November 3rd, with early voting beginning next Tuesday (October 20th).
