ELMHURST, Asl. -- The Nationalist speaker of Ansleigha's House of Representatives says although she has a 'good working relationship' with Conservative Governor Sam Baskingwood, she will not endorse the incumbent governor in the 2024 election.
Grael, who ran unsuccessfully against Baskingwood back in the 2020 race for governor, made the comments in an interview with Ansleigha Public Radio (APR).
She told host Megan Allexis that she and Baskingwood have found a way to get along, despite their past rivalry and ongoing political differences.
"Do I agree with everything Sam Baskingwood does or all the policies he espouses? No, absolutely not. We disagree often and vehemently. But we get along well," she told APR.
"He listens when I speak. I listen when he speaks. His staff have a good working relationship with my staff. When I need to talk to him, he and his staff make time. There are times we can't agree and we're at an impasse. But usually, we can negotiate a compromise. We have a good working relationship."
Indeed, while the two may get along well, they have had real differences of opinion on key issues.
Baskingwood balked when Grael and her fellow Nationalists attempted to raise the state's minimum wage to $16 per hour. The measure failed in the Conservative-controlled state Senate, and Baskingwood vowed not to sign it into law if it passed both houses of the legislature.
The two also rammed heads over a proposed tax to help fund early childhood development and free pre-school in the state.
Grael and her NAT colleagues championed the proposal, and engaged in a fervent publicity campaign. But the governor refused to budge.
But on other issues, the two have found common ground, or at least compromise.
When Conservative state lawmakers wanted to completely scrap the state's gas tax to fund roads, Baskingwood sided with Grael and struck down the idea.
When the two parties couldn't agree in the legislature on a state budget, the governor and speaker sat down together and personally went through the state budget line by line, finding common areas and projects they were comfortable cutting or amending.
"We do have a positive working relationship," Baskingwood told APR, when contacted for comment on this story. "Like Becky said, we do often disagree. And sometimes our disagreements are very serious and very intense. But we both recognize it's in the interest of both of us and also the people of Ansleigha to negotiate and find common ground when we can."
"Sometimes you can negotiate, sometimes you can't. But more often than not we can, and I attribute that to our mutual respect for each other. I don't always agree with Becky, but I respect her expertise on issues in the legislature, and we both respect each other's position and constitutional authority," the governor added.
Still, even though the two work well together and consider each other friends, as they both told APR, Grael made it clear she is not endorsing Baskingwood for a second term when he runs for re-election in 2024.
"I like Sam, I respect him. But I still am a Nationalist, I still believe in Nationalist values, and I think our state would be better served by a strong, pro-union, pro-labor, pro-environment NAT governor," she said.
Earlier this year, she announced she would not run for governor again in 2024, clearing the way for another Nationalist to carry the party's torch into the 2024 election campaign season.
While she has not endorsed any candidate yet, she pledged to support the party's eventual nominee.
"I'm not sure who I support yet, to be honest," she told APR. "I think we have a lot of really well-qualified candidates on the NAT side, a lot of passionate progressives who believe in protecting the environment, who believe in funding education and health care and having a safety net for vulnerable people. Whether it's Paul Biddington, or Paris Westerman, or Agatha Houndsley, or whoever it ends up being, I know the NAT will offer the people of Ansleigha a strong candidate and a compelling case for people to vote NAT," she said.
Baskingwood, who already announced his intention to seek re-election, is hoping voters will stick with him for another four years.
"In the last three years, we've done a lot for Ansleigha. We've reformed education so our kids can graduate from high school and be prepared for employment in the adult world. We've lowered taxes, we've reformed health care policies that hurt working class people, we've reduced state bureaucracy, and most importantly, we've gotten violent criminals off the streets and kept them in jail," he said.
Some statistics do point to a reduction in recidivism during the past few years, but critics say it's not Baskingwood's policies that are responsible for the reduction in crime, but instead social factors, such as people going back to work after a long period of high unemployment during COVID-19 shutdowns.
Before he reaches the general election in fall 2024, Baskingwood will also have to navigate the CNS primary election.
His former CNS opponent, car dealership owner Lou Gibbs, has promised to challenge Baskingwood for the party's nomination again in 2024.
Gibbs, an avid supporter of former US President Donald Trump, campaigned against Baskingwood back in 2020, running strongly to the right of Baskingwood, and painting the eventual governor as weak and insufficiently conservative.
Gibbs has been openly and frequently critical of Baskingwood during his tenure, and may seek to rally the far-right of the party and oust Baskingwood from the ticket in 2024.
The governor is not scared of a rematch, Baskingwood spokesman Tyler Denver told APR.
"Sam Baskingwood soundly defeated Lou Gibbs in 2020, and after a record of strong achievement over the past three years, Sam Baskingwood will defeat Lou Gibbs soundly again, if Mr. Gibbs runs," said Denver.
"The governor is focusing on the general election in fall 2024, and planning to present Ansleighans with a clear, conservative, common-sense agenda," added Denver.
In his re-election campaign, Baskingwood has focused on many of the talking points and campaign themes his predecessor, former Conservative Gov. Dale Lindstrom, focused on during his eight years in office.
Nationalists are hoping to elect their first governor since statehood.
Since Ansleigha became a state, Nationalists have never won a gubernatorial election.
"We're hoping to change that," Grael told APR. "It's time for a change. The people of Ansleigha know it and we are going to do everything we can to bring that change next November."
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