Glenn Grothman

The rising cost of living. Affordable and accessible healthcare. Artificial intelligence hyperscale data centers. Affordable housing. Education and vocational training funding.

Key policy goals on those issues are central to the campaigns for two Democratic candidates running in the Aug. 11 party primary to take on six-term Republican Rep. Glenn Grothman in the 6th Congressional District on Nov. 3.

Both Amanda Bell and Brad Smith are political newcomers, and there's much they agree on. But there are also noteworthy distinctions in their backgrounds and policy goals voters will need to consider ahead of the primary.

Bell is a former water scientist and U.S. Geological Survey deputy director who left after the Trump administration's Department of Government Efficiency cuts significantly downsized her team and cancelled many of their research contracts.

Brad Smith is a U.S. Army National Guard veteran and software company leader who has grown small businesses into large companies and served in executive roles at Fortune 500 companies and venture-backed startups.

Both grew up on small dairy farms in the 6th District and are critical of Grothman's "rubber-stamping" of Trump administration policies, as Smith put it.

Smith called out Grothman's support for Medicare and Medicaid cuts in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act and the ongoing Iran war, which he said is driving up costs for working people and families.

Bell called out Grothman's decision to support opening the boundary waters for private mining and lack of support for the Violence Against Women Act to help domestic abuse survivors in 2021.

The 6th Congressional District includes Ozaukee, Sheboygan, Manitowoc, Fond Du Lac, Green Lake, Marquette, Waushara, and Columbia counties, as well as parts of Dodge County and Winnebago counties.

The district includes two of Wisconsin's three hyperscale AI data centers - a Meta project in Beaver Dam and another for Oracle and OpenAI in Port Washington. Data centers have emerged as a key issue in this race and others over the last year, and both candidates have big plans to take on the burgeoning industry.

So far, Smith's fundraising has far outpaced Bell's. According to Federal Elections Commission data, Smith has raised $155,000 with significant donations from ActBlue, the online fund-raising organization that powers Democratic candidates. Bell has raised $35,000 with significant contributions from herself.

Bell and Smith aren't the only candidates in the race, vying for Grothman's seat. Two Independent candidates, Mike Thurow and Elizabeth Fitzgibbon, and one Green Party candidate, Matthew Arndt, will also appear on the general election ballots.

But only Bell and Smith are facing off on Aug. 11.

Here's what to know about the two candidates in the Democratic primary:

Brad Smith

Residence: Mequon

Experience and occupation: Smith is a U.S. Army National Guard veteran who spent 14 months deployed in Kuwait. He received a federal humanitarian award for efforts assisting first responders during Hurricane Katrina. Smith later obtained a Masters in Business Administration through the UW System and helped start a Milwaukee-based software company ARI Network Services, helping the company grow through acquisitions and a NASDAQ stock market listing. Smith has since held senior leadership roles at Fortune 500 companies and venture-backed startups, including Master Lock Co., and Harley-Davidson Motor Co.. He now runs his own consulting business.

Policies: Smith's campaign focuses on economic relief for working people, by advocating for livable wages, expanded labor protections, affordable housing, greater access to trades education and training, affordable and accessible health care and a tax system that "stops giving the biggest breaks to the people already at the top," Smith said. He also emphasizes rural policies, including investing in sustainable family farms, better rural health care, expanded broadband and clean water protections. Smith said he wants to change the federal government's lack of regulation on the data center industry, specifically targeting the widespread use of non-disclosure agreements, significant tax breaks and incentives, along with murky information on water and energy use reporting. On AI, Smith said his goal is to harness the good, such as more accurate cancer screenings, while mitigating the bad, pointing to misinformation and deepfakes. He also supports renewable energy, modernizing infrastructure, reproductive freedom, supporting LGBTQ+ rights, advocating for common-sense gun safety rules while protecting the Second Amendment, and adding more members to the House of Representatives to increase direct representation and make campaigning more affordable.

Amanda Bell

Residence: Pardeeville

Experience and occupation: Bell spent 25 years working in federal government as a water scientist and as deputy director with the U.S. Geological Survey in Madison after obtaining a Master of Science in Natural Resources and Conservation from the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point. While working for the federal government, she studied aquatic ecosystems and water quality, testing more than 500 streams, managing multi-million dollar projects and working with local governments, federal officials and international organizations. Bell said she left her role with the federal government after the Trump administration's DOGE cuts significantly downsized her team and cancelled many of their research contracts. She is currently working as a substitute teacher in Columbia County school districts.

Policies: Rising costs and the economy are also central to Bell's campaign, highlighted in her support for affordable and accessible healthcare, affordable housing, livable wages and union protections. She said a key driver of her approach to fixing the high costs of living for her communities lies in challenging corporate monopolies and pushing for stronger enforcement of anti-trust laws. Bell also wants to increase support for rural services, like broadband and health care centers. She also wants to restore funding to the Department of Education to bolster special education programs and combat major school district disparities she's seen as a substitute teacher. She supports a single payer system as a path toward a universal healthcare plan. Another priority is reducing money in politics through campaign finance reform. To address concerns about the burgeoning AI data center industry, she wants to push for legislation that protects communities with data centers from the local impacts of construction and operation, protecting water quality, energy prices and nearby home values. While Bell is open to the possibilities of positive impacts from AI, she wants to up AI regulations that would combat deepfakes, protect users' data and hold tech companies more accountable for the negative impacts of their platforms. She also supports stronger environmental protection standards, LGBTQ+ rights, responsible gun safety rules, reproductive freedom and immigration reform.