MADISON, Wis. (AP) — A Wisconsin state senator who came in third in the Democratic primary for governor in 2018 is running again, saying in her campaign launch video that “extremists” like President Donald Trump and billionaire Elon Musk are putting the nation's democracy at risk.
Kelda Roys, an attorney and small business owner who represents the liberal capital city of Madison in the state Senate, launched her campaign on Monday.
“We are in the fight of our lives for our democracy and our kids' future,” Roys says in her campaign launch video. It shows people protesting along with images of Trump and Musk.
The two other highest-profile announced Democratic candidates are Lt. Gov. Sara Rodriguez and Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley. Several other Democrats are expected to join the race in coming days.
Rodriguez repeated the same comment she gave when Crowley got in the race: "This moment calls for a leader with statewide experience and the ability to bring people together across all 72 counties — that’s the perspective I bring to this race.”
On the Republican side, Washington County Executive Josh Schoemann, 43, and suburban Milwaukee business owner Bill Berrien, 56, are the only announced candidates. Other Republicans, including U.S. Rep. Tom Tiffany and state Senate President Mary Felzkowski, are considering running.
Berrien branded Roys as supporting “extreme, far-left policies” and said she “views the governor’s mansion as another stepping stone in her career.” Schoemann did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Roys, 46, served in the state Assembly from 2009 until 2013. Roys ran for an open congressional seat in 2012, but was defeated by a fellow state lawmaker, Mark Pocan, by 50 points. She was elected to the state Senate in 2020.
As a lawmaker, Roys has been an outspoken defender of abortion rights and for union rights. In her launch video, Roys highlights her opposition to then-Gov. Scott Walker's law that effectively ended collective bargaining for public workers in 2011.
“With everything on the line, Wisconsin needs a governor who’s been training for this moment her whole career and knows how to deliver,” she said.
Roys said she would work to improve public schools, make health care more affordable and create quality jobs.
The race to replace Gov. Tony Evers, who is retiring after two terms, is open with no incumbent running for the first time since 2010. Roys lost to Evers in the 2018 gubernatorial primary, coming in third out of eight candidates behind him and Mahlon Mitchell, president of the Professional Fire Fighters of Wisconsin.
State Sen. Kelda Roys poses for a photo outside of the Wisconsin state Capitol after launching her campaign for governor on Monday, Sept. 15, 2026, in Madison, Wis. (AP Photo/Scott Bauer)
FILE - Kelda Roys stands outside the Capitol in Madison, Wis., June 26, 2018. (John Hart/Wisconsin State Journal via AP, file)
PARIS (AP) — Ukraine on Monday signed a letter of intent to buy up to 100 Rafale warplanes from France over the next 10 years, the two leaders said.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who signed the document with French President Emmanuel Macron, called it “a historic deal” at a joint news conference at the Elysée presidential palace. The letter states that Ukraine is considering the possibility of buying French defense equipment.
“Firstly, Ukraine will be able to receive 100 Rafale fighter jets (and) very strong French radars — eight air-defense systems SAMP/T, each with six launching systems," he said. "This is a strategic agreement that will work for 10 years, starting next year."
Macron added, “Today we’re moving to a next step.”
He said Monday's agreement includes the acquisition of France's latest-generation jet fighters with full armament, as well as accompanying training and production programs.
The letter of intent also includes the acquisition of drones and drone interceptors, guided bombs and the next-generation SAMP/T ground-to-air systems, with first deliveries expected over the next three years, he added.
The chief of the French defense staff, Air Force Gen. Fabien Mandon, this month told French senators that the European-made SAMP/T that France provided to Ukraine are proving more effective than U.S.-made Patriot batteries against hard-to-hit Russian missiles.
Zelenskyy, on his ninth visit to Paris since Russia's full-scale invasion in February 2022, seeks to strengthen Ukraine’s defenses as the country enters another winter under Russian bombardment of its energy infrastructure and other targets.
On Monday morning, both leaders visited an air base in the Paris outskirts, before heading to the headquarters of a multinational force, dubbed the “coalition of the willing,” that France and Britain have been preparing with more than 30 other nations to police an eventual ceasefire in Ukraine.
French officials say the force could be deployed immediately after a ceasefire and would be stationed away from the front lines in an effort to help dissuade renewed Russian attacks. Russian President Vladimir Putin has so far rejected calls for a ceasefire as his troops make creeping gains on the battlefield.
Zelenskyy wrote on X on Sunday that he looked forward to a “historic deal with France in Paris to strengthen our combat aviation and air defense." He made a stop in Greece on his way to France to sign an agreement to supply Ukraine with U.S. liquefied natural gas.
Last month, Ukraine and Sweden signed an agreement exploring the possibility of Ukraine buying up to 150 Swedish-made Gripen fighter jets over the next decade or more. Ukraine has already received American-made F-16s and French Mirages.
France is among major suppliers of defense assistance to Ukraine, including air defense systems and fighter jets.
According to Mandon, Ukraine needs immediate additional air defenses to fend off attacks by Russia, which on average targets the country with about 1,700 drones per week plus missiles.
“We helped Ukraine by deploying missile and drone interception systems called the SAMP/T system. The Russians adapted the flight profiles of their most advanced missiles because they realized they were being intercepted by Ukrainian defenses. Today, the Patriot system is struggling to intercept them, but the SAMP/T is intercepting them,” Mandon said.
Associated Press writers John Leicester in Paris and Barry Hatton in Kyiv, Ukraine contributed to the report.
Follow AP’s coverage of the war in Ukraine at https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine
French President Emmanuel Macron, left, welcomes Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Monday, Nov. 17, 2025 before a joint press conference at the Elysee Palace in Paris. (AP Photo/Michel Euler)
French President Emmanuel Macron, left, and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, center, visit the offices of the future international force known as the coalition of the willing, Monday, Nov. 17, 2025 at the Mont Valerien in Suresnes, outside Paris. (AP Photo/Christophe Ena, Pool)
French President Emmanuel Macron, right, and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy shake hands after signing an agreement Monday, Nov. 17, 2025 at the Villacoublay air base near Paris. (AP Photo/Christophe Ena, Pool)
French President Emmanuel Macron, right, and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy sign an agreement Monday, Nov. 17, 2025 at the Villacoublay air base near Paris. (AP Photo/Christophe Ena, Pool)
French President Emmanuel Macron, right, and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy hug after signing an agreement Monday, Nov. 17, 2025 at the Villacoublay air base near Paris. (AP Photo/Christophe Ena, Pool)
A Rafale jet fighter is seen before the arrival of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy Monday, Nov. 17, 2025 at the Villacoublay air base near Paris. (AP Photo/Christophe Ena, Pool)
A Rafale jet fighter, drones and ammunitions are seen before the arrival of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy Monday, Nov. 17, 2025 at the Villacoublay air base near Paris. (AP Photo/Christophe Ena, Pool)
A Rafale jet fighter is seen before the arrival of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy Monday, Nov. 17, 2025 at the Villacoublay air base near Paris. (AP Photo/Christophe Ena, Pool)
