In the ad, titled "Our Girls," Roys begins by discussing the role she played in getting the 2010 BPA-Free Kids Act signed into state law just as her husband comes into the frame with their crying four-month-old daughter
Without giving it a second thought, the former state representative lifts her shirt and begins to breastfeed, all while continuing to throw out reasons why she should be Wisconsin's next governor.
"Are we taking our orders from people or are we taking them from chemical corporations who don't care at all about what people need," Roys asks. "By working across the aisle, we were able to pass a bill to ban BPA and Wisconsin was indeed one of the very first states to do that."
"Government should be about helping every person achieve his or her potential — and Wisconsin used to do it so well. Democracy only works when we all get involved," Roys added.
The scene of Roys breastfeeding wasn't exactly planned, she told The Cap Times.
"Like most working parents around the state, I juggle a lot of things and responsibilities and I wear a lot of hats," she told the outlet. "When we were shooting the video, my family was obviously there and when the baby needs to eat, I just feed her."
"People might say that a mom of young kids can't be governor or shouldn't be running for governor, but I also think that in 2018 women are not going to be told to sit down and shut up anymore. We have every right to have a seat at the table and run for office, even when we have young kids, just like men always have," she added.
Acknowledging that internet trolls have come out of the woodwork over the ad, Roys told the Huffington Post that reactions have mostly been positive.
"I've had a tremendous amount of support and encouragement from people — even Republican women," she said. "Of course, there have been some haters and internet trolls… but the story of 2018 isn't about internet trolls. The story of 2018 is about women rising up."
Roys will be running against more than a dozen Democratic contenders hoping to dethrone two-term incumbent Republican Gov. Scott Walker.
