GREEN BAY, Wis. (WFRV) - Jeff Fitzgerald got his start in politics more than a decade ago. Now the current state Assembly Speaker wants to take his record of tough cuts to Washington D.C"

"I'm the Walker conservative in this race," Fitzgerald said. "I think that's probably the biggest thing I have going for me is that I was in the room with Governor Walker and my brother at the time we decided we were going to make some bold moves to get this state headed in the right direction and I think people appreciate that."

Fitzgerald calls himself a clear conservative. He said his part in passing the controversial collective bargaining reform law in Wisconsin shows voters he's the candidate ready to make big moves on a national level.

"The past year and a half, what we've had here in Wisconsin," he explained. "I see what's been going on in Washington D.C. as well. I think the problems we face here in Wisconsin are exactly what we face on a national level."

If elected, Fitzgerald said his top priorities are jobs, the economy and the national debt. He also feels President Obama's healthcare reform law isn't the way to go.

"Medicaid, Medicare and Social Security and the interest on our debt," explained Fitzgerald. "By the middle of next decade, every dollar flowing into the federal government will have to go for just those four things. Now when you pile on top of it Obamacare, I think that's something that's going to bankrupt this country."

While the most recent Public Policy Poll shows him trailing the other three candidates by double digits, Fitzgerald said he's always seen himself as the underdog in the race.

"Obviously I'm not independently wealthy and probably wasn't going to be the best funded," said Fitzgerald. "I'm going to stick with my positive message that I've had. The way we've turned that state around. The way Governor Walker and I passed reforms that I think got us on the right track and what we want to do in Washington and if you're looking for a battle-tested conservative, I'm that guy in this race."

The primary race is August 14th.