Debra Bartoshevich is a 41-year-old emergency room nurse from Wisconsin[1] featured in an August 2008 national television ad produced by the John McCain presidential campaign. In the ad, Bartoshevich declares herself "a proud Hillary Clinton Democrat" who will vote for John McCain, rather than Barack Obama, in the 2008 presidential election.[2]
On May 4, 2008, Bartoshevich was one of four people from Racine County, Wisconsin selected by a local Democratic caucus as a delegate to the Democratic National Convention. The Racine, Wisconsin Journal Time quotes her, "in a speech before the votes were cast" telling other delegates “I support her because of her universal health care plan .. I see the devastating consequences of diseases on the uninsured." [3]
Bartoshevich can be seen on You Tube telling a television interviewer that she was contacted by the McCain campaign "approximately three minutes" after Hillary Clinton's June 5 speech suspending her campaign for the presidency. Describing herself as a "member of the Wisconsin Democrat Party" (sic) who has "always voted Democrat" but a "new person" at the caucus, she told the interviewer that when she signed a pledge to support the "Democrat nominee" she believed the paper was just a sign-in sheet. [4]
In June 2008, the Journal Times reported a dramatic response to the June 13 statement by Bartoshevich (who was at that time an official Clinton delegate to the Democratic National Convention) that she would vote for McCain in November. The Wisconsin Democratic Party then voted to replace her as a delegate to the Denver convention, citing a Democratic National Committee rule that requires delegates to support the party’s nominee.[5] Bartoshevich's delegate slot was given to another Clinton supporter, Marilyn Nemeth, who had received the next-highest number of caucus votes. [6]
According to the Associated Press, McCain himself traveled to Racine in July, where he met with Bartoshevich before introducing her and her family to a campaign gathering of about 1,000 people.[7]
On August 25, the new ad (called "Debra") was launched.[8] A second McCain ad launched the same day (called "Passed Over") also urged Hillary Clinton's followers to switch allegiance to McCain.[9]
Also on August 25, Bartoshevich was made the central figure of a press conference sponsored by the Republican National Committee and hosted by Carly Fiorina.[10] Bartoshevich (who is pro-choice) was asked about McCain's views on Roe v. Wade. Her response ("Going back to 1999, John McCain did an interview with the San Francisco Chronicle saying that overturning Roe v. Wade would not make any sense, because then women would have to have illegal abortions") raised questions, because McCain's current position is that Roe v. Wade should be overturned.[11][12]