Summary
Current Position: Lt. Governor since 2019
Affiliation: Democrat
Candidate: 2023 US Senator
Former Position: State Senator from 2013 – 2017
In the Senate, Mandela will bring a new perspective to Washington, to fight for opportunity for every child, person, and family in Wisconsin, regardless of their ZIP code. He will put middle class families first and stand up to the lobbyists and big corporations that have all the power in Washington. He will fight to create opportunity in every corner of Wisconsin, bring manufacturing back, create jobs by tackling climate change, and stand up for Wisconsin’s family farmers.
Source: Campaign page
OnAir Post: Mandela Barnes
About
Source: Campaign page
Mandela’s story is a Wisconsin story.
Mandela doesn’t come from a wealthy or well-connected family. But he does come from a proud union family. He was born in Milwaukee in one of the most impoverished and incarcerated Zip codes in the state. His dad worked 3rd shift at the GM factory and his mom was a Milwaukee school teacher for 30 years. Mandela’s parents taught him the values of hard work, perseverance, and the importance of a good education. Their union jobs were his family’s ticket into the middle class.
That’s a ticket too many people can’t get anymore, no matter how hard they work. Life is getting more expensive and it’s getting harder to get ahead.
A spark was lit in Mandela when he heard Barack Obama speak at the 2004 Democratic convention, and he realized the problems he saw around him were things he could try to fix.
After college, Mandela became a community organizer in his hometown where he fought to bring good jobs to the community.
Frustrated by a lack of action from the lawmakers on the issues affecting working people and the middle class, Mandela decided to run for office. He became a Wisconsin State Representative at 27 and stood up to Scott Walker’s anti-union agenda. In 2018, Mandela helped Tony Evers kick Scott Walker out of office and, at 31, became Wisconsin’s first Black Lt. Governor — and only the second Black elected official statewide.
As Lt. Governor Mandela has worked closely with Governor Evers to help Wisconsin recover from the pandemic. Mandela has been central to the campaign to encourage communities across the state to get vaccinated, traveling to urban and rural areas to energize Wisconsin’s recovery.
Governor Evers recognized Mandela’s expertise and years of work on environmental issues by appointing him as chair of the Governor’s Task Force on Climate Change. The Task Force brought together a diverse coalition of farmers, environmental advocates, Indigenous leaders, and business executives to produce 55 concrete strategies for how Wisconsin can begin to address the climate crisis.
Just like when Mandela first ran for office, right now Wisconsinites deserve better than what they are getting. Wisconsin family farmers are being squeezed out by big corporations. The manufacturing jobs that sustained Mandela’s family are getting shipped overseas — the factory where his dad worked is a strip mall now. And China has been more than happy to pick up the slack.
Sadly, politicians like Senator Ron Johnson are standing in the way of progress. Johnson has turned his back on Wisconsin, delivering for his wealthy donors and peddling wild conspiracy theories and cynical attacks that divide us for political gain. Ron Johnson wants to pit Wisconsinites against each other. But Mandela knows that in every corner of the state, there is more that unites us than divides us.
Hard working families like Mandela’s don’t want handouts. They just want a fair shot.
Mandela understands the struggles of working people because they are his struggles too. He is running for Senate to rebuild the middle class and give everyone a fair shot at the American dream.
In the Senate, Mandela will bring a new perspective to Washington, to fight for opportunity for every child, person, and family in Wisconsin, regardless of their ZIP code. He will put middle class families first and stand up to the lobbyists and big corporations that have all the power in Washington. He will fight to create opportunity in every corner of Wisconsin, bring manufacturing back, create jobs by tackling climate change, and stand up for Wisconsin’s family farmers.
Prior to serving as Lt. Governor, Mandela was elected to the State Assembly where he emerged as a champion on issues of the environment, economy, education, racial justice, and health care. He became the chair of the legislature’s Black and Latino Caucus in his first term, became a national leader on gun violence prevention, and was recognized as one of the top pro-growth progressive leaders in the country. He also worked as a community organizer in Milwaukee and served as Deputy Director of Strategic Engagement for the State Innovation Exchange, sharing progressive best practices with state legislatures across the country.
Mandela serves on the Governor’s Health Equity Council, Wisconsin Criminal Justice Coordinating Council, Wisconsin Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women Task Force, the Governor’s Council on Financial Literacy and Capability, and the statewide 2020 Census Complete Count Committee.
Web
Campaign Site, Twitter, Wikipedia, LinkedIn, Instagram
Politics
Source: none
Finances
BARNES, MANDELA has run in 5 races for public office, winning 4 of them. The candidate has raised a total of $11,491,586.
Source: Follow the Money
Voting Record
See: Vote Smart
Issues
Source: Campaign page
Jobs we can support a family on, education we can build a future on, and health care that protects our health, not the wealth of corporations.
Democracy & Governance
Plan for Democracy
A plan for democracy that works for working people
In a democracy established by and for the people, far too many of our leaders think the rules don’t apply to them, and they’ve failed to address the critical priorities of working Americans. We must hold our leaders accountable and build a democracy that works for working people.
Elected officials are supposed to listen and be accountable to the voters who elected them. But today, corruption, special interest influence, and polarization have stalled progress on common-sense issues that the vast majority of Americans support; from lowering the cost of health care and prescription drugs, to investing in local jobs and infrastructure, to tackling climate change and tax fairness. Meanwhile, wealthy corporations and special interests subvert the will of the voters by spending millions in dark money to influence elections and elected officials. And, over the past months, extreme politicians have even tried to overturn fair and secure elections — simply because they didn’t like the results.
In a democracy, we should be able to fix this by making our voices heard at the ballot box and holding our leaders accountable for both their actions and inactions. Sadly, today, that accountability is under attack like never before. Across the country, lawmakers are proposing radical voting rights restrictions, limiting absentee and early voting, and even making it a crime for volunteers to hand out bottles of water to people waiting in line to vote. And even when voters overcome those obstacles, their voices still are often drowned out by politicians who have rigged the system through partisan gerrymandering — literally picking which voters they want to represent, rather than the other way around.
All of these attacks have a common thread: to remove all measures of accountability to the voters and rig the game so they can stay in power.
It’s time to change that.
In Wisconsin, we’ve been on the front lines of this fight. While politicians and lobbyists rigged maps behind closed doors and made Wisconsin one of the most gerrymandered states in the country, Governor Evers and I led the charge for non-partisan reforms, fair maps, and access to the ballot box for every eligible voter. Unwilling to accept the will of the voters, Senator Ron Johnson now wants to bypass the bipartisan Wisconsin Elections Commission and is proposing a full partisan takeover of our federal elections.
Make no mistake, our democracy is on the ballot in 2022, and we need a United States Senator who has a plan to make elected officials accountable to the voters, to stand up to the corrupting influence of dark money, and to ensure the rights of voters are protected across this country.
It’s time to deliver a clear message that America won’t allow those who would undermine our democracy to continue leading it. We must hold our leaders accountable.
It’s not enough to simply stop the attacks on accountability and democracy. We have to build a system that works for everyone and elect leaders who won’t buy into false choices that pit us against one another. It’s time for leadership that will bring us together to fix the system, to hold our leaders accountable, and to build a democracy capable of delivering the opportunities that allow all families to thrive.
As your next United States Senator, I will bring together people from across the partisan divide to:
- Stop big corporations and special interests from buying political influence
- End partisan gerrymandering
- Pass a new voting rights act
- Enhance election security and crack down on foreign interference
- End the Senate’s filibuster
- Protect against election subversion
- Strengthen ethics rules for elected officials
Thank you for reading this plan. If you have feedback on this plan, you can reach me at www.MandelaBarnes.com/democracy to let me know your thoughts.
— Mandela Barnes
Stop Special Interests and Big Money from Influencing our Elections
For far too many politicians, the voters are no longer their number one priority. Thanks to the Supreme Court’s decision in Citizens United, corporate special interests dump millions into Super PACs to influence our elections. Meanwhile, millionaires and billionaires pour money into their own campaign accounts and personal Super PACs, making them answerable to no one. This big money spending shuts out authentic grassroots support, and encourages the election of politicians like Senator Ron Johnson — who then turns around and delivers tax breaks for his wealthiest donors.
That’s unacceptable – it’s time to get corruption and big money and corporate special interests out of politics for good. Mandela Barnes fundamentally believes that leaders are best equipped to stand up for Wisconsin when their support stems from regular, everyday people. That’s why Mandela’s campaign isn’t taking a dime from corporate PACs, and it’s why he won’t self-fund his campaign.
- In the Senate, Mandela will fight for a constitutional amendment that overturns the Citizens United decision and puts political power back in the hands of the people of Wisconsin.
- Mandela will also support legislation like the DISCLOSE Act and Honest Ads Act that will help shine a light on those secretly spending money to influence elections and public policy.
End Partisan Gerrymandering
In a democracy, voters are supposed to pick their politicians. But across our country, all too often politicians are picking their voters. That’s what Republican leaders are trying to do right now in Wisconsin, where they’ve held on to power in the legislature for a decade thanks to rigged partisan maps drawn by politicians and lobbyists behind closed doors.
Now they’re trying to once again lock in their power and avoid facing the voters for another decade with gerrymandered maps that prioritize partisan power over the will of the voters. As Lieutenant Governor, Mandela Barnes has fought back against these partisan attacks and worked with Governor Evers to create a nonpartisan redistricting commission. But Republican leaders haven’t listened to the nonpartisan commission, that’s why we need the federal government to act to depoliticize the map-drawing process.
- In the Senate, Mandela will fight for national redistricting reform guided by the simple principle that voters should pick their elected leaders, not the other way around.
Pass a New Voting Rights Act
The right to vote is sacred. It is the cornerstone upon which all of our other democratic norms and values lie. And while so many extreme politicians want to make it harder to vote for their own gain, Mandela believes that we should make it easier to exercise our fundamental rights in our democracy.
- In the Senate, Mandela will fight to pass the John Lewis Voting Rights Act to protect the right to vote and crack down on voter suppression efforts.
- Mandela will fight to expand online voter registration and implement automatic and same-day voter registration across the country.
- Mandela will fight to make election day a national holiday, so that every American has an opportunity to cast a ballot, and because elections should be an opportunity to celebrate and reaffirm our fundamental democratic principles.
- Mandela will work to expand opportunities for early-voting, mail-in voting, and expand election infrastructure to cut down on long lines, so that every eligible American can access the ballot box.
Enhance Election Security and Crack Down on Foreign Interference
From Russia to Iran, foreign adversaries have launched campaigns to try to undermine our free and fair elections with cash, influence campaigns, and cyber espionage. Mandela believes we have to step up and defend our elections and democratic process.
- Mandela will work to crack down on foreign disinformation campaigns that destabilize our democracy.
- Mandela is committed to passing comprehensive election security legislation, and removing loopholes that allow foreign corporations to funnel cash into some of our elections.
- In the Senate, Mandela will enhance election cybersecurity to prevent hackers from undermining our elections. He’ll work to ensure that we have mandatory paper ballot backups across the country to make our elections more secure.
End the Filibuster
For our democracy to endure, it must serve all of our best interests. From health care to job creation, from climate change to investing in education, the vast majority of Americans agree on commonsense solutions to some of our nation’s biggest challenges. But standing in the way is the Senate’s filibuster, which is being used as a weapon by the minority to stop popular reforms from passing. The filibuster is why Ron Johnson’s prayers for “gridlock” are answered all too often.
- In the Senate, Mandela will vote to end the filibuster so that we can move forward and deliver for working families in Wisconsin.
Protect Against Election Subversion
At the heart of our democracy is respect. Respect for your neighbor, respect for your community and your country, and respect for the outcomes of our free, fair, and secure elections. We cannot let that fundamental respect break down, and that’s why it’s so concerning that bad actors in our political system refuse to accept and respect the outcome of our elections. Now those extreme elements are going further, threatening election officials, launching expensive and partisan sham audits of election outcomes, and now trying to put in place procedures to overrule election outcomes they don’t agree with. Mandela knows how dangerous and destabilizing election subversion is, and he’ll work to stop it.
- Mandela will stand up to Ron Johnson’s attempts to lead a partisan takeover of Wisconsin’s Federal elections.
- Mandela will work to make it a federal crime for any person to intimidate, coerce, or harass an election worker.
- Mandela will strengthen democratic safeguards so that no person nor party has the power to arbitrarily overrule the outcome of free, fair, and secure elections.
Strengthen Ethics Rules for Elected Officials
Elected officials should be held to the highest standards, but right now, ethics rules essentially condone behavior like insider trading among members of Congress, and the Congress-to-lobbyist pipeline remains as robust as ever. With ethics laws this loose, it’s no wonder questions are being raised about how Senator Ron Johnson doubled his personal wealth during his time in the Senate. In the Senate, Mandela won’t stand for weak ethics and corrupt behavior, and he’ll work to hold himself and his colleagues accountable.
- Mandela will work to ban Members of Congress from owning individual stocks, to prevent insider trading and self-enrichment.
- Mandela will work to stop the revolving door and limit Members of Congress from lobbying their colleagues and serving on corporate boards.
Mandela Barnes has been endorsed by groups that are leading the fight for accountability and voting rights, including End Citizens United, Let America Vote, and Vote from Home.
Thank you for reading my Accountability Agenda. If you have feedback on this plan, please let me know your thoughts here.
Economy & Jobs
Middle Class Tax Cut
Mandela’s Plan to Cut Taxes and Lower Costs for the Middle Class
My dad’s job on the assembly line and my mom’s job as a teacher gave our family a ticket to the middle class. For too long, that’s been a ticket too many people can’t get anymore, no matter how hard they work. Now, inflation is making life even harder, from prices at the pump to prices at the grocery store.
We need an economy that works for working people. But thanks to Ron Johnson, our tax code is only working for him and his millionaire donors. So let’s tackle inflation head-on by giving middle class families a tax cut, and pay for it by ensuring the wealthiest among us — including Ron Johnson — pay their fair share.
I know what it’s like to struggle to pay the bills and wonder how you’ll make ends meet. That’s why I’m calling on Congress to pass a middle class tax cut to put money back in people’s pockets and give working folks a fair shot.
— Mandela Barnes
GIVING THE MIDDLE CLASS A TAX CUT
For too long, politicians like Ron Johnson have prioritized tax breaks for their wealthiest donors and big corporations. Mandela believes it’s time we prioritized tax cuts for the middle class, not billionaires. In the Senate, he’ll support a middle class tax cut and reverse the most harmful provisions of Ron Johnson’s destructive tax plan that benefitted the top 1% and hurt small businesses and working people.
- Mandela will give the middle class a tax cut. He’ll expand the Child Tax Credit, the Earned Income Tax Credit, and other tax cuts so middle class families can keep more of what they earn.
- Mandela will pay for it by ensuring the wealthiest among us pay their fair share — unlike Ron Johnson, whose greatest achievement in Washington was a tax bill that delivered more than $200 million in tax breaks for some of his wealthiest donors alone, while leaving working people in the dust.
LOWERING COSTS FOR WORKING FAMILIES
Working families and middle class Wisconsinites need urgent help to weather inflation. In the short term, Mandela will prioritize policies that will provide immediate relief to people across the state:
- Mandela will help families afford their basic needs right now by lowering the costs of health care and prescription drugs, starting by allowing Medicare to negotiate lower drug prices, benefiting all Americans.
- Mandela will help provide access to affordable, high-quality child care for Wisconsin families.
- Mandela will hold oil and drug companies accountable and end subsidies for oil and gas companies that are using a crisis to make record profits.
- Mandela will give Americans a raise by supporting a $15 minimum wage.
Mandela will also work to bring manufacturing back home so Americans aren’t so vulnerable to supply chain issues overseas causing inflation here at home. Read Mandela’s Make it Here plan to learn more about his agenda to reinvigorate American manufacturing.
Plan to Boost Wisconsin Manufacturing, Strengthen Unions, and Invest in Communities
Manufacturing drives Wisconsin’s economy. Manufacturers in Wisconsin account for nearly 20% of the total output for the state and employ 16% of the state’s workforce. Wisconsin hosts multiple globally recognized brands that have given our state a reputation for superior quality and outstanding work ethic. With our proud manufacturing history and top-notch workforce, we have the unique opportunity to transform Wisconsin’s economy and take our manufacturing to greater heights.
Our proud history of manufacturing is personal to me. I grew up watching my dad work nights at the General Motors plant in Milwaukee. He followed the path of my granddad, who worked as a steelworker at A.O. Smith after fighting in World War II. These weren’t easy jobs, but they were good union jobs with dignity that paid a fair wage and provided a good life for me and my family. I didn’t have to worry about our next meal thanks to my dad’s hard work.
Jobs like my dad’s shouldn’t be rare. But unfortunately, these days they are, thanks to politicians who have sold out American manufacturing with outsourcing and bad trade deals. As your Lt. Governor, I’ve seen the same story too often: the economy is struggling, it’s hard to find good workers, unfair Chinese trade practices are disadvantageous to American workers, taxes are too high, and the supply chain isn’t working for our state’s manufacturers. And our failure to make things at home has left us too vulnerable to global shortages that drive up prices here at home.
We also see communities in rural and urban Wisconsin that have been hit hard by the outsourcing of manufacturing. We’ve seen a sharp decline in good paying jobs which has sent too many of our young people out of the state in search of opportunity.
Training our workers remains a top issue for Wisconsin. In fact, 60% of manufacturers said it is “very difficult” to find qualified staff to work for them. When businesses can’t find the right workers here, they too often move their business to other states, or even overseas.
Meanwhile, multi-millionaire Ron Johnson has failed to support Wisconsin businesses and jobs. He voted for a corporate tax giveaway that benefitted companies shipping jobs overseas, which wreaked havoc on our supply chain. Ron Johnson works against labor unions and actually said he wouldn’t try to get Wisconsin’s own Oshkosh Corporation, a major corporate donor for Johnson, to keep jobs in Wisconsin. Johnson even praised outsourcing overseas, saying “it makes no sense” to keep jobs in America and praising foreign countries like China that make products “dirt cheap.”
The factory where my dad worked is a strip mall now, and the factory where my granddad worked is shuttered and sitting empty. We shouldn’t accept that as inevitable; we should work to make sure the brightest days of manufacturing in Wisconsin are ahead of us, not behind us. We need to bring good jobs back home to Wisconsin and guarantee good opportunities for everyone.
I believe that Wisconsin is an amazing place for empowered workers to make the products of the future and for young people to make a fulfilled, successful life. That’s why I’m releasing my plan to breathe new life into manufacturing in Wisconsin, support communities and create new jobs, strengthen our communities, and improve quality of life so that the next generation can thrive in Wisconsin. As your next U.S. Senator I will:
- Prioritize American manufacturing and stop shipping jobs overseas;
- Fix supply chain issues by making things at home;
- Take on unfair trade deals;
- Use tax reform to keep jobs at home and support small and medium sized manufacturers;
- Invest in 21st century manufacturing opportunities;
- Train our workforce to take on the jobs of tomorrow;
- Grow a stronger middle class by supporting labor unions;
- Revitalize Wisconsin communities that have been left behind.
Thank you for reading this plan. If you have any thoughts or feedback, you can reach me at www.MandelaBarnes.com/makeithere to let me know your thoughts.
–– Mandela Barnes
Invest in American Manufacturing
Mandela Barnes believes that Wisconsin’s long history of producing and exporting superior goods and products must be preserved. Between 2001 and 2020, Wisconsin lost nearly 90,000 manufacturing jobs partially due to unfair trade deals that punish American businesses and American workers. That’s unacceptable. We need to bring jobs back home and secure access to the American dream for the many Wisconsinites who have been left behind.
The current economic climate has been hard on Wisconsin manufacturers. The supply chain has struggled to work as intended, setting businesses back and making it harder than ever to stay competitive. Meanwhile, the country is vulnerable to price hikes on things we don’t make at home.
Our current tax system rewards outsourcers and punishes American workers. Ron Johnson and politicians in Washington have handed out tax breaks to companies that ship jobs overseas while leaving workers in the dust. That’s just wrong. We should be doing the opposite and rewarding small- and medium-sized businesses that employ American workers.
- Mandela will support the bipartisan “Made in America Act” sponsored by Sen. Tammy Baldwin, which will ensure that all major federally funded infrastructure projects support American businesses, manufacturers, and workers.
- Mandela will fight to fix the supply chain by reducing current supply chain bottlenecks, and he’ll prevent future ones by investing in American companies.
- Mandela will work to update federal regulations for the global shipping industry so that American manufacturers can more easily export their products globally.
- Unfair trade deals like NAFTA are partially to blame for the economic setbacks that Wisconsin has faced. Mandela will fight to renegotiate old deals and only back trade deals that put Wisconsin workers and manufacturers first.
- Mandela will fight to repeal Ron Johnson’s tax breaks for companies that ship jobs overseas.
- Mandela will push forward efforts to fund new research and development tax credits for small- and medium-sized businesses that are leading the way in innovative manufacturing practices.
INVEST IN THE MANUFACTURING OF TOMORROW
Wisconsin has a long history of smart innovation and producing some of the best products and services in the world. We are home to Harley-Davidson, SC Johnson, Kohler, Oshkosh, and more. We are constantly evolving and improving. Whatever China can do, we can do better.
Wisconsin is up to the challenge of modernizing its manufacturing practices–as long as we give businesses the tools they need to succeed. Right now, the U.S. is behind on solar power while China manufactures up to 80 percent of the world’s solar panels. With our state’s manufacturing capacity, Wisconsin can and should lead the way in sustainable manufacturing including solar panels, windmills, hydropower, and electric vehicles. These new industries have the potential to bring thousands of new, good-paying jobs to Wisconsin and set our state apart as a leader in the modern era of manufacturing. And they will also make America energy independent, protecting consumers from price hikes and energy instability due to conflicts overseas.
Wisconsin also has the opportunity to take the lead on semiconductor manufacturing, an area where America lags behind in production. Computer chip production is largely done overseas which leaves America vulnerable if we have to rely on other countries and denies good-paying, exciting jobs to American workers.
- Mandela will support American semiconductor manufacturing, including a new tax credit for investment in semiconductor manufacturing facilities and legislation like the CHIPS Act that would invest billions of dollars in domestic computer chip production.
- Mandela will champion renewable energy like wind and solar power and promote American energy independence by working to launch a national “green bank,” a model that has shown to be successful in other countries to fund clean energy projects and create tens of thousands of good paying jobs.
- Mandela will fight for commonsense solutions to tackle climate change that make Wisconsin’s agriculture, transportation, energy, and food systems more sustainable, while creating jobs and opportunity across the state.
Invest in Wisconsin’s Workforce
Growing manufacturing jobs in Wisconsin starts by investing in Wisconsin workers. Unlike Ron Johnson, who fights against labor unions and Wisconsin’s middle class, Mandela Barnes is ready to create opportunities for all of us by fighting for both workers and businesses. Mandela knows that we can’t have strong manufacturing without strong unions. By empowering unions, we can grow the economy and pay good wages without compromising on the success of Wisconsin businesses.
First, Mandela believes workers need to be treated fairly and paid a living wage in manufacturing jobs. The right to unionize for better treatment is essential to ensuring Wisconsin’s bright economic future and growing a strong middle class.
Second, Mandela knows that finding qualified workers is a major obstacle for manufacturing companies struggling to succeed in a competitive market. In many key industries, there just aren’t enough skilled workers to meet the demand. At the same time, workers across the country are eager to take advantage of the good-paying job opportunities that technical education provides. Mandela believes in investing in training our workforce, enabling Wisconsinites who want to work hard to learn new skills and find a good job.
- Mandela will fight to raise the federal minimum wage to $15 an hour to ensure a living wage for all workers and support legislation indexing the minimum wage to inflation.
- Mandela will support the PRO Act which would strengthen labor protections related to employees’ rights to organize and collectively bargain in the workplace.
- Mandela will support legislation to strengthen our unions, including legislation to prohibit employers from permanently replacing strikers, to strengthen labor rights through the Public Service Freedom to Negotiate Act, and to fully fund and empower the National Labor Relations Board.
- Mandela will oppose so-called Right to Work legislation that threatens labor unions’ ability to effectively organize.
- Mandela will equip Wisconsin’s workforce to take on the jobs of today and prepare workers for the jobs of tomorrow by supporting free technical education and two years of free community college, and prioritizing apprenticeship programs within skilled labor like investing in Wisconsin’s School-to-Work initiative.
- Mandela will continue the fight to reverse Oshkosh Corporation’s decision to send 1,000 jobs to S.C. instead of creating good-paying union jobs for Wisconsin workers.
Invest in Struggling Communities
Part of revitalizing Wisconsin manufacturing and creating more good-paying jobs is attracting and retaining the skilled workers we need to fill those jobs. But the decline of manufacturing at home has dried up many good-paying jobs both in cities and rural areas. Rural communities have seen a steady population decline and Milwaukee has suffered a 40 percent decline in manufacturing jobs since 1970. Now a generation of young people is looking outside Wisconsin to find opportunities — even when they’d rather stay in their communities.
Mandela will ensure that Wisconsin is a great place to live, work, play, and raise a family for everyone, from our cities to our rural communities, so no one is left behind. That’s why he’s ready to revitalize urban areas and rural communities that have struggled and invest in a better way of life and more opportunities for everyone.
- Mandela will work to bring good jobs and opportunity back to the rural and urban areas that have suffered as a result of bad trade deals and offshoring.
- Mandela will invest in rural health care to ensure rural Wisconsinites don’t get inferior care because of where they live, including funding for more doctors, better health care, and more health care centers.
- Mandela will fight for infrastructure funding and better transportation in rural and urban communities.
- Mandela will strengthen public schools across the state so that a child’s zip code does not determine their potential for success.
Plan to Prioritize and Empower Wisconsin’s Family Farms
Wisconsin’s family farms are the backbone of our state. Farming contributes over $100 billion annually to the state’s economy and provides 435,000 jobs. They are an integral part of our communities, our history, and our economy. But we’re losing family farms at a devastating rate thanks to huge corporations whose fancy lobbyists have stacked the deck against small farms and meat processors.
Despite all that our farmers do and have done for our state, Wisconsin’s family farms face an unprecedented set of challenges: a rigged economy in which Big Ag gets government subsidies and unfair control over the markets; skyrocketing costs of doing business, from health care to internet to the rising costs of credit; and a broken U.S. Senate that won’t pass simple fixes that would have a meaningful impact on the lives of farmers.
Our small and medium-sized farms deserve better than the self-serving politicians in Washington like Ron Johnson who only deliver for wealthy special interests, corporations, and people in their tax bracket, including large meat processing plants, CAFOs, and big companies who ship jobs overseas with zero consequence. The story of the struggles and challenges Wisconsin farmers face is a trend we see across industries, thanks to politicians like Ron Johnson who sell out small businesses and workers to support his wealthy donors’ bottom line. Thanks to tax laws that reward offshoring, factories like the ones my dad and grandad worked in sit empty or have been converted to strip malls. And thanks to lawmakers who prioritize Big Ag, Wisconsin has lost 40,000 dairy farms over the past 40 years.
We shouldn’t accept this as inevitable. I believe that better is possible, and I’m ready to fight for the future we deserve. That’s why as Lt. Governor, I’ve spent time in every county in the state and worked for the last four years to give small and medium-sized farms a fair shot.
Wisconsin was once a leader in innovative agriculture. Today, I’m proud to release my plan to prioritize and empower small and mid-sized family farms and meat processors. Together, we can put Wisconsin back on top to lead the nation in climate-smart agriculture that gives every farmer and working family a fair shot at the American Dream.
As your next U.S. Senator, I will:
- Crack down on Big Ag monopolies and their anti-competitive practices that have put Wisconsin farmers and local meat processors on the back foot and raised prices for consumers.
- Increase access to health care – including care for mental health and addiction – to ensure every farmer has access to the care and resources they deserve.
- Push for accessible targeted investments and grants that will provide high speed internet access to farmers and families in rural areas of Wisconsin.
- Crack down on Chinese government-backed firms that purchase American farmland so we can keep Wisconsin farmland in the hands of Wisconsin farmers.
- Fight for transparency in food and dairy labeling to lower costs and level the playing field for Wisconsin farmers.
- Take bold action to address climate change and extreme weather events which have already impacted Wisconsin’s family farmers.
- Support legislation providing a pathway to citizenship for immigrant farm workers to address the labor shortage and ensure safe and legal working conditions for all Wisconsinites.
Thank you for reading this plan. If you have any thoughts or feedback, you can reach me at contact@mandelabarnes.com to let me know your thoughts.
–– Mandela Barnes
Cracking Down on Big Ag Monopolies
Right now, the deck is stacked against small and mid-sized family farms. Big Ag continues to buy political power and influence as family farmers deal with the negative consequences of corporate consolidation.
Whether through vertical integration that eliminates competition in the supply chain, mergers and acquisitions that lead to price fixing, or hijacking government programs meant to aid small farmers against large corporations, our government has been asleep at the wheel, to the tune of tens of thousands of small farms lost over the last four decades. In addition, subsidies tend to disproportionately benefit the wealthiest farmers and we have a tax system that unfairly punishes small and mid-sized family farms.
American farmers are also facing increasing pressures from abroad, as Chinese government-backed firms have dramatically accelerated their purchase of American farmland, and subsequently are collecting taxpayer subsidies. Foreign purchases of agricultural real estate makes it harder for new farmers trying to get started and drives up the cost of doing business.
It’s time for Congress to finally stand up for family farmers, and that’s what Mandela intends to do in the U.S. Senate.
- Mandela will reform the distribution of federal agricultural subsidies to prioritize family farmers instead of Big Ag corporations and monopolies.
- Mandela will fight to eliminate the barriers to entry that prevent small and mid-sized farms and meat processors from applying for grants — including initial study fees or lengthy applications that prevent rural townships without broadband access from being able to apply.
- Mandela will lead the charge to end the estate tax on small family farms, which constitute 91% of all US farms. While the estate tax is a valuable tool to help fight increasing wealth inequality in our country, its provisions on farmland disproportionately punish small farmers who want to pass their land down to future generations.
- Mandela will strengthen antitrust laws by allocating more resources to the Department of Justice to enforce existing laws and working to ensure that agricultural cooperatives prioritize the interests of their farmer members over their own profits.
- Mandela will crack down on Chinese government-backed firms’ accelerated purchases of American farmland, and work to end taxpayer subsidies towards agricultural businesses funded by foreign governments.
Holding Big Ag Accountable and Lowering the Cost of doing Business
For too long, Washington has let Big Ag monopolies rig the system to maximize their bottom lines. Meanwhile, rising costs have disproportionately harmed family farmers with shortages in essentials like fertilizer.
Mandela knows how hard our farmers work to provide the highest quality products made right here in Wisconsin. They deserve laws and regulations that give them a fair shot to compete insteading of prioritizing big corporations — and help them weather changes in the global economy.
That’s why Mandela will focus on rewarding Wisconsin’s family farmers who value honest labeling and hard work to get the job done.
- Mandela will fight for key additions to the 2023 Farm Bill, including provisions to address the problems of dairy oversupply, uplifting Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) programs, and increasing funding for the USDA Farm to School program.
- Mandela will push for transparency in food and dairy labeling by supporting Senator Tammy Baldwin’s Dairy Pride Act.
- Mandela will also lead the charge to redefine “Product of the USA” standards to prevent corporations that slaughter and process their meat abroad then package it in the U.S. from being able to mislead consumers.
- In the Senate, Mandela will crack down on anti-competitive practices and bolster our national security to prevent cyber attacks that disrupt our food supply chains.
- Mandela will support transparent cattle pricing for small and medium-sized cattle producers.
A Fair Shot for Wisconsin Farmers
Wisconsin’s small and mid-sized farms and meat processors have been put on the back foot due to self-serving politicians who have been bought by Big Ag’s highest bidders.
And while politicians like Ron Johnson give Big Ag monopolies handouts, small and mid-sized farmers face mounting challenges. That includes high costs for health care and a lack of mental health care providers. More than 180 rural health centers have closed since 2005, while farmer suicides have increased by 40% in the past 20 years. The suicide rate among male farmers is 58% higher than the national rate. And rural areas have been disproportionately hard hit by the opioid epidemic.
Rural areas are also struggling with gaps in high speed internet access, and corporate monopolies who pollute our communities without fear of any consequences. Like small businesses across the state, small and medium-sized farms also struggle to access the capital they need to support and grow their business.
Mandela knows Wisconsin’s family farms and meat processors work hard and play by the rules. In the Senate, he’ll fight to ensure Congress prioritizes their needs over the needs of self-serving bad actors.
- Mandela knows small farms need more access to affordable credit. In the face of the Federal Reserve’s interest hikes to fight inflation, Mandela will support legislation that maintains small farmers’ access to essential financing.
- Mandela will expand access to quality, affordable health care, and greater access to telehealth. No farmer should have to go without regular check-ups or care in an emergency due to a lack of rural health care centers.
- Mandela will fight for increased investments to spread awareness and expand resources for farmers struggling with their mental health.
- Mandela will ensure people in every corner of Wisconsin have access to high speed internet.
Grow Local Jobs By Passing Senator Baldwin’s Made In America Act
Wisconsin families pay their fair share of federal taxes, so it’s only fair that our federal government always buys American with our dollars.
That’s why Mandela Barnes strongly supports passing Senator Tammy Baldwin’s Made In America Act, which would finally require the federal government to use American goods and services on federal projects. It’s common sense: when our government spends our money — to build new bridges or to install new high speed internet, for example — American manufacturers and small businesses should benefit.
- In the Senate, Mandela will fight to pass Senator Baldwin’s Made in America Act to ensure that federal projects use American manufacturing.
Support Minority-owned Small Businesses And Veteran Entrepreneurship
Small businesses enrich neighborhoods and provide good-paying, rewarding jobs in underserved communities, but too often minority business owners encounter additional roadblocks.
As Lt. Governor Mandela has met and worked with countless business owners that have additional disadvantages when starting a business and getting it off the ground. Mandela has heard from Black, Latino, Native, Asian-American, veteran, and women business owners about how the struggle of raising capital and accessing credit put minority-owned businesses even more on the backfoot during the pandemic.
Federal pandemic assistance packages contained restrictions that meant many minority-owned businesses were ineligible to receive enough aid, or any aid at all. Due to minority-owned businesses’ historic disadvantage when it comes to accessing credit, many businesses were denied Payment Protection (PPP) loans entirely due to their credit history.
Mandela believes that entrepreneurship is a fundamental part of lifting communities up, and that small business owners should reflect the character and diversity of the communities they serve.
- Mandela will fight to ensure that veteran, women, and minority entrepreneurs have access to low-interest loans.
- Mandela will help ensure an equitable economic recovery by pushing for unrestricted grant funding for businesses that were left behind by federal relief due to credit, and pushing for EIDL loan forgiveness for small businesses with loans under $150,000.
Plan to Support Wisconsin’s Small Businesses
Small businesses and the working families that power them are the heart and soul of Wisconsin. From family farms to main street shops and everything in between, small businesses are at the center of the community in every corner of Wisconsin. They support great jobs and economic growth all across our state.
To support Wisconsin small businesses is to support Wisconsin workers, Wisconsin families, and Wisconsin’s future. Fully 99 percent of all businesses in Wisconsin are small businesses, and nearly half of all workers in Wisconsin work for a small business.
As I’ve traveled across Wisconsin as your Lt. Governor, I’ve heard from countless small business owners and workers about the tough challenges we’re facing, and how difficult it’s been for families and communities. I’m proud to have worked alongside Governor Evers to ensure more than 100,000 small businesses got the help they needed to survive the pandemic and keep their workers employed.
But in Washington, the largest corporations get massive handouts, while small businesses are often left with little more than crumbs of support. Small businesses don’t have an army of high-paid lobbyists, and as many get left behind by Washington, it’s become harder and harder to compete with huge corporations to employ workers and make ends meet. Governor Evers and Senator Baldwin need a partner in the U.S. Senate who will fight alongside them to support small business owners and their employees.
In the disruption of this pandemic, small businesses have suffered the most from rising costs and supply chain disruptions while big corporations are raising their prices to reap record profits. And while workers in all sectors struggled with layoffs as businesses cut costs, small business owners and workers continue to be hit particularly hard. Now, small businesses face a labor shortage. As if that weren’t enough, businesses are also facing a torrent of bad trade deals, huge corporations’ continued use of anticompetitive practices, and the Chinese Communist Party’s extortionist economic agenda — making it even harder for Wisconsin small businesses to compete here at home and across the globe.
But as small businesses and workers struggle, Wisconsin’s senior senator has blocked relief and investment. Senator Ron Johnson worked his hardest to pass bills that give handouts to his wealthiest donors and even enrich himself, but he stood against bipartisan efforts to help family farmers and small businesses get by and thrive.
Wisconsin needs a Senator that will stand with every single Wisconsin worker and business, not one that will pick winners and losers based on who cuts checks to their campaign.
That’s why I’m releasing my plan to fight and deliver for small businesses and workers in the United States Senate. As your next United States Senator, I will:
- Prioritize family farms and rural small businesses;
- Crack down on corporate handouts and level the playing field for small businesses to compete;
- Address bad trade deals and anti-competitive practices to boost Wisconsin business and compete with China;
- Do right by workers and help Wisconsin businesses attract workers;
- Grow local jobs and address supply chain issues by passing Senator Baldwin’s Made in America Act;
- Support minority-owned small businesses and veteran entrepreneurship.
Thank you for reading this plan. If you have any feedback on this plan, you can reach me at www.MandelaBarnes.com/mainstreet to let me know your thoughts.
–– Mandela Barnes
Prioritize Family Farms and Rural Small Businesses
Mandela Barnes understands the value of our rural communities and our agriculture economy. As Lt. Governor, Mandela has been focused on serving farmers and rural small business owners, and he understands the challenges folks are facing and the support they need.
Every five years, the federal government assembles a Farm Bill to invest in our rural communities and agriculture economy. In 2018, Congress delivered historic investments in farmers and key reforms governing the allocation of resources. A bipartisan supermajority came together to support the bill. But Ron Johnson voted no. Senator Johnson cited “runaway spending,” namely, his opposition to programs to help low-income families across Wisconsin’s rural communities afford groceries to feed themselves and their kids, while also increasing demand for agricultural goods, creating jobs, and injecting money in rural communities.
In the Senate, Mandela Barnes will fight to invest in rural small businesses and family farm communities, not oppose the central piece of legislation that helps them get by.
- As the Senate takes up the 2023 Farm Bill, Mandela will fight for a robust and fair Farm Bill that creates jobs, helps families, and supports farmers.
- In the Senate, Mandela will work to increase funding for key programs like Rural Business Development Grants that offer financial assistance to rural entities with less than 50 employees and less than $1 million in gross revenue.
- In the Senate, Mandela will ensure historic funding for rural broadband included in the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law is directed to Wisconsin to connect rural small businesses across the state to the 21st-century economy.
- Mandela will support rural cooperatives that help groups of would-be entrepreneurs support each other and finance their businesses more easily.
- In the Senate, Mandela will partner with Senator Baldwin to reintroduce and pass the Go Pack Go Act, which would ensure that western Wisconsin bars, restaurants, and venues can air Packers games without having to purchase an NFL package.
Crack Down On Corporate Handouts and Level The Playing Field For Small Businesses To Compete
In Washington, members of both parties often put the interests of the wealthy and well-connected ahead of workers and small business owners.
Look no further than Ron Johnson. Not only was Senator Johnson’s vote against the Farm Bill bad for families and farmers, it came only a year after he voted for legislation to give just three of his biggest donors tax handouts worth $215 million. Ron Johnson has made it clear that he’s opposed to investments that support farmers and create jobs in rural communities, but that he’s all for handouts to his campaign contributors.
Unlike Senator Johnson, Mandela believes it’s time to crack down on corporate handouts and level the playing field so that every worker, entrepreneur, and business owner has a fair shot in our economy.
- Mandela will fight for fair budgets and tax laws that don’t pick winners and losers in our economy.
- In the Senate, Mandela will work to repeal Ron Johnson’s massive tax handouts that only benefit the ultra-rich, and instead, provide tax relief to Wisconsin’s middle class and small business owners.
- Mandela will vote to ensure all major federal contracts use union labor, ensuring that our taxpayer dollars support good jobs and individuals who get the job done right.
- Mandela will also back legislation to crack down on anti-competitive corporate behavior across our economy — from Big Tech to Big Pharma to Big Agriculture — so that small businesses have a fair shot and huge corporations face real competition and can’t price-gouge Wisconsin consumers.
Address Bad Trade Deals And Anti-competitive Practices To Boost Wisconsin Business And Compete With China
For decades, Wisconsin businesses and workers have faced a torrent of challenges, from bad trade deals to the rising anticompetitive practices of major corporations to the economic extortion carried out by the Chinese government, all of which have made it harder for small businesses to compete and thrive.
Washington politicians have sold out small businesses and American workers in order to write bad trade deals designed to help a few huge multinational corporations.
In boardrooms, major corporations have engaged in numerous anti-competitive practices that stifle innovation and growth, and make it harder for small businesses to enter the marketplace and compete in the 21st century economy
And in Beijing, the government of China has undermined key American industries, devalued its currency, limited access to its markets, and used the politics of extortion to hurt American jobs and businesses.
Mandela believes that it’s long past time to stand up against the bad trade deals, anticompetitive behavior, and economic extortion and fight to do what’s right for Wisconsin businesses and workers.
- In the Senate, Mandela will consider every trade deal from the perspective of what’s best for Wisconsin’s small businesses and workers, not any special interests. And he’ll work to ensure trade deals actually create new markets for Wisconsin companies to export to, creating jobs and opportunity here at home.
- Mandela will crack down on anticompetitive practices used by major corporations to favor their own products, stifle competition from small business, and raise prices on everyone.
- Mandela will also hold the government of China accountable for forced technology transfer, currency devaluation, illegal dumping of steel and other key products, and other practices that hurt American small businesses and workers.
Do Right By Workers And Help Wisconsin Businesses Attract Workers
Right now, businesses across the country are struggling to find and hire the workers they need to run successful and robust businesses. At the same time, many workers are struggling with low wages and a lack of access to benefits.
In this competitive labor market, small businesses are particularly disadvantaged by their relative inability to offer competitive benefit packages given the high cost of healthcare and so much more. And in key industries, there simply aren’t enough workers to meet demand — in large part because many people who want to seek employment are unable to due to a lack of access to accessible care for children and sick loved ones.
Rural Communities and Agriculture
Environment & Energy
Addressing Climate Change to Stop Extreme Weather Events
Climate change has already had a devastating impact on Wisconsin’s family farms. Mandela knows that farmers are the first to experience the consequences of droughts, floods, and extreme temperatures.
As the son of an auto worker who built catalytic converters on the assembly line after the passage of the Clean Air Act, Mandela also knows that addressing climate change can create economic opportunity throughout the state.
He’ll fight for policies that go further than stopping bad actors from polluting Wisconsin’s environment – Mandela will lead the charge for legislation that rewards the best and motivates the rest.
- Mandela will work to expand the USDA’s Rural Energy for America Program, which will help to address greenhouse gas emissions, and also bring down the cost of energy for Wisconsin families and farmers.
- Mandela will push for the creation of a labeling system to inform consumers of products that require less carbon to produce and manufacture.
- Mandela will be a leader in the effort to move the U.S. towards net zero carbon pollution by 2050.
- Mandela will push to eliminate fossil fuel production subsidies.
- Mandela will support legislation to reward farmers for innovative and solutions-oriented climate practices, including organic farming, regenerative agriculture, and no-till farming.
Supporting Immigrant Farm Workers to Address the Labor Shortage
The members of Wisconsin’s immigrant community are significant contributors to our state’s economy, food industries, and culture. Fully 40% of Wisconsin’s dairy farm workers are immigrants.
In the Senate, Mandela is committed to fighting for a pathway to citizenship for immigrant farm workers to ensure safe and legal working conditions that will boost the economy and help address the labor shortage farms and small businesses are facing in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic.
- Mandela will support legislation that provides a pathway to citizenship.
Health & Education
Health Care
Child Care
Mandela knows that all of these dynamics are bad for Wisconsin workers, businesses, and families. That’s why, in the Senate, Mandela will support investments that allow small businesses to offer great jobs with benefits to attract workers, and allow workers to access care for their families so they can participate in the economy.
- Mandela will fight to deliver affordable and high-quality child care so that more Wisconsinites with young children that want to work, can work.
- Mandela will help businesses attract and keep talented workers by putting America on a path to universal healthcare, with lower costs and high quality coverage. That starts with building a path to Medicare for All, allowing the federal government to negotiate lower drug prices, and lowering the Medicare age of eligibility to 50. Mandela also supports legislation proposed by Senator Baldwin to close the health care coverage gaps in states like Wisconsin that have not expanded Medicaid, which will ensure lower prices, better healthcare, and better access to care in rural communities.
- Mandela will work to pass paid family and medical leave to help businesses and workers remain financially whole when folks get sick or have to care for family.
- Mandela will invest in workforce and vocational education to combat the current labor shortage and to empower workers to take on the next generation of skilled jobs.
Marijuana Legalization
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Unions
LGBTQIA+ Rights
Public Safety
Immigration
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Wikipedia
J. Mandela Barnes[1][2] (born December 1, 1986) is an American politician who served as the 45th lieutenant governor of Wisconsin from 2019 to 2023.[3] A member of the Democratic Party, he was the state representative for the 11th district from 2013 to 2017. Barnes is the first African American to serve as Wisconsin’s lieutenant governor.[4][5]
Barnes was the Democratic nominee in the 2022 United States Senate election in Wisconsin, losing to incumbent Republican Senator Ron Johnson.[6]
On December 2, 2025, Barnes announced his candidacy for governor in 2026.[7]
Early life and education
Jesse Mandela Barnes was born in Milwaukee on December 1, 1986,[2][8][9] the son of a public school teacher and a United Auto Workers member. Jesse is his father’s name, while his middle name, Mandela, is a tribute to the anti-apartheid activist and first South African black president Nelson Mandela. Barnes says he has gone by his middle name since birth. His legal name is J. Mandela Barnes.[10]
Barnes attended Holy Redeemer Christian Academy in Milwaukee; Milwaukee Public Schools, including John Marshall High School; and Alabama A&M University.[10] He is a member of the Kappa Alpha Psi fraternity.[11]
Barnes was involved with the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) during college.[12] He has also said that Barack Obama‘s keynote speech at the 2004 Democratic National Convention inspired him to rethink his post-college career.[12]
In August 2019, Barnes admitted that he had never officially completed his bachelor’s degree in 2008 due to incomplete coursework in one class that he called a “minor technical issue”, contrary to previous statements that he had graduated from Alabama A&M.[13][14][15] He received his B.A. degree in communications media specializing in performance on May 1, 2020, after resolving the outstanding coursework issue with the university.[16]
Political career
Barnes worked for various political campaigns and in the office of Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett, eventually becoming an organizer for M.I.C.A.H., a Milwaukee-based interfaith coalition that advocates social justice.[17] He served as deputy director of strategic engagement for State Innovation Exchange, a national progressive public policy organization based in Madison, from December 2016[18] to December 2017.[19]
Barnes is a progressive Democrat[20] and voted for Bernie Sanders in the 2016 and 2020 Wisconsin presidential primaries.[21]
Wisconsin State Assembly (2013–2017)
In April 2012, Barnes announced his candidacy for Wisconsin’s 11th Assembly district, representing the north side of Milwaukee and a small part of Wauwatosa, challenging incumbent Jason Fields in the Democratic primary election.[22] His campaign made major issues of Fields’s support for the school voucher program and opposition to limiting interest rates charged by payday loan companies, which can exceed a 500% annual percentage rate.[23][24]
Barnes defeated Fields in the August 2012 primary with 2,596 votes to Fields’s 1,206.[25] In the November general election Barnes was unopposed.[26] He received 16,403 votes to 201 votes for others.[27]
As a state legislator in 2013, Barnes sponsored a bill that would have banned assault weapons and high-capacity magazines.[28] Barnes was reelected in 2014 without a primary or general election challenge.[29]
Barnes sponsored a 2016 bill to eliminate cash bail. It would have barred judges from considering the “nature, number and gravity” of the charges and required the release of a defendant unless there was “clear and convincing evidence” of flight risk or of danger to an individual or witness. In February 2022, his campaign told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel that Barnes still supports the proposal, and if elected to the Senate, he would support a bill to end cash bail nationwide.[30]
Barnes served on the Assembly Committees on Corrections, Education, Jobs & the Economy, and Small Business Development. He also chaired the legislature’s Black and Latino Caucus and helped lead a number of international delegations to the Middle East and southeast Asia.[31]
2016 State Senate campaign
On April 11, 2016, Barnes announced that he would resign from the Assembly to launch a primary challenge against Lena Taylor, the Democratic incumbent in Wisconsin’s 4th State Senate district. Political science professor and former State Senator Mordecai Lee expressed surprise, noting both the rarity of Democratic Senate primaries and Wisconsin’s 90% reelection rate for incumbents.[32] Lee framed the race as reflecting the broader struggle in the Democratic Party, pitting a young progressive challenger against an older, more centrist incumbent.[33]
Barnes lost to Taylor in the August 9 election, with 7,433 votes to her 11,454.[34]
Lieutenant Governor of Wisconsin (2019–2023)
2018 campaign
In January 2018, Barnes announced his candidacy for lieutenant governor of Wisconsin in the 2018 election.[35] He won the Democratic Party of Wisconsin straw poll in June 2018 with 80.9% of the vote, earning 617 out of 763 votes.[36] During the primary, his name was omitted from election notices in three newspapers in two different counties.[37] The day before the election, his picture was used in a local news report about a fatal motorcycle crash.[37]
On August 14, 2018, Barnes won the Democratic primary in a landslide over Sheboygan businessman Kurt Kober, and became the running mate of Democratic gubernatorial nominee Tony Evers. Evers and Barnes won the November 2018 election, narrowly defeating incumbent Republicans Scott Walker and Rebecca Kleefisch, 49.5% to 48.4%.[38] Barnes became Wisconsin’s first African American lieutenant governor[39][40] and the nation’s youngest lieutenant governor.[41]
Tenure
Barnes was appointed chair of the governor’s task force on climate change in October 2019.[42] In December 2020, the task force released its report containing 55 policy recommendations to address climate change in the state.[43] For the 2020 Democratic National Convention in Milwaukee, he served as a vice chair of both the convention and the host committee.[44][45]
In the first two months of his term, Barnes faced criticism for having logged more hours of security protection than the last lieutenant governor had in all of 2018, although Governor Evers’s office approved the additional security.[46] In August 2022, the issue resurfaced when Barnes (now three years into his tenure) had reportedly used ten times as many security hours as his predecessor, who had declined security while doing personal tasks and did not run for the Senate while in office.[47]
In 2019, Barnes gave the Working Families Party response to the State of the Union address.[48]
On August 24, 2020, the day after the shooting of Jacob Blake, in Kenosha, Wisconsin, Barnes said it was “not an accident”, and “This wasn’t bad police work. This felt like some sort of vendetta taken out on a member of our community.”[37] On January 5, 2021, he condemned the district attorney’s decision not to prosecute the officers who shot Blake, tweeting, “The non-prosecuting DAs are as negligent as the officers in these situations”.[49][50]
2022 US Senate campaign
On July 20, 2021, Barnes announced his candidacy for the United States Senate in the 2022 election, contesting the seat held by Ron Johnson. Barnes was the eighth person to enter the race for the Democratic nomination.[51] By July 29, 2022, all of Barnes’s major competitors had withdrawn from the race and endorsed him, leaving his way clear to be the presumptive Democratic nominee.[52]
During his campaign for Senate, Barnes supported legislation that would codify federal protections of abortion rights nationwide,[53] “to make Roe v Wade the law of the land”,[54] and would eliminate the U.S. Senate filibuster to pass such a bill.[55][56][57]
Barnes supports Medicare for All[20][58] as well as incremental steps like lowering the age of enrollment from 65.[59] In September 2021, as a candidate for the Senate, Barnes said in a series of tweets, “In Washington, I’ll be one of the few elected officials that have actually been on one of the programs we fund and debate”[60] and, referring to when he was enrolled in the Medicaid-based program in 2018,[61] “I’ve been on BadgerCare, and I’ve seen how critical it is for working people.”[62][63]
Additionally, Barnes supported a Green New Deal,[58][20] a $15 per hour minimum wage,[64] eliminating cash bail nationwide,[30] and legalizing marijuana.[65]
Barnes said he would “prioritize preventing gun violence by keeping guns out of the hands of dangerous people” if elected to the Senate,[66] saying in May 2022, “We can save lives or we can kowtow to the gun lobby.”[67] He supported red-flag laws, universal background checks for gun sales, and bans on privately made firearms, assault weapons, and high-capacity magazines. He would vote to repeal the Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act, which gives manufacturers and dealers liability protection when a purchaser uses a firearm to commit a crime.[66]
Barnes and Johnson had the first of their two scheduled debates on October 7, 2022, in Milwaukee.[64]
In the general election, Johnson narrowly defeated Barnes.[68] If elected, Barnes would have become the first black person to represent Wisconsin in the U.S. Senate.[20] For his loss, his campaign and other Democratic strategists blamed Barnes’ relative political inexperience, his vulnerability on policing and crime, the advantage of his opponent’s incumbency, and that his campaign was outspent $64 million to $56 million after he was nominated.[69]
2026 Wisconsin Governor campaign
Barnes continued to be active in Wisconsin political organizations and nonprofit groups after the 2022 election. In February 2023, he launched The Long Run PAC to help the U.S. political campaigns of “pro-democracy” Democratic candidates who are young, persons of color, members of the LGBTQ community, and/or have working class backgrounds.[70] He has also touted his experience with the nonprofits Forward Together Wisconsin, which aims to implement clean energy investments, and Power to the Polls Wisconsin, which recruits poll workers. Barnes’s campaign credits this organization with helping to elect Wisconsin Supreme Court justices Janet Protasiewicz and Susan Crawford.[71]
On December 3, Barnes launched his campaign for governor with a focus on affordability, expanding Badgercare, and creating a universal childcare program in the state.[72][73][74] Upon announcing his candidacy, Barnes was considered the frontrunner for the nomination.[75] In January 2026, he told PBS Wisconsin that his first priority as governor with a Democratic legislature would be to expand BadgerCare.[76] Ahead of the first major Democratic candidate forum, Barnes proposed to fund startup grants and emergency funds for grocery stores in food deserts. His proposal also included support for initiatives to aid local businesses and state farmers.[77] In March, Barnes announced that he would freeze utility rates by appointing new members to the Public Service Comission, as well as support legislation to limit the salaries of utility executives.[78]
Electoral history
Wisconsin Assembly (2012, 2014)
| Year | Election | Date | Elected | Defeated | Total | Plurality | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2012 | Primary[79] | Aug. 14 | Mandela Barnes | Democratic | 2,596 | 68.14% | Jason Fields (inc) | Dem. | 1,206 | 31.65% | 3,810 | 1,390 |
| General[80] | Nov. 6 | Mandela Barnes | Democratic | 16,403 | 98.79% | –unopposed– | 16,604 | 16,202 | ||||
| 2014 | General[81] | Nov. 4 | Mandela Barnes (inc) | Democratic | 17,328 | 98.83% | 17,534 | 17,122 | ||||
Wisconsin Senate (2016)
| Year | Election | Date | Elected | Defeated | Total | Plurality | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | Primary[82] | Aug. 9 | Lena Taylor (inc) | Democratic | 11,454 | 60.56% | Mandela Barnes | Dem. | 7,433 | 39.30% | 18,913 | 4,021 |
Lieutenant Governor (2018)
| Year | Election | Date | Elected | Defeated | Total | Plurality | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2018 | Primary[83] | Aug. 14 | Mandela Barnes | Democratic | 326,855 | 67.86% | Kurt J. Kober | Dem. | 153,994 | 31.97% | 481,644 | 172,861 |
| Corban Gehler (write-in) | Dem. | 12 | 0.00% | |||||||||
| William Henry Davis III (write-in) | Dem. | 8 | 0.00% | |||||||||
| General[84] | Nov. 6 | Tony Evers Mandela Barnes |
Democratic | 1,324,307 | 49.54% | Scott Walker (inc) Rebecca Kleefisch (inc) |
Rep. | 1,295,080 | 48.44% | 2,673,308 | 29,227 | |
| Phil Anderson Patrick Baird |
Lib. | 20,225 | 0.76% | |||||||||
| Margaret Turnbull Wil Losch |
Ind. | 18,884 | 0.71% | |||||||||
| Michael J. White Tiffany Anderson |
Grn. | 11,087 | 0.41% | |||||||||
| Arnie Enz N/A |
Ind. | 2,745 | 0.10% | |||||||||
| Ryan Cason (write-in) N/A |
Rep. | 4 | 0.00% | |||||||||
| N/A William Henry Davis III (write-in) |
Dem. | 3 | 0.00% | |||||||||
| Mark S. Grimek (write-in) N/A |
Con. | 2 | 0.00% | |||||||||
| Richard M. Turtenwald (write-in) N/A |
Ind. | 2 | 0.00% | |||||||||
| Paul Boucher (write-in) N/A |
Dem. | 1 | 0.00% | |||||||||
| Robbie Hoffman (write-in) N/A |
Ind. | 1 | 0.00% | |||||||||
| N/A Corban Gehler (write-in) |
Dem. | 1 | 0.00% | |||||||||
US Senate (2022)
| Year | Election | Date | Elected | Defeated | Total | Plurality | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | Primary[85] | Aug. 9 | Mandela Barnes | Democratic | 390,279 | 77.78% | Alex Lasry (withdrawn) | Dem. | 44,609 | 8.89% | 501,760 | 345,670 |
| Sarah Godlewski (withdrawn) | Dem. | 40,555 | 8.08% | |||||||||
| Tom Nelson (withdrawn) | Dem. | 10,995 | 2.19% | |||||||||
| Steven Olikara | Dem. | 5,619 | 1.12% | |||||||||
| Darrell Williams | Dem. | 3,646 | 0.73% | |||||||||
| Kou C. Lee | Dem. | 3,434 | 0.68% | |||||||||
| Peter Peckarsky | Dem. | 2,446 | 0.49% | |||||||||
| General[86] | Nov. 8 | Ron Johnson (inc) | Republican | 1,337,185 | 50.41% | Mandela Barnes | Dem. | 1,310,467 | 49.41% | 2,652,477 | 26,718 | |
| Adam Paul (write-in) | Ind. | 67 | 0.00% | |||||||||
See also
- List of lieutenant governors of Wisconsin
- List of minority governors and lieutenant governors in the United States
- List of African-American United States Senate candidates
References
- ^ Kassel, Matthew (December 15, 2021). “Milwaukee’s son makes a Senate run”. Jewish Insider. Retrieved September 9, 2024.
- ^ a b “Barnestorming”. Isthmus. August 9, 2019. Archived from the original on November 27, 2020. Retrieved October 25, 2020.
- ^ “Democrat Tony Evers ousts Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker”. Politico. Archived from the original on November 7, 2018. Retrieved November 6, 2018.
- ^ “Mandela Barnes”. Wisconsin Historical Society. February 12, 2021. Archived from the original on September 7, 2022. Retrieved September 7, 2022.
- ^ Anderson, Andrea (November 7, 2018). “Mandela Barnes To Become First African-American Lieutenant Governor”. Wisconsin Public Radio. Archived from the original on December 3, 2018. Retrieved September 7, 2022.
- ^ “Wisconsin Lt. Gov. Mandela Barnes joins US Senate race”. AP NEWS. July 20, 2021. Archived from the original on July 20, 2021. Retrieved July 20, 2021.
- ^ Spears, Baylor (December 2, 2025). “Former Lt. Gov. and Senate candidate Mandela Barnes enters Democratic primary for Wisconsin governor”. Wisconsin Examiner. Retrieved December 2, 2025.
- ^ Jenz, Tom (January 12, 2021). “Mandela Barnes Opens Up About Milwaukee”. Shepherd Express. Archived from the original on August 28, 2022. Retrieved August 17, 2022.
- ^ Shafer, Dan (August 10, 2022). “Opinion | Meet Mandela Barnes, the 35-Year-Old Candidate Working to Oust Ron Johnson”. The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on August 17, 2022. Retrieved August 17, 2022.
- ^ a b Yu, Isaac. “Here’s what you should know about Mandela Barnes, Wisconsin’s lieutenant governor vying for a chance to beat Ron Johnson”. Journal Sentinel. Archived from the original on August 28, 2022. Retrieved July 12, 2022.
- ^ Kappa Alpha Psi’s 31-Year-Old Mandela Barnes Becomes Wisconsin’s First Black Lieutenant Governor
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External links
- Lieutenant Governor Mandela Barnes official government website
- Mandela Barnes for Wisconsin campaign website
- Biography at the Wisconsin Legislature
- Appearances on C-SPAN
