Wisconsin Lt. Governor Mandela Barnes continues to gain momentum, key endorsements, and grassroots enthusiasm ahead of the Democratic U.S. Senate primary. The most recent Marquette poll proves that Mandela has the best chance of anyone in this Senate primary to defeat Ron Johnson.
It’s no accident that Mandela is beating the primary field and Ron Johnson in recent polling — and is the only candidate beating Ron Johnson with Independent voters. Wisconsinites are eager to elect a senator like Mandela who understands their challenges firsthand and can represent those lived experiences in the U.S. Senate.
Mandela is running to break up the Senate’s millionaires club and ensure that every Wisconsinite has a fair shot at the American Dream. The son of a factory worker and Milwaukee public school teacher, Mandela is the only leading candidate in this race who can authentically connect to working and middle class voters — a quality that couldn’t be more important in the race against self-serving multi-millionaire Ron Johnson.
Top analysts agree Mandela Barnes is the most exciting and experienced candidate in this race. The day after Mandela launched his campaign, the Cook Political Report changed their rating of the race from Lean Republican to Toss-Up.
Here are some highlights of the campaign so far:
“Hands Down” Mandela “Won” the Wisconsin Senate Democratic Primary Debate
Mandela scored a resounding victory during the U.S. Senate Democratic Primary Debate. Wisconsin local elected leaders from Beloit to Madison to Wausau, political pundits, and Democratic organizations pointed to Mandela as the clear winner.
Mandela clearly demonstrated his strength on the debate stage and led with his values and vision. He delivered powerful answers on the importance of standing up for LGBTQ+ kids, ending gun violence, and protecting women’s access to reproductive health care.
“It’s pretty clear that [Mandela Barnes] won tonight’s Wisconsin Senate debate. I can’t wait to see him in the Senate.” [Charlotte Clymer, 7/17/22]
“Pitch perfect answer from Mandela Barnes about what it means to lose Roe and the fundamental right to abortion. I’m not from Wisconsin, but I have watched a LOT of debates, and it seems like Mandela is winning this one, just like he’s going to win against Ron Johnson in November.” [Former NARAL President Ilyse Hogue, 7/17/22]
“When folks ask why Mandela my answer is: he will win with the people and for the people of Wisconsin. Tonight [Mandela Barnes] is clearly the winner of the #WISen debate. He has fought hard for Roe, common sense gun control, for working people and I am proud to fight with him.” [State Representative Francesca Hong, 7/17/22]
“In the #WISen debate tonight, [Mandela Barnes] just mentioned his Barnes for Barns tour. I’ve been able to join him for part of his tour in Green County and I’ve been impressed with how he connects with farmers and rural residents.” [State Representative Mark Spreitzer, 7/17/22]
“Wow! [Mandela Barnes] came to fight and he delivered tonight!” [Wausau Mayor Katie Rosenberg, 7/17/22]
“Hands down, Mandela Barnes (@TheOtherMandela) won tonight’s #WISen debate.
He’s the only candidate beating Ron Johnson with independent voters and he has built the grassroots support to bring it home in November.” [Progressive Change Campaign Committee (PCCC), 7/17/22]
Mandela Polls Ahead of Ron Johnson, Leads the Field with Independent Voters
Despite over $12 million in unparalleled spending by our self-funding opponents, Mandela is polling stronger than ever — leading the primary field and leading Ron Johnson in a direct matchup. Mandela actually increased his lead in the latest Marquette poll despite being outspent 8:1 by his next leading opponent. Here are key points from the most recent Marquette poll:
Mandela is beating Ron Johnson 46-44 and is doing better than ALL other Democrats against Johnson.
Mandela is the ONLY candidate leading Ron Johnson among independents.
Mandela has increased his lead in the primary and has by far the highest favorability among Democratic voters by a 10 point margin.
Among the primary contest, Mandela Barnes has consistently held his lead since entering the race, and the latest poll showed his strength in key battlegrounds:
Mandela leads Nelson and Godlewski among moderate Democrats by 13 points and 11 points, respectively.
Mandela leads all his opponents in Milwaukee and its surrounding suburbs by double-digits.
Mandela leads all his opponents in the Green Bay-Appleton media market. Notably, though this is Tom Nelson’s home county, Barnes leads Nelson in this media market by 6 points.
Mandela leads Godlewski and Nelson in all areas outside Milwaukee, Madison, and Green Bay.
Mandela Continues to Out-Raise the Field, Bringing in Over $2.1M Last Quarter
All told, Mandela raised more than $2.1 million last quarter, significantly surpassing his own Q4 fundraising numbers:
Average donation of $35
More than 39,500 total donors
Nearly 60,000 individual donations
Not one dime in Corporate PAC money
Zero self-funding
Mandela’s momentum is unprecedented. In October, Mandela set a record with the largest first quarter raise by a first-time U.S. Senate candidate in Wisconsin’s history. He has continued to outraise the field each quarter since. Mandela is the only candidate in the Democratic primary whose fundraising has continued to grow every quarter, despite taking no money from corporate PACs and having no personal fortune to self-fund.
Mandela Continues to Unite a Broad Based Coalition
From family farmers to organized labor to national security leaders including Lt. Colonel (Retired) Alexander Vindman, Mandela continues to unite the broad-based coalition of support necessary to unseat Ron Johnson in November.
Labor unions across the state are uniting behind Mandela’s campaign. Mandela has been endorsed by:
SEIU Wisconsin State Council — one of the largest unions in the state.
AFSCME Council 32, a conglomerate of county, state, municipal, and private sector unions across Wisconsin.
IBEW Local 2150
AFT Local 212
Dane County Sheriff Kalvin Barrett endorsed Mandela for Senate.
Former Director for European Affairs for the United States National Security Council Lt. Colonel (Retired) Alexander Vindman endorsed Mandela Barnes for U.S. Senate.
On the heels of his Barnes for Barns statewide agriculture tour, Mandela earned the endorsements of a coalition of family farmers from across Wisconsin.
Citizen Action Wisconsin and NAAPAC also joined over 130 state and local leaders in endorsing Mandela Barnes for the U.S. Senate.
Mandela Barnes is proud to be the only candidate in the primary who has been endorsed by sitting members of Congress from Senators Elizabeth Warren, Cory Booker, and Bernie Sanders, House Majority Whip Jim Clyburn, and several members of the House of Representatives including Wisconsin’s own Congresswoman Gwen Moore.
Mandela is proud to have united an unparalleled base of support from every corner of the Democratic Party.
When Johnson officially announced his campaign for reelection, 60 elected officials across Wisconsin publicly called for Democrats to unite behind Mandela so we can beat Ron Johnson once and for all.
Bridging the Urban-Rural Divide
Beating Ron Johnson means winning back key rural voters. Mandela has been reaching out to rural swing voters early and often in this campaign — building off rural outreach he has been doing during his term as Lt. Governor.
This spring, Mandela hit the road for his Barnes for Barns tour, a statewide listening tour highlighting issues faced by Wisconsin’s farming and agriculture industry. As part of the tour, Mandela met with dozens of family farmers, meat processors, and agriculture businesses to discuss their experiences and challenges.
The tour informed Mandela’s recently released Grow Wisconsin’ agriculture plan to empower the family farmers and meat processors who have been put on the backfoot by self-serving politicians like Ron Johnson and his big corporate backers.
The product of a union household who has traveled to every county in the state multiple times, Mandela knows that Wisconsinites have far more in common with each other than they do with any out-of-touch millionaire politician.
In the Senate, Mandela will fight to stop corporate greed, which has squeezed out Wisconsin’s family farmers at the rate of one family farm per day and led to the offshoring of American manufacturing jobs. He’ll also fight to give the middle class a tax cut, raise the minimum wage, and lower the cost of health care, child care, education, and prescription drugs.
Running on Economic Issues
Last quarter, Mandela unveiled “Milk,” the first television ad of his campaign. “Milk” highlights how Mandela is not like the millionaires in the Senate. He has a firsthand understanding of the challenges working families face and a decade-long track record of fighting for those families in Wisconsin.
Mandela also released his ad, “Doors,” highlighting his record of helping hard-working people across the state as Lt. Governor, his Wisconsin story, and his commitment to working for working people in Washington.
Mandela is keeping a laser focus on economic issues affecting Wisconsinites every day. That means bringing manufacturing back home, supporting Main Street, supporting family farms, and opposing special interests that want to ship jobs overseas.
“Mandela Barnes, a Democratic Senate candidate in Wisconsin, connects with voters when he talks about his dad’s middle-class life working the third shift at an auto plant that has since been replaced with a strip mall.” [The New York Times, 7/18/22]
Mandela has released economic policy proposals that will rebuild the middle class, create jobs, and prioritize working people:
Released in March, Mandela’s “Make it Here” agenda is a plan to revitalize Wisconsin manufacturing, strengthen unions, and revitalize communities that have lost manufacturing jobs.
Released in February, Mandela’s “From the Family Farm to Main Street” plan will support small businesses across Wisconsin, from family farms to main street shops and everything in between. Mandela’s new policy plan will expand opportunities for the middle class and uplift working families.
Released in June, Mandela’s “Middle Class Tax Cut” plan will help working families deal with inflation.
Uniting the Democratic Party
Mandela is proud to have earned the endorsements of national Democratic Party leaders including Senators Elizabeth Warren, Cory Booker, and Bernie Sanders, House Majority Whip Jim Clyburn, Rep. Katie Porter, and Congresswoman Gwen Moore – the only member of Wisconsin’s Congressional delegation to endorse in the Senate Democratic Primary.
Last week, Sen. Cory Booker traveled to Wisconsin to stump for Mandela in Milwaukee, making the case that Mandela’s working class background and firsthand understanding of Wisconsinites’ struggles make him the best candidate to go against Ron Johnson.
Mandela is also endorsed by leading champions for abortion access including former president of NARAL Ilyse Hogue. In May, Senator Elizabeth Warren flew to Wisconsin to campaign for Mandela Barnes, the strongest candidate to unseat Ron Johnson. In her remarks in Milwaukee and Madison, Sen. Warren underscored that the path to protecting abortion access and saving our democracy runs through Wisconsin.
Conclusion
Mandela Barnes continues to lead the Democratic Senate primary pack in polling, endorsements, and grassroots fundraising despite being outspent by millionaire and self-funding candidates on both sides of the aisle. Voters want a candidate who understands their challenges firsthand. Wisconsinites know they can trust Mandela Barnes to fight for their fair shot at the American Dream.
Original source can be found here.
