Mandela Barnes Answers our Questions 

I first met Mandela Barnes nearly 20 years ago, during the height of the Obama era. Like many young leaders, especially young men of color, the election of President Barack Obama inspired both Mandela and me to invest deeply in learning how to organize our communities for civic engagement. It was a moment that expanded our sense of what was politically possible.

Over the years, the former Lieutenant Governor and I found ourselves in many of the same rooms, wrestling with the same question: how do we leverage grassroots power to drive real community change? I remember one lunch meeting in particular where we sat across from a major labor leader, making the case for investing in young leaders of color. We believed then, as I still do now, that sustainable political change requires developing new leadership pipelines.

Early on, I sensed that Barnes would eventually run for office. That instinct is one reason I proudly became a max donor during his first State Assembly campaign in 2012. His ambition was clear, but so was his discipline.

Beyond politics, Barnes and I share another connection: famous South African last names as first names. I took my nickname from student activist and scholar Steve Biko, the outspoken anti-apartheid grassroots organizer who was killed in a South African prison. Barnes was named by his parents after Nelson Mandela, the ANC leader who spent 27 years in prison before becoming the first president of post-apartheid South Africa and one of the most revered figures in modern history. In both name and spirit, there has always been a sense of connection to his public journey.

That said, shared history does not mean uncritical support. Over the years, I have not hesitated to offer honest feedback. In 2016, I personally called and encouraged him not to run against then-State Senator Lena Taylor. While I have always respected his ambition, Senator Taylor — controversial at times — had a deeply rooted base of support among Black women. I worried that a challenge at that moment could unnecessarily damage his brand and strain community relationships.

Most recently, following his 2022 U.S. Senate run, I publicly critiqued aspects of his campaign on Roland Martin’s show. While I acknowledged the impressive nature of his race, particularly his ability to pick up votes in rural areas that many observers did not anticipate, I argued that a limited ground game and insufficient investment in Milwaukee’s Black and Brown wards may have cost him critical margins.

Since then, however, Barnes has shared with me that there is far more to the story of his 2022 campaign than what many of us saw from the outside. Campaigns are complex ecosystems, shaped by strategy, resources, timing, and national headwinds.

That is why I am genuinely thankful that he agreed to join us to discuss what really happened in 2022, what lessons were learned, and why he believes he can win this time around.

1. I know a lot of political insiders know, but can you explain what you have been working on since 2022?

The day after my 2022 Senate race, Barack Obama called me and told me about losing his first congressional race and how he got right back to organizing. I took that to heart and returned to my roots as an organizer taking over Power to the Polls Wisconsin to organize Black and Brown voters.

Too many elected officials just show up in an election year and expect people to vote for them, and voters are understandably frustrated because they’re not seeing any real results. We worked to shift that dynamic, knocking over a million doors to engage voters year-round on the issues that matter most to them by both listening to their concerns and also providing them with information. I am proud to say that because of that work, Milwaukee had the highest voter turnout of any major city in the country in the 2024 election.

I also launched Forward Together Wisconsin to lower energy costs for homeowners, create good-paying union jobs, and build a cleaner future for our state.

Now I’m running for Governor because Wisconsinites are struggling and I know I can meet this moment to deliver real relief for our state. Working hard isn’t enough anymore. Costs are up, small businesses, family farmers, and working families are hurting. Trump’s status quo of chaos and divisiveness, the “Washington Way,” is making it even more difficult to get ahead.

It’s time to get things done the “Wisconsin Way” by bringing people together to actually deliver lower costs and stand up to Trump. I’ve been honored to serve Wisconsin as a State Representative and as Lieutenant Governor, experiences that have prepared me to meet this moment to lower costs, expand BadgerCare and provide a public healthcare option, close tax loopholes for the ultra-wealthy, and cut taxes for middle-class families starting on day one.

2. Looking back on your ‘22 campaign, there have been critics from media outlets who have said that you didn’t invest enough in the Black voters. But privately, we’ve discussed how there were lots of obstacles in the way of you going full force in the city. Can you go into more detail?

In a race that close, every decision matters, and I’ve reflected deeply on what worked and what didn’t. It reinforced for me the importance of showing up everywhere and for every neighborhood, every community, every voter. It’s why I worked so hard with Power to the Polls to build a real, sustained year-round organizing effort to empower the voices of Black and Brown Wisconsin families.

We came within just one percent of ousting a two-term incumbent despite being outspent by $26 million in dark money. It was the closest senate race in over a century in Wisconsin thanks to the hard work of a diverse coalition across this state.

Races like that teach you what it takes to compete and win statewide. I know that above all, no one is going to outwork me. I’m not taking a single vote for granted, and I’m going to show up across Wisconsin as voters have never even heard of me. That’s what Wisconsinites deserve from their next Governor.

3. Most of us understand the big differences between Milwaukee and the rest of the state. How do you balance serving the needs of Black Americans in the city, while also being a leader for the rest of the state?

Milwaukee is my home. I was born on 26th and Locust, attended Church every Sunday at Canaan Missionary Baptist Church, am a proud product of our public schools, and was the only statewide elected official who still lived in Milwaukee. I was an organizer here and then eventually represented my community in the State Assembly.

Milwaukee and our strong community shaped me into the person I am today and I could not be more proud of my home.

But the truth is, so many of the challenges facing Milwaukee families are similar to what families face across Wisconsin. My grandfather moved here after serving in World War II, worked as a union steelworker at A.O. Smith, earned a good wage, and retired with dignity. Those jobs are gone now, shipped overseas by corporate greed. We just saw this happen with Master Lock, shipping hundreds of good-paying union jobs overseas and closing their Milwaukee plant that we powered for over 100 years.

That same story is playing out across the state. Wealthy out-of-state corporations are swooping in and hollowing out communities. Big corporations make more money, pay less in taxes, and leave working families behind. It is not about left or right, but about the very few at the top and the rest of us.

I’m running for Governor to fight back. Whether you live in Milwaukee, a small town, or on a family farm, people want the same things. Good jobs, strong schools, safe communities, and a fair shot at making ends meet.

4. One of the biggest eye-openers from your ‘22 campaign was how far Republicans were willing to go to tarnish your name and reputation. It was sort of alarming. How are you planning to prepare for the craziness this time around?

There’s nothing Trump and his lackeys love more than spreading lies and creating chaos to distract from their failed policies that are hurting us all.

But this race is about who’s going to fight to lower costs for working families, and who’s not.

As I have throughout my career, I’ll show up in every corner of Wisconsin, meet with every community, and speak directly to voters—no matter where they are on the political spectrum—about where I stand and what I’ll do to deliver for them.

And I’m confident we’ll have the resources to make sure voters know the stakes of this race: I am running for Governor to lower costs and make life more affordable, while my Republican opponent Tom Tiffany is running to be a rubber stamp to Donald Trump and do the bidding of his wealthy billionaire donors while raising the costs on the rest of us.

5. There are a lot of great candidates in the race. How can we be sure that you will do the best job for working-class communities of color?

Because I’ve shown up, and I’ve delivered. This is what I come from and this is who I am.

Wisconsinites, especially Black families in Milwaukee, know there are a lot of politicians who only show up at election time. And too often, Democrats fail to fully use the power and trust voters give us to get things done.

That’s not me.

I helped Tony Evers kick Scott Walker out of office and helped Wisconsin families and small businesses recover from the COVID-19 pandemic. I fought to secure millions in violence prevention funding for Milwaukee and led the charge to reverse Scott Walker’s $600 million in cuts to education.

A lot of us are used to being counted out, either because we don’t have enough money, because of where we were born, or because of our skin color. I’ve been bet against before, but I took on the establishment to make life better for my community by becoming one of the youngest state representatives and then Wisconsin’s first Black Lieutenant Governor, serving alongside Governor Evers through some of our toughest challenges.

I’m ready to take on that same establishment again. As Governor, I’m going to get to work immediately on Day One to bring down costs and make life more affordable for Wisconsin families.