In 2022, Mandela Barnes lost to a Republican the Wisconsin Democratic Party called the worst senator in the country. Now, he is trying to stand out in a crowded primary in which a democratic socialist could become the party’s nominee for governor.
“The thing is, this race [has] gotten a little nutty,” Barnes told MS NOW in an interview — a field reshaped in its closing weeks by dropouts, controversy and the rise of state Rep. Francesca Hong, a democratic socialist, as a potential front-runner.
This fall’s contest is one of the first tests of whether Democrats can win a competitive statewide race in Wisconsin after 2024, when Trump carried the state, and start clawing back ground in a place both parties expect to be decisive again in 2028.
Barnes, who served one term as Democratic Gov. Tony Evers’ lieutenant governor, tried to unseat Republican Sen. Ron Johnson in the 2022 midterms. Democrats had braced for a punishing first midterm under President Joe Biden — the party holding the White House typically faces losses at that point in a presidency — but the Supreme Court’s decision that year to overturn federal abortion protections scrambled those expectations.
Still, Barnes lost narrowly. Johnson, among the most conservative senators representing a battleground state, held on after the Senate Republicans’ campaign arm described Barnes as a “dangerous Democrat.” He fell short by fewer than 30,000 votes out of more than 2.6 million cast.
“The fate of democracy, quite literally, hinges on a state like Wisconsin and our success this November in the governor’s race,” Barnes said. “It matters for the 2028 presidential race because we have a chance to show how strong and how reliably blue Wisconsin can be if organized properly.”
With early voting already underway, Barnes remains among the better-known names in a divided field — though it was Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley, who recently reentered the contest, who won Evers’ endorsement. The Democratic candidates are scheduled to debate Tuesday night, ahead of the Aug. 11 primary.
Republicans are expected to officially nominate Rep. Tom Tiffany in next month’s primary.
“Wisconsin will be the firewall that stops this radical socialist movement from spreading across America,” Tiffany said in a recent social media post. “This is Wisconsin’s moment to lead with common sense.”
In New York and Colorado this summer, democratic socialists have won congressional primaries, but those wins came in reliably blue districts. Hong’s campaign is the most prominent test this cycle of whether a democratic socialist can prevail in a race where the general election is genuinely competitive.
“Got a lot of respect for her. Got a lot of respect for what she’s been able to build,” Barnes said. “But there is a real difference, and we need somebody who’s actually going to be ready to go on day one.”
This year’s primaries suggest that, after the 2024 losses, some Democratic voters are willing to back a sharp break from the establishment.
“What differentiates me is I’ve been through the tough fights before,” Barnes said. “I’ve picked a lot of those fights myself, and I would do it all over again.”
Barnes has stressed that he, too, is running as a progressive. Whether that’s enough for a Democratic base in a state known for surprises is the question the next two weeks will answer.
“The people of the state of Wisconsin, people all across the country, are making it abundantly clear that things need to change for the better,” Barnes said. “And while there is a frustration with Donald Trump and Washington D.C., as a whole, there is also a frustration with Democrats that we aren’t necessarily meeting this moment.”
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