Lt. Governor Mandela Barnes, Democratic nominee for U.S. Senate, is taking his message of rebuilding the middle class and uniting Wisconsinites across the state with his Working For Wisconsin tour — a statewide swing where Mandela will talk to voters about pressing issues affecting farmers, labor leaders, Black community leaders, women, and small business owners.
Day 1 of the tour included stops to Racine, Green Bay and Cambridge. Mandela’s first stop was a Black-owned business tour in Racine, where he discussed his plan to support small businesses. He then went to Green Bay to host a meet and greet with Sen. Tammy Baldwin to discuss challenges facing unions and his plans to support labor and Wisconsin manufacturing.
Mandela ended the day at a dairy farm in Cambridge, where he and Sen. Baldwin held a rally to kick-off the general election campaign and re-commit his support for Wisconsin’s family farmers.
Read Highlights from Day 1 of the Working for Wisconsin Tour:
IN RACINE:
The Journal Times: Barnes barnstorms into Racine in the wake of Tuesday’s easy primary win
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Mandela Barnes officially became the Democratic Party nominee for the U.S. Senate Tuesday night. Thursday morning, he was in Racine, briefly making his case to two Main Street business owners that he was the candidate small business owners could count on.
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Barnes promoted his Main Street experience and said his work at the state level gives him the perspective needed for Washington.
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“We’ve heard that story from so many different people,” Barnes told The Journal Times. “We have to make sure there are funds available for disadvantaged businesses who did not qualify for other sources of relief funding.”
Racine County Eye: Candidate Mandela Barnes: ‘It’s been wild in a good way’
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Two days after securing a primary election victory to become the Democratic Party’s candidate for U.S. Senator, Mandela Barnes brought his campaign to Downtown Racine on Thursday morning with stops at a pair of Black-owned small businesses.
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“One of the biggest barriers is access to capital,” Barnes said. His campaign’s “Plan to Support Wisconsin’s Small Businesses” notes that small business assistance packages, which the federal government offered in response to the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020-21, included credit history requirements that made it difficult for minority business operators to get needed financial help.
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Small businesses are the backbone of our economy — and we need to be in the business of supporting and empowering them. That’s what I’m going to the Senate to do.
IN GREEN BAY:
WBAY: Democratic U.S. Senate nominee Mandela Barnes tours the state
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Wisconsin Lt. Gov. Mandela Barnes began his U.S. Senate campaign tour of the state as the Democratic nominee with a stop in Green Bay on Thursday.
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Barnes blasted the incumbent, Republican U.S. Sen. Ron Johnson, for saying Wisconsin had enough good-paying jobs when Oshkosh Corporation chose to build the new fleet of U.S. Postal Service trucks in South Carolina instead of Wisconsin.
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“Not only was that a thousand jobs — a thousand opportunities for young people, a thousand shots at success for young people growing up like me. And I got into politics with the simple belief that every child growing up in every ZIP Code in every community deserves the same opportunities I did,” Barnes said.
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This afternoon, Mandela Barnes … and Senator [Tammy Baldwin] met with local workers, union members, and students in Green Bay to listen to the issues impacting their lives and show up for voters!
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This campaign is our chance. Our chance to make the Senate work for working people and protect our unions and our communities.
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Green Bay, THANK YOU! The energy and determination at Zambaldi Beer today was incredible. Let’s do this thing.
IN CAMBRIDGE:
Cap Times: Mandela Barnes targets rural voters in first general election rally
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“I believe the state of Wisconsin deserves two senators that are fighting for working people and families,” Baldwin said, a thinly veiled jab at GOP U.S. Sen. Ron Johnson, adding that “Mandela has shown an unprecedented ability to unite Wisconsinites in a coalition that includes farmers, union leaders, teachers, small business owners and working people all across the state.”
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“We have an opportunity to make sure that the American dream is within reach for every person in this state and every person in this country,” Barnes said. “We have an opportunity to then transform that American dream into an American reality.”
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The Barnes campaign’s decision to relaunch its efforts on a dairy farm shows its commitment to winning back rural Wisconsinites — a voter base that has fled the Democratic Party in the state in recent years.
NBC15: Barnes holds rally at Hinchley Dairy Farm
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“We have an opportunity to protect our family farms in the face of all this corporatization,” Barnes said. “We are a state that feeds the nation and we need to respect our family farmers because that’s who gave us our identity as the dairy state.”
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“With the renewable fuels and infrastructure plan that Biden just signed, we’re looking for farmers to be as a solution… a seat at the table is what we want,” Hinchley said. “That being involved with Barnes campaign and stuff, he’s the one who’s going to push this issue to the forefront along with Senator Baldwin for a stronger Wisconsin and clean energy.”
WKOW: Mandela Barnes hosts kickoff event for general election campaign
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“Our greatest challenges are our greatest opportunities,” Barnes said. “We have an opportunity to make sure that the American Dream is within reach for every person in the state, every person in this country.”
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Senator Tammy Baldwin was also at the campaign event to support Barnes. Baldwin said Barnes was a candidate who would work hard for Wisconsin citizens.
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“I cannot think of a better person to serve as a partner to me in the United States Senate,” Baldwin said.
WISC: Barnes hits campaign trail after primary win
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Just two days after his primary win, Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Mandela Barnes has turned his sights on incumbent U.S. Sen. Ron Johnson, speaking at a Cambridge dairy farm Thursday.
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He spoke about his background, that he was inspired by then-Senate candidate Barack Obama’s 2004 Democratic National Convention speech to become a community organizer, which led him to run for state Assembly.
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“I believe that the state of Wisconsin deserves two senators who are fighting for working people and families, not just one,” Baldwin said.
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Tina Hinchley endorsed me and showed me around her family’s farm months ago…and today, I was so happy to return as the Senate Nominee with Sen. [Tammy Baldwin]
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Farmers are at the heart of who we are as a state. I’m going to DC to support them like they have always supported us.
