U.S. Senate hopeful Lt. Gov. Mandela Barnes after winning the Dem primary said while he doesn’t necessarily look like a “normal politician,” that “is a good thing.”
“We need more real people in the United States Senate,” Barnes told supporters in Milwaukee.
Barnes will face incumbent GOP U.S. Sen. Ron Johnson in the November general election. Ahead of the primary, Barnes’ main competitors Milwaukee Bucks exec Alex Lasry, State Treasurer Sarah Godlewski and Outagamie County Exec Tom Nelson dropped out and endorsed Barnes.
With more than 45 percent of the vote in, Barnes had more than 80 percent of the vote and was projected to easily win the primary.
Barnes also slammed Johnson and vowed to fight hard to beat him as he pursues a third six-year term.
“We have just over 90 days until the election. We’re not going to let up. We’re not going to give up a single inch,” Barnes said. “They want to distract us from Ron Johnson’s failed record. They want to distract us from the fact that Republicans have done nothing to help out people in this room today, people like us. They turn their backs on every single one of us every step of the way, and that’s why we’re replacing Ron Johnson.”
Shortly after the polls closed, Johnson said Dems had chosen the most “radical left” candidate in the U.S. Senate race.
“Regardless of how Mandela Barnes and his allies in the mainstream media attempt to paint his views, Wisconsinites should not believe a word they say,” Johnson said in a statement. “The Lieutenant Governor will support all the destructive policies of President Biden and his enablers in congress.”
See the Johnson statement:
https://www.wispolitics.com/2022/johnson-campaign-statement-on-wisconsin-u-s-senate-election/
