Mandela Barnes, the latest Dem candidate for governor, says he’s immediately turning his focus to the general election instead of the more than half-dozen other Dem candidates in the primary.
“We’re making sure that we have everything, every resource ready to take on Tom Tiffany because he is the likely nominee,” Barnes told WISN 12’s “UpFront,” which is produced in partnership with WisPolitics. “It’s not about confidence. I’m going to tell you right now, I’m going to work harder than anybody. I have a lot of respect. I take every challenger. I take it completely seriously. I have respect for, I am friends with the people who are running, but my focus is on Tom Tiffany.”
Barnes, the former lieutenant governor who lost his U.S. Senate bid to U.S. Sen. Ron Johnson in 2022, is facing criticism from previous supporters for another statewide bid. Among the critics: the Black-owned Milwaukee Courier, which recently wrote in an editorial, “We need a candidate who can unite this state — and win. Mandela showed us he can’t.”
“It’s hard to tell, some people have favorites, and that’s fine,” Barnes said in response. “This is a primary election. I think that people should have options. I think that is the beauty of democracy. I truly think these kind of primaries are healthy because we get to express ideas, and most importantly, express a vision.”
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Republicans, including Tiffany, have already quickly attacked Barnes on previous comments or positions on law enforcement and ICE.
“I’ve made it very clear, I don’t support defunding the police,” Barnes said. “I want to make sure that our communities and our law enforcement officers have the resources they need to keep our communities safe.”
When asked how he would respond as governor if the Trump administration expanded ICE operations in Wisconsin, Barnes said, “If there are instances where there are violent criminals who are not here legally, of course, they should be deported. But what we’re seeing is a brazen show of force and an abuse of power. We have masked men who are showing up to houses of worship, who are showing up to schools and they are taking away members of our community.
“That’s why we need comprehensive immigration reform, because there are people who are contributing to our society,” Barnes added when asked about people in the country illegally who have not committed a crime. “And if we have people who are contributing to our society, doing the right thing, contributing to our economy, making Wisconsin a better place to live, easing the burden for the rest of us, then we need a path to citizenship.”
When asked whether he would sign legislation that would end cash bail in Wisconsin, Barnes said, “Well, that’s not my focus.”
“It would determine upon the specifics of that bill,” he added. “I don’t believe people should just, this is not about ending cash bail, this is about a person who has committed a crime and the severity of that crime. If you’ve committed a severe crime, you should be detained, you should be held behind bars, and when your court date comes, that person will see their fate. And if people like Tom Tiffany took the time to understand the actual law or actual legislation instead of just pushing political points and try to use scare tactics, he would understand that people shouldn’t just be able to pay their way out of jail because they have a lot of money.”
Barnes has said a main focus of his campaign is a tax plan targeting billionaires and corporations.
“Taxes would go down for working-class households,” Barnes said. “And the problem is the loopholes that allow the wealthiest in our society, the richest people, billionaires in this country, they’ve gotten away without paying their fair share for every tax loophole that exists for billionaires.”
Barnes wouldn’t say at what income level he would propose raising taxes.
“We’re talking about the most wealthy,” he said. “And we can look at reforming the agriculture and manufacturing tax credit because our small businesses deserve a slice of that pie. Our family farmers deserve a slice of that pie. We shouldn’t have that outsized amount of tax benefit going to out-of-state companies. It’s not fair to Wisconsin. We need to be in the driver’s seat, and we need new leaders who understand the need to put Wisconsinites first. I’m very confident we can get there.”
Dem strategist Tanya Bjork says Mandela Barnes starts as the primary frontrunner but adds “there’s a lot of time” for the growing field of candidates.
“He did run before, I know a lot of people think that’s a negative, and it might turn out to be, but I personally think that’s a positive because he does have a ready-made list of donors to tap right away and supporters across the state,” Bjork told “UpFront.” “So if he’s able to raise the money like I think a lot of people think he is, I do think he is the frontrunner.”
Barnes joins a field that includes Lt. Gov. Sara Rodriguez, Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley, state Sen. Kelda Roys, state Rep. Francesca Hong and former WEDC CEO Missy Hughes in the primary. Former Department of Administration Secretary Joel Brennan, leader of the Greater Milwaukee Committee, is expected to join the race as well.
“There are five months before we even file for nomination papers,” Bjork said. “So there’s a lot of time for this field to get even a little bigger with, it looks like Joel Brennan is getting in the race next week, and it likely is going to get smaller as candidates start to kind of weed themselves out.
“I actually think, too, that a robust primary will actually help Democrats,” Bjork added. “I know there’s some debate as to whether we should have a robust primary or not, and my view is that this primary helps us communicate with voters early on the differences between Democrats and Republicans. So done correctly, which means no food fights, done correctly I think this primary sets us up for a bit of a head start in the general.”
GOP U.S. Rep. Glenn Grothman believes the U.S. House would pass a bill to extend Obamacare subsidies if a vote came to the House floor.
“My guess is there are enough people who will vote yes on anything that if it is the Democratic plan, I think it’ll pass the House,” Grothman told “UpFront.” “I shouldn’t say that, but, you know, you only need to add three or four Republicans to all the Democrats, and it’ll pass.
“I’m being a pessimist to say that because we don’t have the money at all,” Grothman added. He said he would vote against an extension.
“We need something a little bit more than that,” Grothman said. “We need something with it if there’s going to be any extension. It’s very expensive. You’ve got to remember the Democrat plan was another $34 billion a year, and already the government is borrowing 26% of our budget, so if they want to put more money in there, let’s have some cuts in some other places in the budget.”
Grothman also weighed in on some Republican pushback targeting House Speaker Mike Johnson, including from Reps. Marjorie Taylor Greene and Elise Stefanik.
“It’s a very difficult situation,” Grothman said. “You’ve got to remember, at any given time, you can only lose three or four votes out of 218. And the press will make heroes out of all the people who still stand up to Speaker Johnson, which is kind of frustrating, particularly if somebody like Elise Stefanik is running for governor in New York. Why is she out there punching Mike Johnson in the nose? Obvious, right? She’s running for a big election, and she wants to become more well-known.”See more from the show.
