Former VA Emergency Room Nurse and union member running to deliver real results for working Wisconsin families
RAYMOND, Wis. — Today, Mitchell Berman, an emergency room nurse, union member, and the first in his family to graduate from college, announced his campaign for Wisconsin’s First Congressional District. Berman has worked in healthcare for more than 20 years and has spent the last decade caring for our veterans, service members, and their families as a nurse at the VA. He’s challenging the Republican incumbent Bryan Steil, a career politician and former corporate lawyer.
“It’s time to elect leaders who know what it’s like to live paycheck to paycheck,” Berman said. “As a nurse, I’ve seen patients forced to choose between care and paying rent while Washington looks the other way. I’m running for Congress because our health and well-being should come first, not corporate profits.”
The campaign released a video Tuesday morning emphasizing Mitchell’s working-class upbringing and commitment to fighting for everyday Wisconsinites.
Born and raised in a one-stoplight town in rural Wisconsin, Mitchell Berman learned the values of community, integrity, and hard work from his parents. He was the first in his family to graduate college, working three jobs and taking out student loans to earn his degree. Determined to build a life through grit and perseverance, not privilege, he started working at age 12 and became a union member while in college. Berman is an emergency room nurse who has served veterans at the VA for more than a decade. A devoted husband and father, he’s running for Congress to put people over politics, and to fight for Wisconsin families.
The First Congressional District is one of the most competitive in the country, and has been named a “District in Play” by the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee. It encompasses Janesville, Kenosha, Racine, Beloit, Elkhorn, Whitewater, and the Milwaukee suburbs of Cudahy, St. Francis, and South Milwaukee. In 2024, Donald Trump carried the swing district narrowly with just 51 percent of the vote. In both the 2023 and 2025 Wisconsin Supreme Court elections, Justices Janet Protasiewicz and Susan Crawford won the district handily by 6- and 6.5-point margins, respectively. The primary election will take place on August 11, 2026, with the general election on November 3rd. Voters can visit bermanforcongress.com to learn more.
