Barnes Highlights Experience: “Very Safe To Say, I’ve Been The Most Active Lieutenant Governor Of My Lifetime”

Pitches Plans To Expand BadgerCare, Boost Family Farming, And Take On Donald Trump

On Wednesday—as part of his Wisconsin Way tour—Mandela Barnes sat down with University of Wisconsin College Democrats to discuss his plans to make life more affordable.

He also talked about why he’s the best choice in this crowded field and how his experience sets him apart:

“I’ve never run for office because I thought things were going well, or because I was satisfied with the leaders of my own party,” Barnes said. “I got involved and ran for office because I always felt we could do more, always felt that we needed to do more.”

“There is not a person who’s been involved in state government as I have who is running right now. Very safe to say, I’ve been the most active lieutenant governor in my lifetime,”

Barnes also discussed his plans to lower the cost of attending college, starting by increasing funding for Wisconsin’s university system which ranks 44th out of 50 in public funding for four-year colleges.

Read more below:

Badger Herald: Mandela Barnes discusses his affordability-forward campaign for governor with UW College Democrats

  • Former Lt. Gov. and 2026 gubernatorial candidate Mandela Barnes joined approximately 40 students at a University of Wisconsin College Democrats meeting Wednesday to discuss his affordability-centered campaign.
  • Barnes currently has the highest name ID rate with voters out of all candidates at 56%, according to a March 24 Marquette Law Poll.
  • “There is not a person who’s been involved in state government as I have who is running right now. Very safe to say, I’ve been the most active lieutenant governor in my lifetime,” Barnes said.
  • On day one as governor, Barnes said his priority would be expanding BadgerCare, which provides healthcare for low-income children, pregnant people and adults in Wisconsin.
  • “We are one of 10 states across the entire country that has yet to expand our Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act. This is 15 years that we’ve had the opportunity to do this, and Republican legislators have gotten in the way,” Barnes said. “That’s why I said this race is about more than just electing a governor.”
  • Barnes said he knows rising healthcare costs are having real impacts after he recently met a family farmer who had to cancel their health insurance for the year after being notified their health insurance payment would be increasing from $275 to $1,600 a month.
  • Another avenue Barnes hopes to reform for farmers is the Agriculture and Manufacturing tax credit to benefit smaller family farms, rather than the current structure, which favors larger corporate farms, he said.
  • “[These are the] people who gave us our identity as a dairy state,” Barnes said. “There’s this void left in communities when these factories shut down, these farms go out of business, where there’s no jobs for people. What happens is obviously an increase in poverty, but also an increase in hopelessness.”