“While my opponent is out of town, we’re in the district actually talking about the issues that matter to people.” -Democratic Nominee for Wisconsin’s First Congressional District Mitchell Berman

MADISON, Wis. — Yesterday, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported on how Democratic nominee Mitchell Berman is standing up against D.C. corruption while Bryan Steil abandoned his constituents in the First Congressional District to attend the flashy GOP midterm convention in Dallas. Representatives Mark Pocan and Gwen Moore, who spoke alongside Berman, shared how Bryan Steil’s flimsy attempts to regulate insider trading and cryptocurrency do nothing more than protect the wealthiest politicians, including Donald Trump.

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Wisconsin Democrat Mitchell Berman Targets Steil on Campaign issues

By: Ricardo Torres | 9/10/26

Congressional candidate Mitchell Berman and Democrats Gwen Moore and Mark Pocan took aim at incumbent Republican Bryan Steil on Thursday, tying him to President Donald Trump’s policies while Steil attended the GOP midterm convention in Dallas.

“While my opponent is out of town, we’re in the district actually talking about the issues that matter to people,” Berman said, criticizing Steil’s support for the Iran war and One Big Beautiful Bill Act pushed by President Donald Trump. 

“I’m ready to actually make Congress work for working people again,” Berman said. “I’m committed to lowering premiums by fully restoring the Affordable Care Act, by fully funding Medicaid to make sure that that safety net is there for folks who find themselves in an unconscionable position. And before more rural hospitals close or cut services just to keep the lights on.”

Joining Berman, Moore and Pocan singled out Steil’s proposed legislation Stop Insider Trading Act, which passed the House in July.

“He put out a bill that does not stop members of Congress from buying stock. In fact, it still says you can own stock as a member of Congress. You can still buy stock with dividends as a member of Congress,” Pocan said. “And it doesn’t include the executive branch where the president has done thousands of trades unlike any other previous president.”

After it passed, Steil said in a statement the Stop Insider Trading Act “ensures no lawmaker can profit off of insider information.”

Democrats have been critical of Trump as financial disclosures have shown the president has been trading stocks while in office.

Moore was critical of Steil’s chairmanship on the House subcommittee on digital assets, financial technology and artificial intelligence.

“Bryan Steil receives hundreds of thousands of dollars of support from the cryptocurrency companies who are trying to buy his vote, and they succeeded,” Moore said. “Bryan Steil has received large donations from individuals who are aligned with prediction markets. Companies that trade on real world events that he has a direct impact in determining the outcome, such as the war in Iran.”

In 2024, Steil benefited from nearly $1 million in campaign spending from pro-cryptocurrency companies and has received thousands of dollars of donations from crypto and blockchain companies.

Steil Victory Fund, which is a vehicle Steil uses for campaign finance, received $22,000 from Tarek Mansour, founder and CEO of the prediction market Kalshi.

In response to criticism, a spokesman from Steil’s campaign said:

“Rep. Steil’s bill is the first ban on members of Congress buying stocks ever to pass the House. If Reps. Moore and Pocan actually cared about this issue they would have supported Steil’s bill or passed legislation when they were in the majority.”