“We can uphold the Second Amendment and still make sure that guns aren’t falling into the hands of folks who shouldn’t have them”

Racine, WI — NBC News today spotlighted Emergency Room nurse and congressional candidate Mitchell Berman’s authentic rural Wisconsin values and lifelong background as a hunter and proud gun owner. In the piece, Berman speaks about the Second Amendment and commonsense gun safety and the article details how Berman’s authentic rural roots are stoking unprecedented momentum in the district.

With less than a week until Election Day, Berman is positioned to win what has become one of the country’s most competitive House races. Just yesterday, Fox News shifted its rating for the race from “Lean R” to “Toss-Up.” A recent House Majority PAC poll shows Berman leading Steil by one point (48-47). This poll follows two other public polls that show the race within one point. Cook Political Report and Sabato’s Crystal Ball recently shifted ratings toward Berman, and the race is on the DCCC’s priority “Red to Blue” list.

Key Excerpts:

  • “I grew up hunting and fishing. I grew up going out in the woods and building forts and going trout fishing,” Berman told NBC News on a crisp early morning in a spot along the Root River that’s only accessible by hiking through brush.
  • His ads have shown Berman as a proud gun owner and hunter, hoping to connect with voters in this red district. One shows him fishing while wearing a handgun in a holster; another shows him skeet shooting with clay pigeons labeled “Data Centers.” After the target explodes in the air, his 6-year-old daughter yells, “Great shot, Dad!”
  • “That’s who I am,” Berman said. “When I go fishing up north — where I’m from we have wolves. We have — in spring trout season, we have bears that are coming out of their dens with cubs. We’ve even had a mountain lion on our trail camera. So, you know, when I go out into the woods, I carry a sidearm with me for protection.”
  • Berman is a registered nurse who left his job at a Veterans Affairs hospital… after witnessing cuts the Trump administration made to the VA and Medicaid in the president’s “big, beautiful bill” this term. The Democrat decided to run for Congress and faces Republican Rep. Bryan Steil, who is seeking a fifth term.
  • The race was not expected to be close… but polling has shown the race is within reach for Democrats, whose campaign arm added Berman to their “Red to Blue” program in September.
  • “We can have commonsense policy that will help reduce gun violence without infringing on the Second Amendment, right?” Berman said. “So, we can uphold the Second Amendment and still make sure that guns aren’t falling into the hands of folks who shouldn’t have them.”

###