#mandela barnes

[boasamishipper]

quick recap of how the wis governor dem primary is going so far

francesca hong:

member of the wi state assembly since 2022, represents madison and maple bluff (76th assembly district)

has not faced a republican opponent since 2020 (in 2022 and 2024 she ran unopposed)

avowed democratic socialist (not a great position for someone running for statewide office in the most purple state in the country)

livestreamed with hasan piker, who has called orthodox jews inbred, claimed the us deserved 9/11, and straight up said it didn’t matter if rape happened on 10/7

is getting shit for old tweets calling for abolishing and defunding the police

sara rodriguez:

current lt governor, former nurse and member of the wi state assembly (13th assembly district) from 2013-22

fired her campaign manager for double-counting donations and failing to record expenses on a report filed six months ago, leaving her with just 200k in the bank four weeks out from the primary

internal polling prior to this showed her gaining ground; she has insisted she will stay in the race even though she is facing calls from journalists, wisdems insiders, and the other candidates to drop out

mandela barnes:

former lt governor (2018-22), former member of the wi state assembly (11th assembly district) from 2013-17, ran for senate in 2022 and lost to incumbent ron johnson

is still getting shit for his positions as of 2022 on crime and policing (favors reducing the prison population, supports ending cash bail and once got photographed wearing an Abolish ICE t-shirt)

if he wins the primary he would likely face the same onslaught of insanely racist attack ads funded by the uhleins that played a major factor in his loss in the senate race

david crowley:

current milwaukee county executive

dropped out and endorsed sara rodriguez pre campaign finance scandal

missy hughes:

former ceo of the wisconsin economic development corporation (2019-2025)

dropped out and endorsed sara rodriguez pre campaign finance scandal

joel brennan:

president of the greater milwaukee committee, former secretary of the wisconsin department of administration

still in the race, zero chance

kelda roys:

state senator from the 26th district (2021–present), candidate for wisconsin's 2nd congressional district in 2012, and candidate for governor in 2018

still in the race, zero chance

tumblr user boasamishipper:

ready to throw herself into lake michigan

[justinspoliticalcorner]

Progressive surges in Wisconsin governor race as top rival drops out

Francesca Hong is now the clear front-runner in the Democratic primary for Wisconsin’s governorship.

Oliver Willis at Daily Kos:

Progressive state Rep. Francesca Hong is now the clear front-runner in the Democratic primary for Wisconsin’s governorship, and her leading rival for the nomination announced on Thursday he is dropping out. The winner of that primary is expected to face Republican Rep. Tom Tiffany, who has President Donald Trump’s endorsement, though Trump’s net approval rating in the state is 25 percentage points underwater, according to The Economist. A Marquette University Law School poll released on Wednesday found that 38% of Democratic primary voters support Hong. That is an increase of 12 points from the pollster’s survey released the previous week.

In the new poll, former Lt. Governor Mandela Barnes stood at 16% support. But on Thursday, he announced he was dropping out of the race. In a statement, Barnes said it has “become very clear who our nominee is going to be.”

[...] A democratic socialist, Hong has been running on a platform of progressive, populist issues that appear to be resonating with primary voters. She has called for universal childcare, the creation of a public bank with state funds, and has called for a moratorium on data center construction—a stance that a significant majority of Americans are likely sympathetic to. Hong has come under fire from right-wing media outlets like Fox News, which has played a significant role in advancing the Republican Party’s false narrative that Democrats are pushing for a communist takeover of the country.

In 2020, after police in Wisconsin shot Jacob Blake, a young Black man, seven times, Hong wrote on social media, “I support defunding the police as a first step towards abolishing the police.” In a Democratic primary debate this past Tuesday, Hong was asked about her statement.

Former Wisconsin Lt. Gov and 2022 US Senate nominee Mandela Barnes drops out of the WI-Gov Democratic primary, setting the stage for the all-but-likely win of progressive favorite and State Rep. Francesca Hong.

[thingstrumperssay]

Most (if not all) republicans running this year keep on telling the same lie. A lot of the Democrat candidates wants to release non-violent people from prison (like people who got 10 years for possessing weed) so their prisons won’t be as crowded.

So of course the republicans are spinning it as “They want to release MURDERERS from prison!” Which is the opposite of what the Democrats are saying.

Democrats should probably start trying to sue these republicans for defamation of character. It’s one thing to say something bad about someone that’s true, like “Ron Johnson wants to cut your social security.” It’s another thing to flat-out lie about them.

[dontmeantobepoliticalbut]

Ron Johnson Claims Debate Crowd Laughed At Him Because Students Are Fed 'Leftist Propaganda'

Someone dared to "let in" college students to his debate at Catholic Marquette University, the senator groused. "Our colleges aren’t exactly

Right-wing Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.) claimed a debate audience burst into laughter during one of his answers last week because college students in the crowd were fed “leftist propaganda.”

Someone dared to “let in” college students to watch the televised debate at Marquette University last Thursday in Milwaukee, Johnson complained Sunday to Fox News host Brian Kilmeade.

“My guess ... college students” in the crowd laughed at him, Johnson said.

“Let’s face it, our colleges today aren’t exactly teaching history. They’re really not talking about the relevant things that students really oughta learn in college,” Johnson continued. “They’re being taught leftist propaganda.”

The debate audience burst out laughing when Johnson claimed at one point that he had been “set up” by the FBI.

Johnson was responding to an attack by his Democratic opponent Mandela Barnes, Wisconsin’s Lieutenant Governor, who pointed out that the Senator was warned by the FBI in 2019 that Kremlin operatives had been feeding him disinformation in a plot to turn him into a Russian asset.

“We cannot trust Sen. Johnson to protect democracy abroad because we can’t even trust Sen. Johnson to protect democracy here at home,” Barnes charged.

Johnson’s retort, which greatly amused the audience: “The FBI set me up with a corrupt briefing and then leaked that to smear me.”

Johnson is widely regarded as the most vulnerable Senator in the upcoming election, but he has recently been inching ahead in polls after focusing on crime.

[sepdet]

This looks like one senate race worth donating to, if you do that sort of thing (since breaking the senate deadlock is pretty much our only hope at this point).

[Edit]*cough cough*

Contribute to Mandela Barnes

Mandela is running for U.S. Senate in Wisconsin, and he is counting on lots of people making small donations in order to fund this campaign.

[angelique-diabolique]

Tap to expand

Misha stumps for Mandela Barnes in Wisconsin.

[gwydionmisha]

Protesters outside Milwaukee GOP office denounce 'racist' ads - Wisconsin Examiner

A protest was held outside of a Wisconsin GOP field office in Milwaukee to denounce "racist" advertisements against Mandela Barnes.

[nodynasty4us]

Senate Dems' best chances to expand majority may run through 2 unconventional lieutenant governors

John Fetterman and Mandela Barnes are both testing if battleground states will elect liberals to the Senate. That's not where the similarities between the two "tall and bald" men stop.