Former Wisconsin Lt. Gov. Mandela Barnes announced Tuesday that he will run for governor, joining a crowded Democratic primary race for the open seat in the critical battleground state.
In a campaign launch video, Barnes, 39, who ran unsuccessfully for U.S. Senate in 2022, pitched his candidacy as a way to push back against the "chaos" of President Donald Trump’s administration and promised to make affordability one of the main planks of his bid.
“Seems like the harder you work, the more Washington looks the other way: lower taxes for billionaires, higher prices for working people. Under Trump, the name of the game has been distraction and chaos to avoid accountability,” Barnes said in the video.
"Here’s the reality check — the only way for our state to move forward is to reject the Washington way and get things done the Wisconsin way," he continued. "It isn’t about left or right, it isn’t about who can yell the loudest — it’s about whether people can afford to live in the state they call home. A state where you can afford your health care. Where your kids can learn a skill and stay close to home. Where a good day’s work can earn a good day’s pay.”
Barnes served as Wisconsin’s lieutenant governor from 2019 to 2023, becoming the first Black person to hold that office in the state. He previously served two terms in the state Assembly, representing a Milwaukee-area district.
After narrowly losing to Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Wis., three years ago, Barnes has remained politically active in the state through his political action committee, which aims to boost Democratic candidates across the country who are, according to the group’s website, “young,” “candidates of color,” LGBTQ+” and “working class.”
Barnes’ entrance, which had been widely expected, further expands an already broad field of candidates in both parties running to succeed 74-year-old Gov. Tony Evers, who announced in July that he wouldn’t run for a third term.
On the Democratic side, the list includes Lt. Gov. Sara Rodriguez, Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley, state Sen. Kelda Roys, who ran unsuccessfully for governor in 2018, state Rep. Francesca Hong, who identifies as a democratic socialist, and Missy Hughes, the former CEO of the Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation.
As for the Republicans, Rep. Tom Tiffany, who represents a rural and solidly Republican area comprising most of the northern part of the state, and Josh Schoemann, the county executive of Washington County, an exurban area northwest of Milwaukee, are among the candidates.
The primaries for both major parties are expected to be competitive. Wisconsin is one of five states President Donald Trump won last year where a Democratic-controlled governorship is on the ballot in 2026. The nonpartisan Cook Political Report with Amy Walter has rated the race as a “toss up.” It's the first open contest for governor in the state since 2010.
Barnes is slated to kick off a listening tour of the state this week with stops in Madison, Milwaukee and Green Bay, where his campaign said he will “listen to concerns about rising costs and share his vision to make Wisconsin more affordable for families.”
Barnes lost his 2022 Senate bid by 1 percentage point, or just under 27,000 votes. He sought to brand himself as a progressive, with Republicans attacking his support at the time for Medicare for All, the Green New Deal and eliminating cash bail.
In the weeks leading up to Tuesday's launch, some Democrats in the state raised questions about whether Barnes should take another shot at statewide office after his 2022 loss.
An October editorial column in the Milwaukee Courier, the city’s oldest Black-owned newspaper, stated that, “Mandela had his opportunity. He didn’t close. And that means it’s time for a new chapter.”
The governor’s race will be at the top of a Wisconsin ballot full of other competitive contests in 2026, including those for lieutenant governor, attorney general and secretary of state. Also at stake for the first time in more than a decade could be partisan control of the state Legislature.
