Mandela Barnes’ rise is a true ‘Wisconsin story.’ But is it enough to win a Senate race?

By Arit John, LA Times

Angela Lang has seen the ads attempting to paint Senate candidate Mandela Barnes as soft on crime. The one she takes issue with most features clips of real Wisconsin shootings. As a blurry figure fires into a crowd of people, the shooter is circled in red and Barnes’ name appears on the screen, “implying almost that he was the shooter,” she said.

For Lang, the founder of Black Leaders Organizing for Communities, an organization focused on mobilizing Black voters, the attack ads are both infuriating and a challenge to overcome.

“There is definitely a path,” Lang said, whose group has endorsed Barnes. “One thing that I mention to folks is that whether you’re from the north side of Milwaukee or you’re in the North Woods of Wisconsin, people see themselves in him and his campaign.”

The Wisconsin U.S. Senate race between Barnes, the state’s Democratic lieutenant governor, and two-term incumbent Republican Sen. Ron Johnson has become one of the closest and most contentious in the country. Johnson and his allies have sought to tie Barnes and his policies to high-profile crimes in the state, characterizing his campaign as “radical” or “dangerous.” Though election prognosticators rate the race a toss-up, polling suggests Barnes’ early lead has evaporated, particularly with independents and suburban voters.

The race may come down to whether Barnes, a longtime progressive, can appeal to a broad enough group of voters. In ads, he’s described his path in life as a “Wisconsin story” — union jobs paved the way for his family to enter the middle class — and focused on manufacturing jobs, protecting family farms, public schools and healthcare.

The LA Times has the rest of the story.

Along with Ben and Jerry’s and the NAACP, Barnes has encouraged the Black vote.

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