|Listen to a special interview with Mandela Barnes about our endorsement and his campaign.
Volunteer to make phone calls for Mandela Barnes with People’s Action and Citizen Action. Every Wednesday, 5pm – 8pm.
Citizen Action of Wisconsin and our national network People’s Action announced this Thursday our endorsement of Lt. Gov. Mandela Barnes to represent Wisconsin in the United States Senate. Barnes received overwhelming support from the Citizen Action Board in a vote last Friday.
“I’m proud to be endorsed by a coalition of advocates who have been fighting for working people in Wisconsin for decades,” said Lt. Governor Mandela Barnes. “Together, we will create an economy that works for working people, protect our democracy and the right to vote, create jobs by addressing climate change, guarantee access to health care for all, and kick Ron Johnson out of office once and for all.”
Mandela Barnes represents one of the top opportunities for a progressive champion to win in Republican-held turf in 2022. We are excited about his strong positions on jobs, labor, and climate issues. Barnes is running a movement politics, people-powered campaign and will work to advance our platform once elected.
“As the son of a teacher and a UAW worker, Lt. Gov. Mandela Barnes is one of us,” People’s Action Director of Movement Politics Brooke Adams said. “He’s the candidate who will unite everyday people of every race and background–rural and urban–in Wisconsin to defeat Ron Johnson in November.”
“We do not have to guess about Mandela’s values–we have been working with him since his early days as a social justice organizer,” said Robert Kraig, Executive Director of Citizen Action of Wisconsin. “He was a founding member of our Southeastern Wisconsin chapter where he helped us build grassroots power and served on our Board of Directors. Most importantly, he supports our bold progressive platform, and will prioritize our two top issues: making health care a fundamental right and transforming the economy to avert runaway global warming in a way that dramatically improves economic and racial equity. If elected, Mandela would become the third former Citizen Action of Wisconsin board member in Congress, joining U.S. Senator Tammy Baldwin and Congressman Mark Pocan.”
As a result of this endorsement, Citizen Action of Wisconsin and People’s Action will mobilize our members and volunteers on Barnes’ behalf, including using our proven deep canvass strategy to reach persuadable voters across the state, including building power in rural areas as well as urban areas. Bridging the urban/rural divide is a requirement for a winning Democratic senatorial campaign this year.
More about Mandela Barnes.
Mandela Barnes grew up in a proud union family in one of the poorest ZIP codes in Wisconsin. He’s a proven elected official, having served as lieutenant governor since 2018–the first Black lieutenant governor in Wisconsin’s history and the second Black statewide elected official. He serves as the chair of Gov. Tony Evers’ climate change task force. He also serves on the Governor’s Health Equity Council, Wisconsin Criminal Justice Coordinating Council, Wisconsin Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women Task Force, the Governor’s Council on Financial Literacy and Capability, and the statewide 2020 Census Complete Count Committee.
Barnes is fighting for “jobs we can support a family on, education we can build a future on, and health care that protects our health, not the wealth of corporations.” He’s standing up for family farmers who are under pressure from corporate ag and for manufacturing workers whose jobs are being exported overseas by hedge funds and big corporations. He’ll work for everyday people of every race and background in the U.S. Senate.