Former Lt. Gov. and 2026 gubernatorial candidate Mandela Barnes joined approximately 40 students at a University of Wisconsin College Democrats meeting Wednesday to discuss his affordability-centered campaign.
Barnes will face eight other candidates in the Democratic primary for governor Aug. 11, according to Ballotopedia.
“I’ve never run for office because I thought things were going well, or because I was satisfied with the leaders of my own party,” Barnes said. “I got involved and ran for office because I always felt we could do more, always felt that we needed to do more.”
Barnes also served in the Wisconsin State Assembly from 2013 to 2017 and ran a failed Senate campaign against incumbent Ron Johnson in 2022, according to Ballotopedia.
Barnes currently has the highest name ID rate with voters out of all candidates at 56%, according to a March 24 Marquette Law Poll.
“There is not a person who’s been involved in state government as I have who is running right now. Very safe to say, I’ve been the most active lieutenant governor in my lifetime,” Barnes said. “It was the … progressive base that I wasn’t just a part of, [but] that I helped lead, that got me into office.”
On day one as governor, Barnes said his priority would be expanding BadgerCare, which provides healthcare for low-income children, pregnant people and adults in Wisconsin.
As governor, Barnes said he would refuse to sign a state budget that does not include BadgerCare expansion, increasing the minimum wage and increased funding for public schools.
“We are one of 10 states across the entire country that has yet to expand our Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act. This is 15 years that we’ve had the opportunity to do this, and Republican legislators have gotten in the way,” Barnes said. “That’s why I said this race is about more than just electing a governor.”
Barnes said he knows rising healthcare costs are having real impacts after he recently met a family farmer who had to cancel their health insurance for the year after being notified their health insurance payment would be increasing from $275 to $1,600 a month.
Another avenue Barnes hopes to reform for farmers is the Agriculture and Manufacturing tax credit to benefit smaller family farms, rather than the current structure, which favors larger corporate farms, he said.
“[These are the] people who gave us our identity as a dairy state,” Barnes said. “There’s this void left in communities when these factories shut down, these farms go out of business, where there’s no jobs for people. What happens is obviously an increase in poverty, but also an increase in hopelessness.”
Though it is not officially a part of his campaign, Barnes said he would also love to see Wisconsin take advantage of its natural resources and become the outdoor recreation capital of the U.S.
His goal to increase outdoor recreation stems from the aspect of his campaign he cited as unique compared to other candidates, Barnes said, which is his belief in creating livable communities that favor public transit, walkable infrastructure and a supportive neighborhood.
“It is this idea of rugged individualism that’s done us a lot of harm,” Barnes said. “To promote public health, [I’ll prioritize] places where you can get outside and touch grass, density in communities as well. When you live among people … you experience life through others, challenges and successes.”
