Mandela Barnes entered office as Wisconsin’s 45th lieutenant governor after he was elected in 2018. In the 2022 elections, the Democratic lieutenant governor faced off against Republican Senator Ron Johnson for the Senate seat. Barnes ended up losing the election to the incumbent that has represented Wisconsin since 2011.
Barnes was raised in Milwaukee, Wisconsin where he graduated from John Marshall High School in 2003. He then furthered his education at Alabama A&M University.
After graduating from college, he worked at the city of Milwaukee mayor’s office. In 2013, he began representing Wisconsin’s 11th district, a position he held until 2017. During his time as a member of the House of Representatives, he served as Chair of the Black and Latino Caucus and worked on gun violence prevention legislation and progressive economic policies.
He was elected as lieutenant governor in 2018 and after gaining the position, he became the Chair of the Governor’s Task Force on Climate Change and serves on the Governor’s Health Equity Council, Wisconsin Criminal Justice Coordinating Council, Wisconsin Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women Task Force, Governor’s Council on Financial Literacy and Capability and the 2020 Census Complete Count Committee.
During the 2022 elections, Lt. Gov. Barnes challenged Sen. Johnson for the Wisconsin Senate seat. Barnes lost the election to his opponent, and Johnson entered his third term.