Democrat Mandela Barnes, a former US Senate candidate, enters the Wisconsin governor's race

Barnes used his campaign launch video to appeal to Democratic voters with an attack on Trump and to pitch a broader message for key independent and moderate voters focused on improving the economy.

“I decided to get into this race because the moment is too urgent,” Barnes told The Associated Press. “We need bold leadership to take on Donald Trump. Things are getting much more difficult for people all across Wisconsin.”

Barnes has met with some opposition among Democrats who have publicly expressed worries about him running after he lost the Senate race to Republican incumbent Sen. Ron Johnson three years ago. If he wins next year, he will become Wisconsin’s first Black governor.

“Mandela had his opportunity. He didn’t close. And that means it’s time for a new chapter,” the Black-owned Milwaukee Courier newspaper wrote in an Oct. 25 editorial. “We need a candidate who can unite this state — and win. Mandela Barnes already showed us he can’t.”

Barnes lost to Johnson by 1 percentage point, which amounts to just under 27,000 votes.

Barnes on Tuesday recalled speaking with former President Barack Obama the day after his defeat. Barnes said Obama talked about the campaign for Congress that he lost.

“He got back out there and he kept organizing," Barnes said. "That’s what I’ve been up to.”

After his defeat, Barnes formed a voter turnout group called Power to the Polls, which he says helped bolster turnout among Black voters in Milwaukee and strengthened his position heading into the governor’s race. He also has a political action committee.

Barnes joins a crowded field in the open race for governor that already includes the current lieutenant governor, two state lawmakers, the highest elected official in the Democratic stronghold of Milwaukee County and a former state economic development director.

Republican U.S. Rep. Tom Tiffany, a staunch Trump supporter, is the highest profile GOP candidate. He faces a challenge from Washington County Executive Josh Schoemann.

Tiffany called Barnes a “dangerous far-left extremist” and said voters “rejected him in 2022, and they will do it again in 2026.”

He made a series of posts on the social platform X that he said showed why Barnes' agenda was wrong for the state. Tiffany noted Barnes’ past support for reduced funding for police, allowing immigrants who are not citizens to get driver’s licenses and pay in-state college tuition, and implementing policies that recognize climate change.

Barnes told AP that Tiffany has been nothing but a “rubber stamp” for Trump.

“He’s put politics before the people he represents," Barnes said. ”He has sat idly by as things have become more difficult. And people are tired of political games. They're tired of the nonsense. They don't want somebody who's just going to suck up to the president."

It will be Wisconsin’s highest-profile race next year, as Democrats angle to take control of the state Legislature thanks to redrawn election maps that are friendlier to the party.

The governor's race is open because current Democratic Gov. Tony Evers decided against seeking a third term. Barnes, a former state representative, won the primary for lieutenant governor in 2018 and served in that position during Evers’ first term.

The current lieutenant governor, Sara Rodriguez, was the first Democrat to get into the governor's race this year. Others running include Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley; state Sen. Kelda Roys; state Rep. Francesca Hong; and former state economic development director Missy Hughes.

An August primary will narrow the field ahead of the November election.

The last open race for governor in Wisconsin was in 2010. Republican Scott Walker won that year and served two terms before Evers defeated him in 2018.

Evers won his first race by just over 1 percentage point in 2018. He won reelection by more than 3 points in 2022.