Name Mandela Barnes | Religion Christianity Occupation State Representative | |
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Alma mater Alabama Agricultural and Mechanical University Education Alabama Agricultural and Mechanical University Similar People Jason Fields, Evan Goyke, Daniel Riemer, Gwen Moore | ||
Representative mandela barnes assaults citizen journalist
Mandela Barnes (born December 1, 1986) is an American politician and community organizer from Milwaukee. He previously served as State Assemblyman for Wisconsin's Assembly District 11, representing northern Milwaukee and a small part of Wauwatosa, but did not run for re-election, choosing instead to compete in the 2016 Democratic Party primary for the Wisconsin State Senate. Barnes lost the 2016 primary race to incumbent Lena Taylor on August 9, 2016.
Contents
- Representative mandela barnes assaults citizen journalist
- Mandela barnes kicked out of walker annc
- Background
- State Assembly
- 2016 State Senate campaign
- References
Mandela barnes kicked out of walker annc
Background
Barnes was born in Milwaukee on December 1, 1986, the son of a public school teacher and a United Auto Workers member. He attended Milwaukee Public Schools, including John Marshall High School; and graduated from Alabama A & M University. He worked for various political campaigns and in the office of Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett, eventually becoming an organizer for M.I.C.A.H., a Milwaukee-based interfaith coalition that advocates social justice.
State Assembly
In April 2012, Barnes announced his candidacy for Wisconsin State Assembly District 11, representing the north side of Milwaukee, challenging incumbent Jason Fields in the Democratic Party primary election. Barnes' campaign made major issues of Fields' support for the school voucher program, and Fields’ opposition to limiting interest rates charged by payday loan companies, whose charges can exceed a 500% annual percentage rate. His win was seen as a loss for the pro-voucher American Federation for Children, which pumped over $100,000 into primaries in greater Milwaukee to support candidates, none of whom won.
Barnes defeated Fields in the August 2012 primary, winning the Democratic Party nomination with 2,596 votes to Fields' 1,206. In the November general election, Barnes was considered the presumptive winner, since no opposition candidate filed against him. He received 16,403 votes to 201 scattered votes for others.
Barnes was reelected to his seat in 2014 without facing either a primary or general election challenge.
2016 State Senate campaign
On April 11, 2016, Barnes announced that he would vacate his Assembly seat to launch a primary challenge against Lena Taylor, the Democratic incumbent in Wisconsin State Senate District 4. Some political observers, such as professor and former State Senator Mordecai Lee, expressed surprise at Barnes' announcement, noting both the rarity of Democratic Senate primaries and the 90 percent reelection rate for incumbents in Wisconsin. Some also framed the race as reflective of the broader struggle in the Democratic Party, pitting a young progressive challenger against an older, more centrist incumbent.
Barnes lost to Taylor by a wide margin in the August 9 election, winning only 7,433 votes to Taylor's 11,454.