Oneida Nation photo
Wisconsin Lieutenant Governor and current United States Senate candidate Mandela Barnes visited the Oneida Nation Reservation September 6 to meet with government officials. Barnes met with Oneida Nation Councilwoman Marie Cornelius, Chairman Tehassi Hill, Vice Chairman Brandon Yellowbird Stevens, and Councilman Kirby Metoxen ahead of his November 8 face off against Senate Republican incumbent Ron Johnson.
Government Administrative Offices
United States Senate candidate and current Wisconsin Lieutenant Governor Mandela Barnes paid a visit to the Radisson Hotel & Conference Center Tuesday, September 6, 2022, to discuss some of the Oneida Nation’s issues and priorities with tribal leadership. This is just the latest visit to the Oneida Nation Reservation for the lieutenant governor since he took office alongside Governor Tony Evers in 2019. Barnes has continuously demonstrated his willingness to maintain regular, meaningful dialog with state tribal leaders throughout his term in Madison.
Barnes grew up in Milwaukee, the son of a union GM factory worker father and a union teacher mother, where he graduated from high school before going on to Alabama A&M. He served as a Wisconsin State Representative from 2013-2017 before being elected as the state’s first black lieutenant governor. Lieutenant Governor Barnes has proven his desire to bring positive, long-lasting change to environmental and social concerns by chairing Governor Evers’ Climate Change Task Force, by serving on the Missing & Murdered Indigenous Women & Children Task Force, and by visiting the Oneida Nation on several occasions for Indigenous Peoples’ Day and taking the various tours the tribe offers. Barnes joined Evers in the signing of Executive Order #50 which declares the second Monday in October as Indigenous Peoples’ Day in Wisconsin. Lieutenant Governor Barnes announced his candidacy for the United States Senate in July 2021.
Barnes will be challenging current Senator Ron Johnson, who has held the seat since 2010. Senator Johnson was reelected in 2016 and despite a previous pledge to retire after two terms in the Senate, announced he would run for a third term. Johnson was born in Mankato, Minnesota, and graduated from Edina High School. Thereafter, he graduated from the University of Minnesota with a bachelor’s degree in business and accounting. In 1979, Johnson and his wife Jane moved to Oshkosh, WI and worked for his wife’s family’s plastic company where he eventually became CEO. As Senator, he has served on the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs, Committee on Foreign Relations, Committee on the Budget, and Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation. Johnson is focused on growing the economy and creating good jobs and economic opportunity for all and he supports pro-growth tax reform and reducing regulations.
According to recent polls, Barnes is maintaining a slight edge over Senator Johnson in the U.S. Senate race. Wisconsin Public Radio (WPR) is reporting results of a survey of Wisconsin voters between August 22 and August 25 that shows Barnes led Johnson 49.4 percent to 47.1 percent. On August 18, Barnes had 49 percent of the support of likely voters with Johnson trailing at 45 percent per a Fox News poll. Election Day is November 8, 2022.
