Booker endorses Mandela Barnes in Wisconsin Senate race

Sen. Cory Booker (D-N.J.) on Tuesday endorsed Wisconsin Lt. Gov. Mandela Barnes (D) for U.S. Senate, throwing his support behind the perceived front-runner in the crowded primary field.

Booker called Barnes a “game changer,” adding that he is “exactly what working families need in this moment.”

“Mandela’s story is only possible here in America. It shows how hard work, faith, and opportunity can transform a family and a community,” Booker said in a statement.

“In the Senate, Mandela will champion opportunity, accountability, and justice, the way he has always done. He’ll expand opportunities for working people, stand up for good union jobs, and protect the right to vote,” he added.

Booker is the latest high-profile political figure to formally support Mandela’s candidacy. House Majority Whip James Clyburn (D-S.C.) and Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) have both endorsed the lieutenant governor.

Barnes has emerged as an early front-runner in the crowded primary field, in which 12 Democrats are vying for the party’s nomination. The winner will likely take on Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.), who announced on Sunday that he will run for reelection after vowing in 2016 to only seek two terms in the upper chamber.

An internal poll released by the Barnes campaign on Friday found that the lieutenant governor has a 29-point lead over Milwaukee Bucks executive Alex Lasry and a 30-point lead over Wisconsin Treasurer Sarah Godlewski.

Twenty-nine percent of those polled, however, say they still remain undecided in the race.

Barnes released his first policy plan last month, which called attention to some progressive proposals including enacting new voting rights legislation and ending the filibuster.

Booker on Tuesday highlighted Barnes’s efforts in Wisconsin, touching on his work during the pandemic, helping the economic development in rural and urban communities and addressing climate change.

“From helping to lead Wisconsin’s recovery efforts from the pandemic, championing economic development for rural and urban communities, and bringing people together to find solutions to the climate crisis, Mandela stands up for Wisconsin’s working families,” Booker wrote.