Mitchell Berman is an ER nurse, a hunter, a girl dad, and the Democratic nominee for Wisconsin's 1st Congressional District. He's taking on Rep. Bryan Steil on November 3. I sat down with him for a conversation that got personal real quick.
Mitchell has worked in the ER for almost two decades, eleven of those years at the VA. He's also a hunter, a fisherman, a small-town Wisconsinite, and a hard-fought girl dad. We talk about growing up in a working-class family, becoming the first in his family to graduate college, and why he left a job he loved to run for Congress.
He also shares a very personal story about his family's IVF journey. After a recent embryo transfer didn't result in a viable pregnancy, his doctor asked whether they wanted the prescription to manage the miscarriage sent to a pharmacy in Illinois, since some Wisconsin pharmacists refuse to fill it. No family should have to make that call in the middle of a loss, but many do. I'm grateful he was willing to talk about it.
The race is getting attention, too. Mitchell was just added to the Red to Blue list, his internal polling has him two points ahead of Steil once voters hear positive bios of both candidates, and he says lifetime Republicans are telling him they'll vote for him. In other words, he can flip this seat, which means that Congress would gain a health care professional at a time when health care is in crisis and about to get much worse.
Learn more and help him get the word out at bermanforcongress.com.
Follow Mitchell Berman:
Facebook: @bermanforcongress
Instagram: @bermanforcongress
Bluesky: @bermanforcongress.bsky.social
X: @MBermanWI
Chapters:
0:00 Meet Mitchell Berman: ER nurse and WI-01 nominee
1:03 A whirlwind week: the national party takes notice
1:57 Who is Mitchell Berman? Rural roots and first-gen college grad
3:51 What the ER shows about a broken health care system
5:43 Medicaid cuts and rural hospitals: what's coming
9:46 Private equity and putting patients over profit
10:43 Mitchell's family IVF journey
13:40 The pharmacy question: Illinois or Wisconsin?
16:08 Family, and why Mitchell decided to run
19:17 What makes 2026 different in WI-01
22:05 No corporate PAC money: who he answers to
24:18 Winning over hunters, fishermen, and Republican voters
26:02 What Mitchell wants for his daughters' future
28:53 Tariffs, gas prices, and the choices Congress makes
30:23 Internal polling: Berman 50, Steil 48
32:40 How to help and where to find him
The Dr. Kristin Lyerly Show brings you honest, unfiltered conversations at the intersection of medicine, politics, and the fight to build a healthcare system that actually works. New episodes on YouTube, Substack, and wherever you get your podcasts. Subscribe so you never miss one.
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Dr. Kristin Lyerly is an OB-GYN based in northeast Wisconsin and a leading voice on healthcare, politics, and the issues shaping our collective future. As the named physician plaintiff in a landmark Wisconsin abortion decision, she brings a perspective to these conversations that goes beyond politics. New episodes drop every week. Subscribe to stay current on reproductive rights, health politics, all things Wisconsin, and everything else that matters.
Producer: Abraham Lyerly
Music: Nic Tierman
Graphics: Nathaniel Gonzalez