We are just about one year away from the 2026 midterm elections, and after some recent big announcements, the Democratic field in the race for governor is very nearly set. Just one major decision looms, and that’s the one from former lieutenant governor Mandela Barnes.

Barnes seems likely to run for governor. And because of that, his 2022 run for U.S. Senate warrants a fresh re-examination. So, in a new column at The Recombobulation Area, I took a closer look back at that race and his campaign. Barnes lost to Ron Johnson by about 1%, just 27,000 votes, in one of the closest elections we’ve ever had for Senate in Wisconsin. It was a near miss that reflected both Barnes’ potential and limitation. In retrospect, I think his campaign managed to be both overrated and underrated at the same time. Underrated in the sense that he was unfairly maligned in his effort to unseat a well-funded two-term incumbent, overrated in how the campaign made certain strategic errors that proved costly in the end.

If Barnes does indeed run again in a statewide race, he’s going to have to do things differently in order to win, plain and simple. 

Find all of Dan's work at The Recombobulation Area. Subscribe to The Recombobulation Area's podcast wherever you listen to podcasts, and see more the Civic Media website.