Mandela Barnes campaigns in Wausau. MWC photo by Mike Leischner
WAUSAU, WI (WSAU) — Current Lieutenant Governor and Democratic US Senate candidate Mandela Barnes held a campaign meet and greet in the Wausau area on Tuesday, outlining the differences between himself and incumbent Ron Johnson.
Johnson’s campaign has been sending out daily press releases with the “Mandela Barnes Question of the Day-” many of those have involved things like abortion, crime and police, and most recently an interview Barnes conducted with a Russian media outlet. But Barnes says none of those questions have come up from the voters he’s talked to on the campaign trail. “The questions people are asking me are ‘why does Ron Johnson continue to leave us behind?’ ‘why is he not fighting for good jobs in my community?’ ‘why is he trying to take away my social security and retirement?’ Those are the questions people are asking me.” said Barnes. “Ron Johnson continues to lie and distract from his own record.”
On the issue of abortion, Johnson says the “choice” in the term pro-choice is what needs to be done in the event something goes wrong in a pregnancy. He cites one case of a woman who thought she was pregnant with twins but later found out she had a cancerous tumor forming instead which compromised her health, making an abortion necessary. “We are talking about families all across the state, across the country, that have picked out baby names and bought cribs and toys expecting to bring a bundle of joy. [Instead] they are faced with the unthinkable and have had to make difficult decisions.
“These are individual decisions, and these are difficult decisions,” added Barnes
The race between Barnes and Johnson had been tight for much of the summer according to the Marquette University Law School polling numbers. However, the latest survey showed Johnson taking a six-point lead over Barnes, which is outside the poll’s margin of error.
Tuesday’s event was held at Sconnie’s in Schofield with dozens of supporters getting the chance to shake hands and talk with Barnes before he gave a 15-minute speech to the crowd. Barnes also held a campaign stop in Rhinelander later in the day.
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