Mandela Barnes jumps into crowded race for Wisconsin governor
Former Wisconsin Lt. Gov. Mandela Barnes launched his bid to replace retiring Gov. Tony Evers on Tuesday, joining an already crowded and competitive Democratic primary.
Barnes, who lost a 2022 Senate race against Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.), focused on affordability and attacked Republicans in his launch video, arguing that it “seems like the harder you work, the more Washington looks the other way — lower taxes for billionaires, higher prices for working people.”
“Under Trump, the name of the game has been distraction and chaos to avoid accountability,” Barnes said. “It isn’t about left or right, it isn’t about who can yell the loudest. It’s about whether people can afford to live in the state they call home.”
www.politico.com/...
Minneapolis attorney Chris Madel announces GOP campaign for governor
Minneapolis attorney Chris Madel jumped into the GOP race for governor on Monday, betting that his outsider status and bare-knuckle approach will distinguish him from other Republicans seeking to face Gov. Tim Walz.
Madel, a 58-year-old Waseca native, successfully defended state trooper Ryan Londregan from murder and manslaughter charges, as well as a lawsuit, in the 2023 shooting death of motorist Ricky Cobb II. He also defended former WCCO reporter Liz Collin and Alpha News against a defamation lawsuit related to their film, “The Fall of Minneapolis.” That lawsuit was dismissed as well.
Over the course of his career, Madel has developed a reputation as a staunch supporter of law enforcement and an effective fraud investigator. He helped Best Buy uncover a kickback scheme involving one of its own executives and a supplier, and he led an internal investigation into allegations that the Fiesta Bowl illegally reimbursed its employees for campaign donations.
www.startribune.com/...
After gerrymandering, Democrat to run for reelection to congress in vulnerable district
Democrat Congressman Don Davis of North Carolina will announce Monday he will run for re-election in the state’s 1st Congressional District, a campaign official told Spectrum News 1.
This comes after the Republican controlled General Assembly approved a new congressional map in October that gerrymanders his district to make it harder for a Democrat to win.
The new map swaps numerous counties in the 1st and 3rd Congressional Districts, both located in eastern North Carolina. The new 1st District doesn’t include Greene County, where Davis resides, but members of the U.S. House are not required to live in their districts.
spectrumlocalnews.com/...
State Comptroller DiNapoli Faces Rare Primary Challengers
Last month, the nonprofit Citizens Budget Commission brought together the state comptroller Tom DiNapoli, outgoing City Comptroller Brad Lander and his incoming successor Mark Levine to discuss fiscal issues and what a comptroller does.
It fell to Bill Thompson, a former city comptroller, to introduce DiNapoli, who has served in the job for 18 years.
“If you look in the dictionary and look up ‘comptroller,’ there is Tom DiNapoli’s picture,” Thompson effused about the Democrat, who has never faced a serious primary challenge when running for reelection. “It’s not just longevity. Remember the E.F. Hutton ad? When Tom DiNapoli speaks, people listen.”
www.thecity.nyc/...
