Democrat Mandela Barnes conceded the Senate race to Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.) as numerous election projections show Johnson prevailing during Tuesday’s midterms.
In a Milwaukee news conference on Wednesday, Barnes said he “fought the good fight” and that “we knew this fight wasn’t gonna be easy. Hardly anything worth fighting for is easy, but I’m standing here today, today ready to jump back in and ready to keep going.”
“The votes are in,” a statement from his campaign also said. “In all Democrat strongholds, municipalities are reporting 100% of wards are in and counted.” The campaign argued that the areas of the state with the highest percentages of outstanding votes are the ones that fell its way.
“There is no path mathematically for Lt. Gov. Barnes to overcome his 27,374 vote deficit. This race is over,” the statement continued.
Republicans portrayed Barnes, the state’s lieutenant governor, as a left-wing extremist who wanted to defund the police and abolish U.S. Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
