John,
Last week, we wrote to you about the outrageous amount of money being spent by Republicans in Wisconsin’s Senate race to try and stop Mandela Barnes’ momentum against incumbent Republican Ron Johnson.
Republican groups have now spent more than $28 million on disgusting attack ads against Mandela — including more than $4 million in the last week alone.
These fear mongering ads are full of lies, but they are reaching more Wisconsin voters every day. It’s up to all of us to make sure we have Mandela’s back. We don’t need to match Republican Super PAC spending dollar-for-dollar, but we do need the resources to get our message out and mobilize voters in key areas over the next five weeks.
Will you chip in to help us counter these vicious Republican attacks on Mandela Barnes and WFP candidates across the country?
Donate »
Here’s how some media outlets are describing the multi-million dollar barrage of Republican attacks airing in Wisconsin right now:
![Three pull quotes displayed on ripped paper read: “On Sept. 2, the NRSC began airing a $1.2 million advertisement online and television attack ad against Mandela Barnes… with powerful footage that was likely painful for many people in the state: a car plowing into a crowd gathered for a Christmas parade in Waukesha last winter. Six people died and 62 were injured. The ad’s exploitation of the tragedy was in service of attacking Barnes for his stance on eliminating cash bail for certain crimes — falsely.” — Huffington Post, 9/12/2022 “The ad ends with a photo of Mandela Barnes, who is Black, pictured alongside members of the squad, who are, notably, all women of color. And it calls him ‘dangerous and different.’” — NPR, 10/4/2022 “Another [ad] shows his face on a wall with his last name sprayed in graffiti-style script and highlights a comment he made about reallocating police funds. A third labels him “dangerously liberal on crime.” — Washington Post, 9/25/2022](https://actionnetwork.org/s3_files/uploads/data/000/708/342/original/In_an_ad_featuring_urban_graffiti_and_pairing_Barnes_with_two_other_lawmakers_of_color_%E2%80%94_Reps._Alexandria_Ocasio-Cortez_(D-N.Y.)_and_Ilhan_Omar_(D-Minn.)_%E2%80%94_the_National_Republican_Senatorial_Committee_says_Barnes_is__(2).png "Three pull quotes displayed on ripped paper read: “On Sept. 2, the NRSC began airing a $1.2 million advertisement online and television attack ad against Mandela Barnes… with powerful footage that was likely painful for many people in the state: a car plowing into a crowd gathered for a Christmas parade in Waukesha last winter. Six people died and 62 were injured. The ad’s exploitation of the tragedy was in service of attacking Barnes for his stance on eliminating cash bail for certain crimes — falsely.” — Huffington Post, 9/12/2022 “The ad ends with a photo of Mandela Barnes, who is Black, pictured alongside members of the squad, who are, notably, all women of color. And it calls him ‘dangerous and different.’” — NPR, 10/4/2022 “Another [ad] shows his face on a wall with his last name sprayed in graffiti-style script and highlights a comment he made about reallocating police funds. A third labels him “dangerously liberal on crime.” — Washington Post, 9/25/2022")
We’ve seen this playbook before. It’s no wonder some people are describing the GOP strategy right now in Wisconsin and other states as “racist Willie Horton-style fearmongering.”1
But with so much on the line, we need to do everything we can to fight back. If we can elect Mandela Barnes in Wisconsin, we will be a step closer to making obstructionist Democrats like Joe Manchin and Kyrsten Sinema irrelevant.
That accomplishment alone will open the door for legislation to protect abortion rights, voting rights, union rights, marriage equality, rebalance the right-wing Supreme Court, and so much more.
Help us stand up for Mandela and fight back against these vicious Republican attacks on Mandela Barnes and WFP candidates across the country. Every donation will help us reach voters between now and November 8th.
—The Working Families Party
Sources:
1.
Racist ‘Willie Horton’-style fearmongering on crime may win midterms for GOP. The Philadelphia Inquirer, October 2, 2022.
