As Mandela Barnes seeks to become Wisconsin’s first Black senator, his chances against two-term Sen. Ron Johnson may depend on how well he can connect with voters who have not always turned out in big numbers.
Barnes knows most of the people at King Solomon are already in his corner, with some already turning in early votes for him. It’s not older, religious Black voters he needs to worry about mobilizing. It’s these congregants’ nieces, nephews, children and grandchildren that community organizers describe as a disaffected and disinterested generation.
“I’m asking you to help talk to some other people – some friends, some family, some neighbors. If we get five to 10 people out each, we can win this thing,” Barnes told the congregants. For Barnes, whom polls show slightly behind Johnson in one of the handful of races that could shift Senate control, that means connecting with people like Joe Louis Gordon II.
Gordon, 32, met Barnes at a campaign event on Black maternal health in mid-October. As his girlfriend, Makoria Morrow, joined the discussion, Gordon sat to the side with their 2 1/2-month-old daughter and said he “didn’t know too much” about Barnes. He said he hadn’t voted since Barack Obama was running for president.
In the two weeks until Election Day, the Barnes campaign is doubling down on breaking through to young Black voters with events at Black student unions and elsewhere in the community. They’re also investing millions in reaching young voters of color on streaming platforms like YouTube and Spotify.