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in January.
>> Jon Henkes, thanks very

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much.
>> Thanks.

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>> Tonight we continue our
interviews with candidates

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running in the primary
election for governor. We

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brought you interviews with
the two Republicans in the

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race earlier this month.
There are seven Democrats

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lining up. We spoke with
three of them last week. Up

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next, senior political
reporter Zac Schultz brings

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us introductory interviews
with the remaining four

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Democrats, starting with
former Lieutenant Governor

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Mandela Barnes.
>> Mandela Barnes. Thanks

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for coming in for sure.
>> Thank you so much for

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having me.
>> So for voters who may

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not be as familiar with you,
introduce yourself and say,

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why are you running for
governor?

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Barnes, former lieutenant
governor, former state rep

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running for governor
because we found ourselves

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in a critical moment here
in the state of Wisconsin

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all across the country. But
Wisconsin has certainly

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rising costs, such as no
different from other states.

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But when people are having
such a hard time to pay for

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groceries, to live in their
homes, to be able to afford

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their utilities or even
healthcare. We need

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leadership that's going to
reject the status quo and

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actually get to work to
solving our problems. And

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this is more than just
about bold leadership to

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take on Donald Trump. We
need bold leadership that's

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going to provide solutions.
And I'm running because we

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need to provide real relief.
In my time in the

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legislature, my time as
lieutenant governor has

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been focused on making life
better for people across

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Wisconsin. It has been
focused on improving

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quality of life. And that's
why I'm ready to get to

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work to lower costs on the
very first day.

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that's driven you in your
career, or maybe a lane

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within the party that helps
define who you are?

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>> Well, there are a number
of issues. You know, I

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honestly think about
challenges, situations,

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circumstances that I've
dealt with, you know,

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growing up, you know,
unfortunately, I've lost

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friends to gun violence.
And that was one of the

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biggest things that
actually made me think

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about public service. Who
was going to step up, who

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was going to answer the
call. And when we have

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these conversations about
crime, we have these

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conversations about
violence in general. Like

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it speaks to me personally.
>> How much money are you

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going to need to raise in
order to win this primary?

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And then the election?
>> An obscene amount of

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money, which is the worst
part about politics.

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There's far too much money
involved. I think about,

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you know, the the amount of
spending that's not just

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from candidates but also
from superPACs. And it

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feels as if everyday people
don't have a voice in

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politics. I'm proud of, you
know, my previous campaigns

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where we were grassroots
funded, we didn't take

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corporate PAC money, not a
dime of corporate PAC money.

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And I look at this race and
that's the same case. We're

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not taking corporate PAC
money, but it is going to

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take about $50 million on
the candidate side for me

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to raise. And it shouldn't
be that way. But if we

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don't come out successful,
we'll never be able to get

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big money out of politics.
>> You're no stranger to

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competitive primaries, so
you between negative

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campaigning against a
member of your party versus

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just defining differences
between candidates?

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>> Well, I have zero
interest in negative

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campaigning against any of
my opponents. My focus, as

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I mentioned, has been and
will continue to be on

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November. And I say this, I
have a lot of friends in

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the race. I respect
everybody in the race. I

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think everybody brings
something to the race, but

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I'm running based off of my
experience, my time in the

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legislature, my time as
lieutenant governor is

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unmatched in this primary.
I've been every single

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county. My first, my first
year as lieutenant governor,

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continued to make my rounds
across the state. Every

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year after even out of
office, I've had the great

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fortune and opportunity to
be able to travel the great

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state of Wisconsin just
meeting with people just,

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you know, existing, living,
getting to enjoy the rich,

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natural beauty. You could
spend money at our small

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businesses and just spend
time in communities. And

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with that being the case, I
think about the work that I

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have put in. And, you know,
some folks may say, oh,

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Mandela's got the name
recognition. Well, I got

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the name recognition
because I've shown up.

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>> When voters are looking
at this broad field of

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candidates, do you think
they should look for who

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connects best with them on
the issues, or should they

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be thinking about
electability?

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should be looking about or
looking at who is going to

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fight for them, who is
going to show up, who's not

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going to take no for an
answer, who's going to be

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bold, and who is going to
drastically work to improve

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quality of life regardless
of where you live and

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regardless of who you vote
for.

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>> So most of the
candidates have connections

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to either Milwaukee or
Madison. What is the what

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is your outreach plan for
the rest of the state for

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rural Wisconsin?
>> Well, I can tell you,

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there's not a person in
this race who has the

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experience in all parts of
Wisconsin that I have. In

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22, I won the Wisconsin
Farmers Union, friend of

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the Family Farmer Award.
Because of my dedication to

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rural Wisconsin. I ran into
a guy leaving that

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conference a few years ago
and said that he never

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thought that he'd be voting
for a guy from Milwaukee,

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based on his rural policy,
and also understanding that

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rural Wisconsin isn't just
farms, it is small

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businesses that make up
Wisconsin. It's also the

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outdoor activities that
bring tourism to rural

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Wisconsin.
>> What do you think the

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impact of Donald Trump will
be on this election?

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>> Well, people are
dissatisfied. People were

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lied to. People have been
lied to. He lied the first

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time around. But people are
feeling those lies a whole

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lot more. He called
affordability a hoax. The

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person is struggling to pay
their utility bills right

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now. I don't think that's a
hoax. People who are

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struggling to stay in their
homes, they don't think

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that's a hoax. People who
are going to see their

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health care premiums rise.
We're going to see their

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health care premiums
balloon. It's not a hoax to

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them. And that's why this
campaign isn't just about

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me running for governor, me
winning the race for

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governor. This is about
ensuring that we have a

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majority in the state
Assembly and the state

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Senate to actually do right
by the people, because the

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will of the people should
be the law of the land, and