Mitchell Berman, an emergency room nurse, won handily Tuesday in a three-way primary of active Democrats seeking to take on Republican U.S. Rep. Bryan Steil in Wisconsin’s 1st Congressional District.
“I never imagined running for Congress, but I saw a culture of corruption in Washington that protects corporate special interests and insiders instead of solving problems, and knew I had to do something about it,” Berman said in a statement after the race was called. “Tonight proves that when working people stand up, we can make a difference.”
A little more than an hour after the polls closed, Berman ran away with the contest. The Associated Press called the race at 9:02 p.m. By the time 99% of the ballots were counted early Wednesday, Berman’s lead grew to 44% of the vote.
Milwaukee Alder Peter Burgelis garnered just under 22% of the vote despite dropping out more than two weeks ago. Burgelis, who lives outside the 1st District, threw his support to Berman after his first campaign finance report came in with receipts that were less than 10% of Berman’s.
Lorenzo Santos, a former Racine County emergency services director, was in third place, with just over 20% of the vote. Miguel Aranda, a Whitewater school board member and an administrator at the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater, had just under 14%.
Berman emerged as the best-funded Democrat in the primary, with more than 25 times as much money raised by July 22, as Santos and Aranda put together, according to Federal Election Commission data. Berman was endorsed by the United Auto Workers union and by several the Democratic state lawmakers whose Assembly districts are in the 1st CD.
The outcome sets up Berman to take on Steil in the Nov. 3 general election. While the seat has been safely in Republican hands for 30 years, the 1st CD is among a list of districts that the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee has targeted this fall.
In a statement, DCCC chair Suzan DelBene said Steil “is a creature of Washington with a rolodex of special interests and insider allies” and who “backed every Trump price hike now hurting Wisconsin families in order to give a handout to his wealthy donors.”
This report has been updated with near-final vote totals.
