Down in polls, Mandela Barnes looks for big-name reinforcement in Wisconsin

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Sanders is traveling to Wisconsin successful the coming weeks, according to a idiosyncratic acquainted with the trip, though it’s unclear if helium volition look with Barnes and the idiosyncratic did not supply immoderate further details.

“Sen. Sanders believes that successful the coming predetermination we request to energize working-class voters and turn turnout,” said Faiz Shakir, a apical advisor to Sanders. “He intends to play an progressive relation successful making that happen.”

Wisconsin Democrats are besides successful talks with Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.), who they expect to run for Barnes and different apical Democrats successful the authorities adjacent week, 2 different radical confirmed.

On Wednesday, Barnes attended an lawsuit with First Lady Jill Biden successful Milwaukee, wherever his parent joined her and different teachers’ national members connected stage.

The tendency among Barnes and Wisconsin Democrats to bring successful nationalist figures during the campaign’s agelong tally reflects an anxiousness from wrong the authorities that the accidental to flip the Senate spot whitethorn precise good beryllium slipping away.

Barnes has trailed Johnson successful astir nationalist polls successful caller weeks aft facing unrelenting attacks from the close labeling him arsenic brushed connected transgression and an impediment to improving the economy. Rallies with big-name Democrats similar the erstwhile president, existent White House occupants — oregon some — implicit the last weeks of the run would beryllium an effort to repair the harm by juicing basal turnout, peculiarly successful Barnes’ hometown of Milwaukee.

It’s not antithetic for campaigns to thin connected celebrated surrogates down the stretch. Biden himself has been an in-demand surrogate successful past cycles (though little truthful successful this one). Obama’s team, meanwhile, is fielding a barrage of involvement from crossed the enactment and is expected to deed the roadworthy successful the last sprint earlier the November midterms.

But Barnes and respective Democratic Senate candidates successful different states person also been cautious astir associating themselves with extracurricular figures, peculiarly arsenic the White House struggles with low- to mid-40 percent approvals.

When Biden traveled to Wisconsin and Pennsylvania during Labor Day weekend, Barnes avoided an quality with him astatine that time, portion Pennsylvania Senate nominee John Fetterman spoke astatine an lawsuit with Biden and met privately with him.

None of the imaginable visits person been finalized. Some of the events being discussed and coordinated are envisioned arsenic being abstracted from Barnes’ campaign. A spokeswoman for the lieutenant politician would not remark connected interior discussions and backstage outreach.

Johnson is viewed arsenic the astir susceptible Republican legislator facing reelection adjacent month, owing to persistently debased favorability ratings. Barnes, successful turn, has portrayed him arsenic a menace to Social Security and an extremist connected abortion, arsenic good arsenic assailing his main of staff’s ties to a fake electors strategy arsenic ending “with a whole-day battle connected the Capitol.”

But Democrats inactive fearfulness that Johnson’s operation of portraying Barnes arsenic excessively wide portion yoking him to unpopular nationalist leaders successful Washington could wounded him among persuadable voters.

The reasoning wrong Barnes’ camp, 2 of the radical acquainted with it said, is that helium is already getting pummeled for his ties to out-of-state Democrats, truthful helium mightiness arsenic good effort and capitalize connected their personage and quality to excite imaginable voters.

To that point, portion a caller Marquette Law School Poll released Wednesday had the 2 candidates choky successful a contention among registered voters, Johnson extended his pb to 6 percent points among apt voters. The 2 men volition statement for the 2nd clip connected Thursday.

Sam Stein contributed reporting

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