Skip to content
Advertisement

Black firefighter hopes to take on Republican Gov. Scott Walker

Advertisement
Mahlon Mitchell (266513)
Mahlon Mitchell

This year’s political races are interesting to say the least, with a record number of women and minorities running for office across the country. Wisconsin’s Republican Gov. Scott Walker is facing major scrutiny in this year’s election, partially because of his heavy hand in allowing a Chinese factory to be built in the state with major tax breaks. One of the Democratic candidates hoping to take on the beleaguered Walker by winning today’s primary is Mahlon Mitchell, a Black firefighter in the state who also happens to be president of the state’s firefighter union. Mitchell is the only Black candidate on the ballot. He is competing for the chance to run against Walker with seven other candidates. Ironically, Walker is known for his efforts against unions, leading Mitchell to use that in his campaign to nab the opportunity to take on Walker head on. Race is also a card Mitchell is dealing. He ramped up his discussions of race as he’s made his pitch to voters. Earlier in August, one of his campaign ads called for ending “racism and division” as a crucial step of Wisconsin’s future, reports the Vox. When he was endorsed by Collective PAC, which promotes Black political candidates, he connected his campaign to that of the late Vel Phillips, the first African American and the first woman to serve as Wisconsin’s secretary of state, arguing that his victory would finally give African Americans in the state representation “at the highest level of government. As the Wisconsin primary came to a close, Mitchell’s campaign has seen a late wave of national buzz, including an article in the Huffington Post that exclaimed, “Democrats May Have Finally Found The Candidate To Take Down Scott Walker.” Sen. Kamala Harris (D-CA) also endorsed Mitchell.

Advertisement

Latest