Mandela Barnes has conceded the U.S. Senate race in Wisconsin, and so Ron Johnson begins his third term. To Barnes’s credit, he made the concession a simple affair. After calling Johnson, Barnes conducted a press conference in Milwaukee in front of the Sherman Phoenix Marketplace — a market for black businesses. Saying that he had “fought the good fight,” Barnes embraced his parents and congresswoman Gwen Moore. It’s worth noting he did not accuse the voters or the election of bias or misconduct; he simply took the close loss of a single percentage point and carried on.
While Barnes’s policies and views contradict my own, it was a pleasure covering his campaign across Wisconsin and exchanging a few words at a stop. I’m sure we’ll see him on the stump again someday soon.
You can watch the speech here:
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