MADISON – Racine County resident and Veterans Affairs emergency nurse Mitchell Berman is taking a shot at unseating Republican U.S. Rep. Bryan Steil from Wisconsin's 1st Congressional District seat.
Berman told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel he is joining the Democratic primary for the seat because the working class needs a better advocate to fight for them. Berman is set to face Randy Bryce in the Aug. 11, 2026, primary election.
"Right now people are struggling. Bryan Steil has made a lot of promisies and he had four terms to come through on them. And he hasn't," Berman said, adding that he knows what it's like to live paycheck to paycheck because he worked three jobs to put himself through college.
Berman, a board certified emergency nurse, said one of his top issues is affordability, noting that Steil's vote for President Donald Trump's One Big Beautiful Bill Act reduced Medicaid and food assistance programs many Wisconsinites depend on.
Democrats across the country are making the legislation a focal point of 2026 midterm campaigns.
About one in five Wisconsinites receive health coverage and services through Wisconsin's Medicaid programs, according to the Wisconsin Department of Health Services.
If elected to office, Berman said his main goal is to focus on "kitchen table issues" that "resonate" with people across the district, which includes access to affordable health care, child care and groceries.
"I think that working in nursing really transitions well into being a representative in Congress. My sole job as a nurse is to identify problems and take care of people," Berman said. "As a nurse, I'm the last line of defense for the patient ... I'm the patient's advocate. In the same way a representative in Congress is fighting for their constituents."
While Berman has never run for public office prior to this race, he has been an active community member at the local level.
In 2024, Berman filed a suit in Racine County Circuit Court alleging the Raymond School District's board violated open meeting laws. As part of a resulting settlement, board members conceded that a board retreat in December 2022 violated state law.
Berman told the Racine County Eye in December 2024 that the case is a "reminder of the indispensable role community members play in holding elected officials accountable."
Wisconsin's 1st Congressional district and 3rd Congresional District, represented by Republican U.S. Rep. Derrick Van Orden, are considered the most competitive in Wisconsin.
This story will be updated.
Anna Kleiber can be reached at [email protected].
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Mitchell Beman launches bid for Steil's Wisconsin Congressional seat
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