OSHKOSH, Wis. (WFRV) – Lieutenant Governor and candidate for U.S. Senate Mandela Barnes was in the City of Oshkosh on Tuesday meeting with UAW Wisconsin State CAP leaders for a press conference.

At the press conference, the UAW formally endorsed the candidate for Wisconsin State Senator. Barnes seems to be the clear-cut favorite in the Democratic Party and if he wins the primary, he’ll go on to face Ron Johnson.

Barnes is the son of a UAW member and has spent his career defending Wisconsin union members. “It’s so important because this is another community that Ron Johnson has left behind. It’s another group of people that Ron Johnson has taken for granted,” explained Barnes.

Barnes went on to tell Local 5 News that the people in the area are frustrated with Ron Johnson after he said there were more than enough jobs in Wisconsin. Johnson is accused of giving those jobs to workers in South Carolina.

“I wouldn’t be here today if it were not for the guarantees in the union contracts that my parents had. I want every child in the state of Wisconsin to have at least the same opportunities that I had,” explained Barnes.

For more information about Mandela Barnes’ campaign, you can visit its website here.