Milwaukee Alder Chantia Lewis Announces US Senate Campaign

Milwaukee Alder Chantia Lewis announced her U.S. Senate campaign Wednesday, joining a growing field of Democrats vying for the seat currently held by Republican U.S. Sen. Ron Johnson.

Johnson hasn’t announced yet whether he will seek reelection in 2022.

Lewis, 41, was first elected to the Milwaukee Common Council in 2016. In her U.S. Senate campaign announcement, she touts sponsoring or co-sponsoring more than 300 pieces of legislation while in office. Her website says those efforts have included “historic economic development projects,” as well as measures to increase transparency in city government.

In her announcement Wednesday, Lewis said she has “seen firsthand how decisions at the federal level impact us in Milwaukee and throughout the state.”

“I understand the need to have a voice in Congress that speaks for regular people who are not being represented by Ron Johnson right now,” she said in a prepared statement. “I’m running on behalf of every working class person in Wisconsin, every parent raising their children through a pandemic and every veteran who is struggling. There’s a whole lot of people who are feeling a whole lot of hurt, and I am in this race for them.”

Prior to joining the Milwaukee Common Council, Lewis served in the U.S. Air Force. She also works as a pastor at her local church and has been a board member for 9to5, a group that does advocacy work on issues like family and medical leave and equal pay for women.

Other announced Democratic candidates for the U.S. Senate seat include Lt. Gov. Mandela Barnes, state Treasurer Sarah Godlewski, state Sen. Chris Larson, Outagamie County Executive Tom Nelson, Milwaukee Bucks executive Alex Lasry, Wausau physician Gillian Battino and former state Senate candidate Adam Murphy. Steven Olikara, founder of the Millennial Action Project, has formed an exploratory committee, but hasn’t made an official campaign announcement.

The partisan primaries for the seat will be held next August.