Senate candidate Tom Nelson suspends campaign, calls for progressives to ‘consolidate’ behind Lt. Gov. Mandela Barnes

Outagamie County Executive Tom Nelson is ending his bid for U.S. Senate and endorsing Lt. Gov. Mandela Barnes for the seat.

Nelson, who ran calling himself a left-wing populist, said on social media that his campaign “ran out of money.” He was fourth in the Democratic contest, according to a recent Marquette University Law School poll. His campaign had raised about $1.4 million.

Nelson premised his campaign on his underdog status, recording a campaign video in its opening months called “Can a Garage Sale Finance My Senate Campaign?” about his lack of deep pockets to draw from. But he also ran a spirited, statewide campaign. He called his campaign visits to all 72 Wisconsin counties the “Full Nelson,” and he attracted attention by taking out billboards criticizing Republican U.S. Sen. Ron Johnson more than 20 months before the election. In June, the alternative rock band the Spin Doctors, known for 1990s hits “Little Miss Can’t Be Wrong” and “Two Princes,” recorded a campaign jingle for Nelson after getting in touch with him via social media.

Nelson also didn’t shy away from throwing elbows at his Democratic opponents. Early in the campaign, he criticized Barnes for not offering full-throated support to Medicare for All, a Democratic plan for universal health insurance. In the spring, he attacked Barnes and Milwaukee Bucks executive Alex Lasry for supporting a government subsidy for the Bucks’ Fiserv Forum.

And at a Senate debate this month, Nelson sharply criticized State Treasurer Sarah Godlewski for failing to vote in the 2016 presidential election. (Godlewski, who worked for the campaign of Democrat Hillary Clinton, has said she was not certain about where her legal residency qualified her to vote.)

In an interview with Wisconsin Public Radio this month, Nelson said voters deserve a robust primary that makes the candidates’ differences clear.

“Democrats have got to get this right,” Nelson said. “We have to nominate the best possible candidate, because this is for all the marbles. This is Wisconsin’s Senate seat, but in some respects this is America’s Senate seat, because it will determine who controls the U.S. Senate.”

Democrats hold 50 Senate seats, a bare majority with Vice President Kamala Harris breaking ties. Political observers consider the seat held by two-term GOP Sen. Ron Johnson of Oshkosh, who is seeking reelection, one of the most competitive in the nation.

Nelson used his experience as Outagamie County executive to pitch himself as the only Democratic candidate for Senate who had been repeatedly elected in a red county. The Fox Valley has been a swing area heavily contested by both parties. Nelson said his experience fighting to keep an idled paper mill in the region from shutting down was a key demonstration of his values. He wrote a book, “One Day Stronger,” about the experience of working with a local labor union to reopen the region’s Appleton Coated mill in 2018.

Barnes leads in polling for the Aug. 9 Democratic primary, and has been endorsed by nationally known Democratic politicians including U.S. Sens. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts, Cory Booker of New Jersey and Bernie Sanders of Vermont.

Sanders’ endorsement of Barnes stung Nelson’s campaign, which in some ways he had modeled after the Democratic Socialist’s 2016 presidential campaign. Shortly after Sanders issued the endorsement, Nelson’s campaign released a statement touting Nelson’s status as a 2020 delegate and for Sanders and promising to “stand behind (his) vision.”

In his statement Monday suspending his campaign, Nelson said his endorsement of Barnes would mean “the progressive vote is consolidated and the progressive family is one.” He asked his supporters to throw their support to Barnes, “a good man, a good progressive, and he’ll be a strong nominee this fall.”

In the interview, Nelson said he believed voters would respond to an economically progressive message.

“I don’t think that you have to apologize for your values … just to come across as a so-called centrist,” Nelson said. “Above all, voters want to vote for someone who is truthful, someone who is genuine, someone who doesn’t flip-flop on the issues.”