Democrats are pursuing a strategy of fielding working-class candidates in competitive districts during the midterm election, aiming to appeal to voters concerned about inflation and the rising cost of living. Many of these candidates bring backgrounds in union membership and labor leadership, which party officials believe could provide advantages against incumbent Republicans in districts where voter frustration with Washington has grown.
Mitchell Berman, an emergency room nurse with more than two decades in healthcare, is one such candidate running in a Wisconsin House district that polling indicates leans Republican. He is challenging incumbent Bryan Steil, a corporate attorney who previously served as an aide to former House speaker Paul Ryan. Steil has represented the district since 2019. Berman argues that his working-class background and direct experience addressing urgent patient needs position him to better understand the economic pressures facing constituents than Steil.
Berman has pointed to manufacturing decline in Wisconsin as evidence of economic hardship in the region. Manufacturing employment in the state fell from 560,000 positions in 2001 to 460,000 in 2025, with healthcare jobs now surpassing manufacturing for the first time. According to a July 2026 report from the Midwest Economic Policy Institute and the University of Illinois Project for Middle Class Renewal, tariffs have cost Wisconsin 3,910 jobs and added an annual expense of $1,095 to household budgets in the state. Berman cited Steil’s support for tariffs as contributing to economic difficulties for voters, though indicated support for targeted tariff measures.
Berman has characterized his opponent as having failed to deliver on promises to lower costs and blamed specific policy decisions for household financial pressures. Steil’s office declined to provide comment in response to inquiries.
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