U.S. House · Wisconsin's 1st Congressional District
Mitchell Berman
Registered nurse; former VA nurseD
- Race
- U.S. House · Wisconsin's 1st Congressional District
- Result
- Mitchell Berman, projected winner
- Opponent
- Bryan Steil (R)
- Research
- Basic
Party linenone
No recorded floor votes — not a current legislator in our records.
Said vs. did4 statements · 0 votes
Create a public option so families have a real choice and insurers have to compete on price
Expand public health coverage
Compare statements with votes ›On the ballotU.S. House · 1
2026-11-03
| Bryan Steil R | incumbent |
| Mitchell Berman D | challenger |
Defeated Peter Burgelis, Lorenzo Santos, and Miguel Aranda in the Democratic primary.
Said vs. did
Each documented position next to the recorded floor votes we map to the same issue. Votes are compared one at a time; no overall stance is inferred from them.
Create a public option so families have a real choice and insurers have to compete on price
Campaign priorities page calls for restoring Affordable Care Act subsidies, reversing the Medicaid cuts in the 2025 budget law, and creating a public option.[5]
No recorded floor vote in our key-vote set maps to this issue.
lift the cap so high earners pay in on all of their income
Campaign priorities page says he will lift the Social Security payroll tax cap so high earners pay in on all of their income.[5]
No recorded floor vote in our key-vote set maps to this issue.
Raise the federal minimum wage so that working a full time job can support a family
Campaign priorities page lists raising the federal minimum wage.[5]
No recorded floor vote in our key-vote set maps to this issue.
Congress needs to uphold its Constitutional duty to decide when we declare war instead of deferring to the executive branch.
Campaign priorities page says Congress should decide when the U.S. declares war rather than defer to the executive branch.[5]
No recorded floor vote in our key-vote set maps to this issue.
Biography
Mitchell Berman, a Democrat, won the election for Wisconsin's 1st Congressional District on November 3, 2026, defeating Bryan Steil, and will take office on January 3, 2027. A registered nurse with more than two decades of healthcare experience, he spent a decade at a Department of Veterans Affairs hospital and was a first-time candidate.[1][2][3][4]
Basic profile — the most important sourced facts we found.
Berman was raised in a one-stoplight rural Wisconsin town, the son of a small roofing business owner and a foundry worker, and is a product of Wisconsin public schools, according to his campaign website.[1] He describes himself as the first in his family to graduate from college, earning his degree while working three jobs and taking out student loans, and he got his nursing assistant license at 17.[1][2]
Berman is a registered nurse with more than 23 years of healthcare experience, including more than a decade at the Department of Veterans Affairs serving veterans and active-duty servicemembers, and remains a board-certified emergency nurse, according to his campaign website. The Wisconsin Examiner describes him as an emergency room nurse.[1][3] He has been a union member since his first union job with Teamsters Local 344 in college, and later belonged to the Wisconsin Federation of Nurses and Health Professionals and National Nurses United.[1]
Berman was a first-time candidate, aged 40 per the Associated Press, and says cuts to the VA affecting the VA hospital where he worked as a nurse motivated his run.[2] He won the August 11, 2026 Democratic primary with 44.1% of the vote over Peter Burgelis, Lorenzo Santos, and Miguel Aranda. His campaign lists endorsements including the United Auto Workers, and the Wisconsin Examiner reports UAW and several state legislators backed him.[6][3][1] His campaign website describes him as a husband and father of two girls, and the campaign lists a Racine mailing address.[1] During the campaign, he described himself as running on lowering costs, health care, and ending corruption in Washington.[1] He won the November 3, 2026 general election with 52% of the vote to Bryan Steil's 48%, according to unofficial results reported by NBC News.[4]
In their own words
Priorities
Statements, quoted without a stance
- Protect legal access to abortion
“We need to protect reproductive freedom and a woman's right to reproductive health care.”[5]
On his campaign priorities page
- Universal, publicly funded child care
“Lower the cost of child care and expand the child tax credit for every working family”[5]
On his campaign priorities page
- Broad tariffs on imported goods
“Make new housing more affordable by rolling back the tariffs on lumber and materials that are adding thousands of dollars to the cost of building a new home”[5]
On his campaign priorities page
- Faster transition away from fossil fuels
“Climate change is real, and it is affecting our weather, farming, and ecosystems here in Wisconsin. We need to invest in clean energy, build a more resilient grid, protect Lake Michigan and our drinking water from contamination, clean up PFAS, and make the polluters pay for it.”[5]
On his campaign priorities page
Campaign money$713K raised · 97% from individuals · FEC through 2026-07-22
Totals this cycle
Bars share one scale (raised = full). Cash on hand can include money carried over from earlier cycles.
Who gave
- Individuals $693K
- PACs & committees $20K
Largest committee contributions
- SD PAC PAC$5,000
- Defend the Vote PAC$5,000
- UAW - V - Cap (UAW Voluntary Community Action Program) 'int'l Union United Automobile Aerospace & Agricultural Implement Workers of America UAW PAC$5,000
- SEIU COPE (Service Employees International Union Committee on Political Education) PAC$5,000
- Patriot PAC PAC$2,500
- Fighting Back PAC PAC$1,000
- Future Forum PAC PAC$1,000
- League of Conservation Voters Action Fund PAC$50
Direct contributions only; outside spending is not included. Individual donors are itemized in the FEC’s receipts. All itemized receipts ↗ FEC filing ↗
Profile: /people/mitchell-berman
Compare all 2 candidates side by side ›
Sources cited in this profile
- 1.Mitchell Berman for Congress · Mitchell Berman for Congress campaign website Candidate's own words
- 2.Democrats eye Republican incumbent as congressional map expands in hopes of a blue wave · PBS Wisconsin (Associated Press) · 2026-09-29 News report
- 3.Berman wins Democratic nod to challenge Steil in Wisconsin's 1st District · Civic Media (Wisconsin Examiner) · 2026-08-12 News report
- 4.Wisconsin's 1st Congressional District U.S. House election results 2026 · NBC News News report
- 5.Priorities | Mitchell Berman · Mitchell Berman for Congress campaign website Candidate's own words
- 6.Wisconsin's 1st Congressional District election, 2026 · Ballotpedia · 2026-09-25 Reference
- 7.Mitchell Berman for Congress · Mitchell Berman for Congress campaign website Candidate's own words