Mitchell Berman

Mitchell Berman is the Democratic nominee for Wisconsin's 1st Congressional District and a first-time candidate. A registered nurse with more than two decades of healthcare experience, he spent a decade at a Department of Veterans Affairs hospital. He describes himself as running on lowering costs, health care, and ending corruption in Washington.[1][2][3]

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 is 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.[4][3][1] His campaign website describes him as a husband and father of two girls, and the campaign lists a Racine mailing address.[1]

Researched from the cited sources on 2026-10-21.