Contact: Aly Ferguson
aly@newpolitics.org; 480-363-6465
The first-time candidate ends three decades of Republican control in the seat once held by Paul Ryan.
WASHINGTON D.C. (November 4, 2026) — New Politics endorsed candidate Mitchell Berman has won the race for Wisconsin’s 1st Congressional District, a seat Republicans have held since 1994. Mitchell defeated incumbent Bryan Steil, won reelection in 2024 by 10 points. An emergency room nurse, Berman spent more than a decade caring for veterans and military families at the VA.
Emily Cherniack, Founder and Executive Director of New Politics, released the following statement:
“Mitchell Berman has spent his career in the ER, serving everyone who walks through the door. He knows what a hard day’s work looks like because he’s lived it, and he sees every shift how rising costs are hurting working families. In Congress, he’ll fight for the people of Wisconsin with the same urgency he brings to every patient. That’s who voters elected tonight, and New Politics is honored to have been in his corner throughout this campaign.”
New Politics is an organization that revitalizes American democracy by recruiting, developing, and electing leaders across the ideological and political spectrum who have committed their lives to serving their communities and our country, either through military service, national service organizations like AmeriCorps or the Peace Corps, or by demonstrating strong service-based leadership in their community. New Politics' support includes strategic advising and training in all aspects of a candidate's campaign, such as fundraising, communications, organizing, hiring, and team building. New Politics has raised over $40 million to support over 475 candidates, successfully electing more than 200 of them to office, from Congress to School Board. Learn more at newpolitics.org.
