I'm Nina Spensley, co-executive producer at Our Body Politics, and this is Our Body Politics Extended Edition.

Guest host Natasha Alford recently talked with Wisconsin's former lieutenant governor Mandela Barnes

about his new PAC and his 2022 Senate race. You'll hear our full conversation on an upcoming episode.

But in the meantime, we're sharing with you a short excerpt.

Barnes tells us what he thinks about the upcoming election in Wisconsin happening on April 4th.

The ballot features a state Supreme Court contest between Conservative Justice Dan Kelly

and progressive Judge Janet Pradesawicz.

The election could tip the political balance in the state, directly affecting decisions on

access to abortion and redistricting in the badger state. It's a major election and with deep

ramifications in an off election year. And the country is watching.

Let's get to it. Hi, Mandela. Welcome back to the show. Hey, thank you so much and Tosh for having me.

Really excited to be here. Oh, it's great to have you. So let's talk about Wisconsin and this Supreme Court race.

It's pretty hotly contested. I know that a lot of people, they can get

caught up on the federal election cycle. You know, they think about the midterms and the presidential

elections, but this particular election is really important. Why do you think it's so important for

people who maybe haven't been paying attention or aren't as familiar.

Well, let me tell you, and this comes off the topic about money and politics,

this is already the most expensive judicial race in the history of the country.

That's how important it is that people are willing to spend so much money on this race to deliver it back to the Supreme Court Justice who advised efforts to

overturn the 2020 election in the state of Wisconsin. It is about democracy. This is about

our rights and our freedoms. We have a person in this race who's been endorsed by the state's

three anti-abortion groups. This is also about making sure that working people have a voice

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