The Wisconsin Republican Party is facing criticism for an embarrassing gaffe in which it confused the images of two Black politicians. The picture mix-up is being called out by social media users and Wisconsin Democrats, including the two Black candidates whose pictures were switched in the GOP attack.
Wisconsin GOP attacks Black candidate with a picture of a different Black candidate
“Francesca Hong, Mandela Barnes, and other radical progressives are trying to destroy our state,” reads a Jan. 12 social media post on the Wisconsin GOP account. The post targets Hong, a Wisconsin state assemblywoman, and Barnes, the state’s former lieutenant governor. “From wanting to defund police, raise property taxes, and bring socialism to Wisconsin, it is clear that they are out of touch with the needs of Wisconsin families,” the post states about Hong and Barnes, both of whom are running for governor.
While the social media post currently includes pictures of Hong and Barnes, The Grio reports that the original version of the post had a picture of Hong and Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley, a different Black man who is also running in the Democratic primary race for governor. Despite the Wisconsin Republicans reposting the message with a corrected picture, several commenters on X reminded the Wisconsin GOP of their earlier error. “dis u?” said one of several posts in the comments that feature the original version of the post with Barnes’ name and Crowley’s picture.
Democrats call out GOP as ‘racist,’ not ready to govern
The Wisconsin Democratic Party is not letting its Republican counterparts off the hook. “The Wisconsin GOP is literally racist,” Chris Walton, the Milwaukee County Democratic Party’s former chairman, told The Grio. “They can’t tell the difference between two Black guys who literally look nothing alike?” Walton also described Barnes and Crowley as “two very young, bright stars from the Black community in Wisconsin.” Walton argued that both candidates “have the experience and know how to be amazing governors who actually focus on fixing the problems that we’re facing, unlike the Wisconsin Republican Party, even the national Republican Party.”
The candidates themselves also took the Wisconsin GOP to task. “Apparently ‘Black guy in Wisconsin’ was close enough for Tom Tiffany and Wisconsin Republicans who were too busy raising our healthcare costs to tell the difference,” Barnes said in a statement to The Grio as he called out the Wisconsin GOP and Congressman Tom Tiffany, who is running for governor on the Republican side. Crowley also called out the Republican error, saying that even if the mix-up was “an honest mistake,” it was still revealing. “I think what it really shows is that if folks can’t tell who the candidates in this race are and who they’re attacking, how can you believe in them being able to govern for the diverse communities that we have all across Wisconsin?” Crowley told The Grio.
For now, Crowley and Barnes, along with Hong and several other Democrats, are set to face off in a crowded primary on Aug. 11. The winner will go on to face the winner of that day’s Republican primary in November’s general election.