Get to know Mitchell Berman, the emergency room nurse who now represents Wisconsin's 1st Congressional District
CBS 58 WEST ALLIS, Wis. (CBS 58) — In a massive political upset Tuesday night, Democratic challenger Mitchell Berman defeated Republican incumbent Bryan Steil for a seat representing Wisconsin's 1st Congressional District.
This race marked Berman's first run for office, while Steil was seeking his fifth term.
His win signals a potentially large shift in a district that's long been reliably Republican.
On election night, Berman was surrounded by his campaign team and supporters in Elkhorn during his official watch party.
CBS 58 spoke with Berman on Wednesday to check in on how he's feeling following his victory.
"It's just an incredibly rewarding and humbling feeling right now, and I think my younger self would be very inspired by where we are today," Berman said.
He told CBS 58 he comes from humble beginnings — from growing up in rural Wisconsin with working-class parents, going to public school and being a first-generation college student who worked several jobs simultaneously to make ends meet.
"I would say I'm a Wisconsin guy, down to the nasal accent and the Packers season tickets," Berman said, laughing.
But his background is in the medical field, where he worked for decades as a nurse in the emergency room, caring for both patients and veterans.
"We don't check partisanship at the door when you come into the emergency room. We just take care of you no matter where you come from or who you voted for, and that's the same mentality I'm taking with me to Washington. I'm going to work every day to make sure that the lives of people here in southeast Wisconsin are better than they were yesterday," Berman said. "When someone comes through the emergency room door and they're in critical condition, we don't have a lot of time to stand around and twiddle our thumbs in the doorway. We need to figure out the problem and get to work."
Berman said he's prioritizing fighting for Wisconsin families, lowering child care costs and creating more jobs in the state.
He added that he wanted to run because he was frustrated with what he claims wasn't being addressed, so he took matters into his own hands.
"I really just want to make sure that young people and my children have more opportunities than we had growing up," Berman said.
