With five lieutenant governor candidates in the running alongside their gubernatorial hopefuls, Wisconsin voters have a real decision to make. Incumbent Republican Lt. Gov. Rebecca Kleefisch is facing Democrat Mandela Barnes, Tiffany Anderson (Green), Patrick Baird (Libertarian) and Wil Losch (Independent) in the polls on Nov. 6.

The Lt. Gov. is elected every four years, has no term limit and has no authority or responsibility beyond being first in line of succession after the governor.

They are chosen independently during the primaries, and become running mates with their party candidate for governor. A quick glance at some of the websites and Facebook accounts for many of the parties running will show hope for creating a different narrative in their hopes of serving as lieutenant governor.

Kleefisch is running with incumbent Gov. Scott Walker in hopes of maintaining the trajectory of their leadership during the past eight years together. Both Kleefisch’s office and campaign manager were contacted for an interview with the candidate, and no response was received. Visit http://ltgov.wi.gov for a concise view of what has been accomplished with this administration in the last two terms together.

Kleefisch’s major challenger is Barnes, who has previous experience in the State Assembly, where he worked across party lines.

In a phone interview with Barnes, he shared that campaigning alongside governor candidate Tony Evers creates, “one ticket with two perspectives that will work as a team, leading with vision.”

When asked why students and young adults should vote for Evers and Barnes, he said: “We are moving forward with a new generation of leadership, one that is focused on the future. We want to keep people in Wisconsin because they want to be here after receiving their education.”

For more information about Barnes’ vision visit www.mandelabarenes.com.

The other candidates, Anderson, Baird and Losch were contacted for interviews, but no responses were received by the time of print.

Among the many issues on the forefront of the candidates’ campaigns are education, healthcare and environmental concerns. Information about all candidates can be found on www.wisconsinvote.org.