Milwaukee Bucks senior vice president Alex Lasry left guard George Hill walking through a Milwaukee neighborhood during a voter review effort on Saturday, October 24, 2020.
Steve Megargee | AP
Milwaukee Bucks senior vice president Alex Lasry announced a 2022 candidacy for the U.S. Senate in the state of Wisconsin. Currently, the seat is occupied by Republican Sen. Ron Johnson.
The 33-year-old Democrat started his campaign via YouTube. “We need a new way of thinking and a new perspective,” Lasry said. “We have experienced three systemic shocks to the system over the last 20 years: 9/11, the Great Recession and now, this pandemic. And we still haven’t fixed things.”
The video included the support of Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley, Milwaukee Commonwealth Chairman Cavalier Johnson, and other top state politicians.
Lasry, a New York native and the son of Bucks billionaire billionaire Marc Lasry, is the team’s senior vice president. According to ESPN, he plans to take a leave of absence during his career.
Lasry has pledged to “invest” in his campaign while promising a strong fundraising operation to reach out to small donors, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported.
Outagamie County Democrat and Democrat Tom Nelson, also a seat candidate, has publicly challenged Lasry to avoid using his family’s wealth to fund his campaign.
Lasry did not respond to CNBC’s request for comment.
Johnson, one of former President Donald Trump’s strongest allies in the Senate, has yet to announce whether he plans to run for a third term. The 65-year-old voted to acquit Trump of inciting the Capitol revolt on Jan. 6 in his second indictment.
Johnson did not respond to CNBC’s request for comment.
This summer, in protest of the shooting of an unarmed black man Jacob Blake in Kenosha, Washington, the Bucks decided not to take the floor in Game 5 in the first round of the Eastern Conference playoffs, forcing a league-wide postponement . Lasry was one of those who supported the movement.
According to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, last month Lasry faced a reaction for perceived favoritism after receiving the Covid vaccine. Lasry’s pregnant wife received a call from an uncle about available and unused Covid vaccines. Unable to make the shot, he offered it to Lasry instead.
“I just got lucky,” Lasry said.