Wisconsin Democratic Senate candidate Mandela Barnes called the founding of the United States “awful” and said the country must take steps to “repair the harm” through education, according to a video of his comments.

“Things were bad. Things were terrible. The founding of this nation? Awful,” said Barnes in a video clip of his remarks from a question-and-answer session in Portage, Wis., on August 19, 2021. “The impacts are felt today; they’re going to continue to be felt unless we address it in a meaningful way.”

The comments, which Wisconsin radio host Dan O’Donnell first reported on Sunday, could fuel concerns about the candidate’s history of controversial statements and far-left policy positions.

Barnes, who serves as Wisconsin lieutenant governor and is locked in a competitive primary race against hedge fund billionaire Alex Lasry and state treasurer Sarah Godlewski, has struggled to distance himself from some of the more radical policies on the left.