Barnes Exits Wisconsin Governor’s Race, Altering Democratic Primary Landscape

Mandela Barnes withdrew from the Democratic primary for Wisconsin governor on Thursday. This decision further altered the race just under two weeks ahead of the August 11 election. Barnes, a former lieutenant governor, announced his withdrawal through a video on his Facebook page. Democratic socialist Francesca Hong has secured strong backing from the liberal section of the party.

The move by Barnes followed a recent Marquette Law School poll. The poll showed Hong leading Barnes and other contenders by a wide margin, despite about one-third of voters still being undecided. “It’s become very clear who our nominee is going to be,” Barnes stated in his announcement.

He became the third Democrat to exit the race. Lt. Gov. Sara Rodriguez ended her campaign amidst a finance scandal two weeks ago. Before her, former state economic development director Missy Hughes left the race in June. Following Rodriguez’s exit, Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley re-entered the race. He holds the endorsement of Governor Tony Evers and has openly reached out to Barnes’ supporters to join his campaign efforts. “There’s a place for you in what we’re building,” Crowley expressed on social media.

Governor Evers expressed surprise at Barnes’ departure. “But he needs to do what he needs to do,” Evers commented, adding that he was unaware of Barnes’ specific reasons. Despite Barnes having served as lieutenant governor during Evers’ first term, Evers stands by his endorsement of Crowley. He praised Crowley’s collaboration with both parties to increase funding for local communities and considered him the best candidate even with Barnes in the race.

Francesca Hong has yet to respond to a request for her comments regarding Barnes’ withdrawal. Joel Brennan, a less prominent candidate, remarked that the focus on the primary had been more on its chaos than the election’s stakes.

This development occurred after around 128,000 voters had already submitted absentee ballots. It also came on the third day of in-person early voting. Recently, a judge dismissed a lawsuit supported by the Democratic Party that aimed to allow voters who submitted absentee ballots to cancel them and vote again. The Democratic primary winner is set to face U.S. Rep. Tom Tiffany. Tiffany faces minimal opposition in the Republican primary and is endorsed by former President Donald Trump, though he has not commented on the developments.

Barnes’ decision to exit marks a reversal from his 2022 Senate primary experience, where other Democratic candidates stepped aside for him. He narrowly lost that race to Republican U.S. Sen. Ron Johnson by fewer than 27,000 votes.