Mandela Barnes, the former lieutenant governor of Wisconsin, announced his withdrawal from the Democratic primary race for governor on Thursday through a video posted to social media. The decision came one day after the release of polling data from Marquette Law School indicating that Francesca Hong, a democratic socialist candidate, held a significant lead over Barnes and other candidates in the primary, though approximately one-third of likely Democratic primary voters remained undecided at the time of the survey.
Barnes’ exit represents the third candidate departure from the Democratic field. Lt. Gov. Sara Rodriguez ended her campaign approximately two weeks prior amid campaign finance issues, while former state economic development director Missy Hughes withdrew in June. Following Rodriguez’s departure, Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley re-entered the race and secured an endorsement from Gov. Tony Evers, who then made a direct appeal to Barnes’ supporters to back his candidacy.
Governor Evers expressed surprise at Barnes’ decision to withdraw, stating that he believed the move must be motivated by something significant. Evers reaffirmed his support for Crowley, noting that the county executive had worked effectively with both Evers and Republican lawmakers on funding agreements for local communities. Evers indicated that Crowley represented the strongest candidate option regardless of whether Barnes remained in the race.
The primary contest has been marked by considerable upheaval, occurring as nearly 128,000 voters had already submitted absentee ballots. A judge rejected a Democratic Party-backed legal challenge seeking to allow voters who cast absentee ballots to revoke them and vote again. The Democratic primary winner is slated to face U.S. Representative Tom Tiffany in the general election, who faces minimal opposition within the Republican primary and carries the endorsement of President Donald Trump.
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