Early in-person voting opened Tuesday in Wisconsin’s Democratic primary for governor, featuring five candidates competing to face Republican U.S. Rep. Tom Tiffany in the general election. The race has generated significant concern among party officials about the lack of consensus around a single candidate, with Democrats hoping to capture the governor’s office and flip both chambers of the state Legislature to secure unified control of state government.
The primary field includes democratic socialist Francesca Hong, whose support is concentrated among the party’s most liberal voters, primarily in Madison. Former Lt. Gov. Mandela Barnes, who lost a 2022 U.S. Senate race, is relying on backing from his home county of Milwaukee, which contains a substantial share of the state’s Democratic voters. Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley entered the race with the endorsement of incumbent Gov. Tony Evers and is seeking to become the state’s first Black governor, as is Barnes. The field also includes two additional candidates whose names remain on the ballot despite their campaigns ending.
Crowley’s participation has been marked by recent shifts in the race dynamics. He initially dropped out on July 8 before re-entering on July 17, the day after Lt. Gov. Sara Rodriguez withdrew her candidacy following a campaign finance scandal. The five remaining candidates are scheduled to participate in their sole debate on Tuesday night, the same day early voting commenced.
A legal dispute emerged surrounding ballot access as voting began. The Wisconsin Democratic Party filed a lawsuit seeking to allow voters who had already returned their ballots by mail to cancel and recast them, a procedure rarely invoked known as ballot spoiling. More than 100,000 ballots had been returned as of Monday, prior to the significant campaign developments. A judge was scheduled to hear arguments in the matter shortly after polls opened for early voting.
The Democratic primary winner will advance to November’s general election against Tiffany, who is running with endorsement from President Donald Trump and faces minimal primary opposition. In-person absentee voting continues through Aug. 9, with the primary election set for Aug. 11.
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