Mandela Barnes Drops Out of Wisconsin Governor Primary After Hong Poll Lead
Mandela Barnes has dropped out of Wisconsin’s Democratic primary for governor, adding another major disruption to an already unstable race less than two weeks before the Aug. 11 election.
The former lieutenant governor announced the decision in a Facebook video, according to The Associated Press. Barnes said it had become clear who the Democratic nominee would be after a Marquette Law School Poll showed state Rep. Francesca Hong leading the field.
The timing gives the story its real stakes. AP reported that nearly 128,000 absentee ballots had already been returned and that in-person early voting was in its third day. A judge also rejected a Democratic-backed lawsuit seeking to let voters cancel already-returned absentee ballots and vote again.
Barnes is the third Democrat to leave the race. Sara Rodriguez ended her campaign amid a campaign finance scandal, and Missy Hughes dropped out in June. After Rodriguez left, Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley reentered the race with Gov. Tony Evers’ endorsement.
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Evers told reporters he was surprised by Barnes’ decision but stood by Crowley, saying Crowley was the best candidate even if Barnes had remained in the race. Joel Brennan, still running as a longshot candidate, said the primary had received more attention for chaos than for the stakes of the election.
Public reaction online reflected the same concern. Wisconsin-focused Reddit threads centered on the late withdrawals, already-cast ballots, and whether Democrats are consolidating too late. Those reactions show voter frustration, but they do not establish facts beyond the verified reporting.
The Democratic nominee is expected to face Republican U.S. Rep. Tom Tiffany, who has Trump’s endorsement, in November.
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