Mandela Barnes exits Wisconsin governor's race as misconduct allegations surface and polls collapse

Former Wisconsin Lt. Gov. Mandela Barnes dropped out of the Democratic gubernatorial primary Thursday, the third Democrat to abandon the race in a matter of weeks, leaving a self-described democratic socialist as the party's likely nominee.

Barnes posted a video to social media announcing he was suspending his campaign less than two weeks before the August 11 primary. He trailed frontrunner Francesca Hong by more than twenty points in a poll released earlier in the week, which showed Hong at 38 percent and Barnes at just 16 percent. Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley, the only other named Democrat still in the field, sat at 7 percent.

The withdrawal came the same day the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported that Barnes had allegedly used his role in the Wisconsin Democratic Party to seek sexual encounters with young women. The state party hired a law firm in 2025 to investigate anonymous allegations about Barnes's conduct. Barnes has not been publicly accused of any wrongdoing, and the outcome of that investigation has not been disclosed.

In his video, Barnes framed the decision around poll numbers rather than the misconduct report.

"It's become very clear who our nominee is going to be. We have to do everything we possibly can to defeat Tom Tiffany, and that's exactly what I'm committed to doing for the next 96 days."

He stopped short of endorsing Hong.

Three Democrats gone, and the primary hasn't even happened

Barnes is not the first Democrat to bail. Lt. Gov. Sara Rodriguez exited the race earlier in July amid scrutiny over her campaign finances. Former state economic development director Missy Hughes also withdrew. Crowley himself had suspended his bid, then jumped back in after Rodriguez's departure, only to find himself polling in single digits.

The revolving door of Democratic candidates has left Hong, who has clinched endorsements from Sen. Bernie Sanders and Rep. Ilhan Omar, as the overwhelming favorite to face Republican Rep. Tom Tiffany in November. Tiffany is the GOP's presumptive nominee.

Gov. Tony Evers, a Democrat who is retiring, endorsed Crowley, not Hong. That endorsement now looks like a bet on a horse that can barely stay on the track. Evers himself seemed puzzled by Barnes's sudden departure, telling reporters: "I don't know why he's getting out. I have to believe it's something relatively important."

That comment landed the same day the misconduct report broke. Evers did not elaborate.

Early voters who backed Barnes are stuck

Wisconsin's early voting began Tuesday, days before Barnes quit. The Wisconsin Elections Commission ruled this month that voters who already cast ballots for candidates who have dropped out cannot recast them. Anyone who voted early for Barnes, or for Rodriguez before him, is out of luck.

The ruling adds another layer of dysfunction to a primary that has seen more exits than entrances. Voters who followed the party's cues and backed established candidates now have no recourse, while Hong consolidates support without ever having to earn those ballots in a competitive contest.

It is not the only state where Democrats have watched their primary fields collapse under the weight of candidate departures this cycle.

Barnes's record: a narrow Senate loss and lingering questions

Barnes served as lieutenant governor under Evers during Evers's first term and previously held a seat in the state assembly. He ran for the U.S. Senate in 2022 and lost to Republican Sen. Ron Johnson by a single percentage point, a race that made him a national figure on the left.

His gubernatorial campaign leaned on that profile. In his withdrawal video, Barnes cast himself as a fighter against a "rigged system."

"Now I got in this race because we're living in a rigged system. The rich are getting richer while the rest of us are left scrambling for crumbs. I know this firsthand. That's why I've always fought for better as a legislator, as an organizer, as a lieutenant governor."

But the populist pitch never gained traction. By the time the Marquette Law School poll showed Hong with a comfortable double-digit lead, Barnes's campaign was already a distant afterthought in a field that had been shrinking around him.

Barnes added that he would continue working to defeat Tiffany in the general election, though what form that effort will take remains unclear.

"Now while I may be suspending this campaign, I'll never give up my fight for Wisconsin. I'm incredibly grateful for all the folks who joined this campaign, for the people who believed in me and this movement."

Tiffany zeroes in on Hong's left flank

Tiffany has already begun drawing a contrast with Hong, targeting her left-leaning positions on social media and calling on the state to "reject" socialism. With Barnes and Rodriguez gone and Crowley polling in single digits, the Republican nominee will almost certainly face Hong, a candidate who carries endorsements from Sanders and Omar, two of the most polarizing figures in national progressive politics.

For Wisconsin Republicans, the matchup may be a gift. Hong's democratic socialist label gives Tiffany a clear ideological target in a state that has swung between parties in recent cycles. The broader fractures within the Democratic Party nationally, from leadership disputes to ideological drift, are playing out in miniature in Wisconsin's governor's race.

Whether moderate Democrats in the state will rally behind a nominee backed by Sanders and Omar, in a race scarred by scandal and serial withdrawals, is an open question. Even prominent liberal voices have warned that the party's leftward lurch is costing it credibility with everyday voters.

Wisconsin Democrats set out to replace a two-term governor and ended up with a primary defined by misconduct allegations, campaign finance problems, and a field that couldn't stop shrinking. The voters who showed up early and picked the wrong candidate don't get a do-over. The party that produced this mess doesn't deserve one either.