Former Wisconsin Lieutenant Governor Drops Out of Gubernatorial Race as Moderates Look To Box Out Insurgent Socialist Candidate

A former lieutenant governor of Wisconsin, Mandela Barnes, is suspending his campaign for governor as moderate Democrats look to coalesce around a candidate in order to beat state assemblywoman Francesca Hong, the frontrunner and a member of the Democratic Socialists of America. The primary is being held in less than two weeks. In a video statement released Thursday, Mr. Barnes seemed to acknowledge that Ms. Hong will be the Democrats’ gubernatorial nominee this year, and that it was incumbent upon him to drop out of the race and pivot to a general election campaign. “It’s become very clear who our nominee is gonna be,” Mr. Barnes said without using Ms. Hong’s name. He argued that Democrats’ “number one goal” now must be focusing on the presumptive Republican nominee, Congressman Tom Tiffany. Ms. Hong has run an insurgent campaign against her state’s Democratic establishment, beating out both Mr. Barnes, who served as lieutenant governor from 2019 to 2023, and Sara Rodriguez, the sitting lieutenant governor. Governor Tony Evers recently enticed the Milwaukee County executive, David Crowley, back into the governor’s race after Mr. Crowley had suspended his campaign. Mr. Crowley now appears to be the only hope for Democrats who want to see someone other than Ms. Hong be the standardbearer this fall, though it will still be a heavy lift with only 12 days to go until the primary. Mr. Barnes’ decision to leave the race now comes as Ms. Hong has opened a wide polling lead over her opponents. On Tuesday, a poll from State Navigate — a relatively new polling outfit that nailed the outcome of the 2025 Virginia gubernatorial race — showed that Ms. Hong now has a 29-point lead over Mr. Crowley, her closest opponent. She takes 44 percent while Mr. Crowley takes only 15 percent. Mr. Barnes takes 14 percent. A poll from Marquette University released on Thursday found a similar result, with Ms. Hong receiving 38 percent of the vote, Mr. Barnes taking 16 percent, and Mr. Crowley taking only seven percent. With a recent string of successes in deep-blue areas across the country, the Democratic Socialists of America are undoubtedly feeling emboldened. If Ms. Hong wins the primary next month, it would mark the first time that the DSA has put up a candidate for a critical statewide office in a swing state. To date, there are only two DSA members serving in the U.S. House and zero in the U.S. Senate. No DSA member has ever been elected governor in the history of the group’s existence. The vast majority of DSA elected officials serve at the state and local levels. Ms. Hong largely agrees with her Democratic opponents’ policy views, including expanding access to state health insurance programs and increasing teacher pay. She, like other Democrats, backs a free school meals program, though she, unlike others, supports a state-level universal childcare guarantee. Where Democrats have their greatest concerns, however, is in Ms. Hong’s past stances. She has called for the abolition of the police, though she has walked back that view. After a recent debate, however, Ms. Hong refused to say point-blank if she wants to — at some point in the distant future — see law enforcement agencies abolished. “I believe that we have to be serious about public safety, and I’m going to be a governor that is more serious than anyone else in making sure that we are building systems of care,” she said when asked about police abolition after this week’s debate. Ms. Hong has also campaigned with avowedly left-wing figures like Twitch streamer Hasan Piker. Earlier this month, she appeared o Mr. Piker’s livestream show and later that same day appeared on a livestream with Michael Beyer, who goes by the username “Mike from PA.” Mr. Beyer has made openly antisemitic remarks in the past. Last year, he called the Jewish ethnicity “wholly invented” and “demonic.” Between those two appearances with Messrs. Piker and Beyer, Ms. Hong raised nearly $100,000 for her campaign. According to hypothetical general election polls, Ms. Hong narrowly trails Mr. Tiffany, while the other Democratic candidates would beat Mr. Tiffany by a wide margin.

Former Wisconsin Lieutenant Governor Drops Out of Gubernatorial Race as Moderates Look To Box Out Insurgent Socialist Candidate

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