Mandela Barnes Withdraws from Wisconsin Democratic Gubernatorial Primary

Mandela Barnes, the former Wisconsin lieutenant governor and onetime Democratic Senate nominee, announced his withdrawal from the Democratic primary race for governor on July 30, 2026, less than two weeks before the Aug. 11 primary election. According to NBC News, ABC News, and other outlets, he announced the exit in a video posted to X and Facebook.

Barnes' withdrawal reshapes a volatile Democratic primary in a swing state. A Marquette University Law School poll released July 29 showed democratic socialist Francesca Hong leading with 38 percent support among Democratic primary voters, according to NBC News. Barnes trailed at 16 percent, while Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley, the endorsed choice of outgoing Gov. Tony Evers, held 7 percent, with 34 percent undecided.

Barnes, 39, served in the state Assembly before becoming the first Black lieutenant governor in Wisconsin history during Evers' first term. In 2022, he won the Democratic Senate primary and lost to GOP Sen. Ron Johnson by fewer than 27,000 votes in the general election, per NBC News reporting.

Gov. Evers told reporters Thursday that he was surprised by Barnes' exit but said Barnes "needs to do what he needs to do," according to ABC News. Evers reaffirmed his endorsement of Crowley as "the best candidate even if Mandela was in." Crowley made a direct appeal on social media to Barnes' supporters, stating, "There's a place for you in what we're building," per ABC News.

The primary has been marked by turbulence. Lt. Gov. Sara Rodriguez dropped out earlier in July following discovery of major inaccuracies in the campaign's financial reporting, according to NBC News. Days later, Crowley re-entered the race with Evers' backing after previously exiting. NBC News reported that the outlet revealed the existence of a years-old social media account registered to Crowley featuring incendiary posts about women and race, along with derogatory LGBTQ references.

Polling showed a potential general election advantage for Barnes that no other Democrat shares. According to Marquette polling cited by NBC News, Barnes was the only candidate among the top three Democratic options with a lead against U.S. Rep. Tom Tiffany, the likely Republican nominee. Tiffany faces only nominal opposition in the Republican primary and has the endorsement of President Donald Trump, per ABC News.

Some Democrats fear Hong's progressive views would make her a weak general election candidate in the swing state, NBC News reported. Joel Brennan, a longstanding candidate in the race, said, "It's unfortunate for voters that this primary has gotten more attention for chaos than the stakes of this election," according to ABC News.

Nearly 128,000 voters had already returned absentee ballots as of July 30, on the third day of in-person early voting. A judge rejected a lawsuit supported by the Democratic Party seeking to allow voters who had already returned absentee ballots to cancel them and vote again, per ABC News reporting from July 29. Former state economic development director Missy Hughes dropped out of the Democratic primary in June, per ABC News.