Wisconsin Dems in Turmoil After Governor Race Scandal

A Candidate Forum With an Empty Chair

At a gubernatorial candidate forum held in the small Northwoods community of Lake Tomahawk, Wisconsin, one reserved seat sat conspicuously vacant. Lieutenant Governor Sara Rodriguez was supposed to be there, making her case to a room of rural Democrats as the candidate capable of bridging party divisions and finally breaking the Republican grip on state government.

Instead, only a campaign sign marked her spot. Rodriguez’s team initially attributed her absence to a family matter. The real story emerged a day later: she had dismissed her campaign manager after discovering that donation totals had been inflated by hundreds of thousands of dollars over several months.

What followed was a week of failed damage control. By Friday, Rodriguez ended her campaign altogether, saying in a recorded message that the unfolding financial controversy risked becoming a distraction Democrats couldn’t afford in a race they needed to win.

Campaign Finance Reports Tell a Confusing Story

The numbers behind Rodriguez’s exit were as chaotic as the political fallout. A campaign finance filing submitted Wednesday night showed her campaign holding a mere $35,000 — a startlingly low figure for a statewide frontrunner this close to an election.

An attempted correction the following day briefly showed her campaign with more than $600,000 on hand, only for the figure to drop back down to $35,000 shortly after. Her former campaign manager, Kara Spencer, has not responded to requests for an explanation and the discrepancy remains unresolved.

Former campaign staffer Mitchell Stough described the mood inside Rodriguez’s operation as one of disbelief, saying colleagues were left reeling by how abruptly the campaign folded. Rodriguez has not responded to interview requests since suspending her bid, though she reportedly acknowledged supportive messages from former staff with a simple emoji reaction.

Hong’s Rise Rattles the Party Establishment

With Rodriguez gone, attention has shifted sharply toward state Rep. Francesca Hong, a 37-year-old Madison legislator and former ramen restaurant owner who identifies as a democratic socialist. Hong has climbed from relative obscurity to the top tier of the Democratic field, buoyed by an energized volunteer base and strong grassroots fundraising.

Her ascent has unsettled more centrist party figures, who worry her policy positions — including past calls to defund police departments and reduce prison populations — could prove politically costly in a general election against Republican Rep. Tom Tiffany. One unnamed Democratic legislator went so far as to say the party could lose not only the governor’s mansion but also control of the state Assembly if Hong becomes the nominee.

Hong has pushed back firmly against these concerns, arguing that grassroots momentum and message discipline around affordability and opposition to data center expansion give her a genuine path to victory. She has maintained that winning votes, not satisfying party insiders, is what ultimately defines electability.

Her supporters, including fellow democratic socialist state lawmaker Ryan Clancy, argue that Hong’s strength stems precisely from the fact that the moderate wing of the party remains divided among several candidates rather than uniting behind one.

Crowley Re-Enters a Field He Recently Left

Adding another twist, David Crowley — who had dropped his own gubernatorial bid less than two weeks earlier to endorse Rodriguez — announced he is jumping back into the race. He plans to hold a campaign relaunch event this weekend.

Crowley framed his return as a response to a leadership vacuum left by Rodriguez’s departure, suggesting party figures should have consolidated behind a single alternative earlier if avoiding a crowded field was truly the priority. Sources familiar with internal party discussions say outgoing Gov. Tony Evers may be leaning toward supporting Crowley’s renewed campaign, although Crowley declined to confirm any direct endorsement.

Not everyone within the party sees his re-entry as helpful. Some strategists warn that Crowley re-joining the race could simply pull support away from Mandela Barnes, the other leading moderate alternative to Hong, without meaningfully improving Democrats’ odds of avoiding a Hong nomination.

Barnes Positions Himself as the Only Alternative

Former Lieutenant Governor Mandela Barnes, who narrowly lost a 2022 U.S. Senate bid to Republican Ron Johnson, has moved quickly to frame the race as a two-candidate contest between himself and Hong. His campaign pollster publicly cited internal survey data suggesting Barnes performs competitively against Tiffany in a hypothetical general election matchup.

Barnes’ campaign has pushed back on suggestions that his Senate loss makes him a weaker candidate this time around, attributing that defeat to a heavily outspent campaign in an especially difficult year nationally for Democrats. Still, Barnes has not secured a public endorsement from his former running mate, Evers and some party insiders privately question whether he can consolidate support any more effectively than he did in 2022.

Other Contenders Try to Capitalize

State Sen. Kelda Roys and former state cabinet secretary Joel Brennan, both trailing in polling, used the week to argue they are best positioned to inherit Rodriguez’s supporters. Both circulated strategy memos to donors and party officials outlining paths to the nomination.

Roys, who previously ran for governor in 2018 and finished third in that primary, said she has seen a notable increase in donor and volunteer interest since Rodriguez’s exit. Brennan pointed to his two decades of executive government experience as his primary selling point.

Campaign finance reports covering the first half of the year show a tightly bunched field financially. Hong and Roys each reported roughly $400,000 in available cash, with Brennan close behind at $360,000 and Crowley at $315,000. Barnes reported the smallest cash reserve among frontrunners, at $204,000, despite having raised more money overall than his rivals. Tiffany, running unopposed in the Republican primary, holds nearly $3 million in campaign funds — a substantial financial head start over whichever Democrat ultimately wins the nomination.

Republicans Watch the Chaos Unfold

Republicans have wasted little time capitalizing on the Democratic infighting. Tiffany has highlighted his financial advantage while criticizing Hong’s ideological positioning on social media. The Republican Governors Association has already committed roughly $2 million toward television advertising that features Hong’s past comments on immigration enforcement and progressive policy priorities, according to ad-tracking data.

Wisconsin Republican strategist Bill McCoshen said the current dynamics have effectively handed Tiffany a simple contrast to draw in the general election, framing the choice for voters as stability versus a candidate he characterizes as far outside the political mainstream.

Democrats counter that Tiffany’s own record — including his refusal to affirm the outcome of the 2020 presidential election and his vote against certifying those results — gives their eventual nominee substantial ammunition regardless of who wins the primary.

Rural Voters Weigh In

Back at the Northwoods forum, attendees expressed a mix of curiosity and concern about Hong’s candidacy. Sarah Kemp, a 60-year-old resident of nearby Woodruff, said she doubts Hong’s positioning would resonate broadly enough in a state as politically moderate as Wisconsin, contrasting it with more reliably progressive states.

State Rep. Christian Phelps, a democratic socialist ally of Hong representing parts of western Wisconsin, argued that dismissing her chances underestimates the state’s long history of progressive and labor-movement politics. He acknowledged, however, that nominating Hong carries more electoral risk than selecting a moderate candidate — a risk he still believes is worth taking.

Forum co-host Pat Kreitlow, a former Democratic state senator, suggested that Hong’s candidacy could energize infrequent progressive voters who typically sit out elections, potentially offsetting concerns about moderate voter defection. Vilas County Democratic Party Chair Amy Fassler offered a more cautious view, noting that persuadable Republican-leaning voters may not look past the “socialist” label to evaluate Hong’s actual policy platform — a group she said Democrats cannot afford to lose in a competitive statewide race.

What Comes Next

With just weeks remaining before the primary, Wisconsin Democrats face a rapidly narrowing window to consolidate support behind a single candidate capable of both winning the nomination and competing statewide against Tiffany in November. Rodriguez’s departure has removed a candidate many viewed as a unifying, broadly acceptable option, leaving the party to decide between a rising progressive insurgent and a fractured field of moderates still working to define a clear front-runner.

Also Read: White House Grant Rule Sparks Bipartisan Backlash