Former Lieutenant Governor Mandela Barnes has officially, and abruptly ended his campaign for governor on Thursday amid emerging scandals.
Barnes announced his decision in a video message, saying it had become “very clear” who the Democratic nominee would be and urging Democrats to unite for the general election. His withdrawal followed the release of the latest Marquette Law School Poll, which showed state Rep. Francesca Hong emerged as the frontrunner in the Democratic primary while Barnes trailed well behind. It also came amid scrutiny over allegations that had previously been investigated by the Democratic Party of Wisconsin.
Barnes was questioned regarding allegations that he had used his standing within Democratic political circles to pursue sexual relationships with young adult women. The Democratic Party hired an outside law firm in 2025 to investigate similar anonymous complaints. Both the internal review and the outside investigation reportedly found nothing actionable, largely because the allegations were anonymous and lacked sufficient detail. (RELATED: DHS Flags 256,000 Potential Noncitizens on State Voter Rolls)
Among Democratic primary voters, Hong led with 26 percent support, followed by Barnes at 15 percent. Former candidate Sara Rodriguez still registered 11 percent despite having already suspended her campaign after polling concluded. Joel Brennan received 2 percent, Kelda Roys earned 1 percent, and nearly half of Democratic primary voters remained undecided.
Marquette’s polling showed that Barnes supporters were more likely to list Hong as their second choice than any other remaining candidate. Additional polling indicated that nearly half of Barnes supporters would migrate to Hong, while a much smaller share preferred Crowley.
Barnes’ campaign firmly denied any wrongdoing, issuing a statement that said, “There are no allegations of misconduct or wrongdoing against Mandela.” Neither investigation resulted in criminal charges, civil findings or disciplinary action against Barnes. (RELATED: Madison’s Body-Camera Failure Looms Over Fatal Police Shooting)
Barnes becomes the third Democrat candidate to drop out in the month of July. Lieutenant Governor Sara Rodriguez dropped out earlier this month amid financial scandals and Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley dropped out and then re-entered after the Rodriguez dropout.
