Mandela Barnes dropped out of the Democratic primary for Wisconsin governor on Thursday, less than two weeks before the Aug. 11 election, reports infohub.kz.
The former lieutenant governor made the announcement in a video posted on his Facebook page. Democratic socialist Francesca Hong has garnered strong support from the liberal wing of the party.
Barnes’ decision came a day after a Marquette Law School poll showed Hong leading Barnes and other candidates by a significant margin, with about one-third of voters still undecided.
“It’s become very clear who our nominee is going to be,” Barnes said.
Barnes is the third Democrat to withdraw from the race. Earlier, Lt. Gov. Sara Rodriguez ended her campaign amid a campaign finance scandal, and former state economic development director Missy Hughes dropped out in June.
After Rodriguez ended her campaign, Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley rejoined the race with the endorsement of Gov. Tony Evers. Crowley directly appealed to Barnes’ supporters: “There’s a place for you in what we’re building,” he wrote on social media.
Evers told reporters he was surprised by Barnes’ move. “But he needs to do what he needs to do. I don’t know why he’s getting out, but it must be something important,” Evers said. He said he continues to support Crowley, who he called the best candidate even if Barnes stayed in.
Hong declined to comment. Longshot candidate Joel Brennan said, “It’s unfortunate for voters that this primary has gotten more attention for chaos than the stakes of this election.”
The shakeup comes after nearly 128,000 voters have already returned absentee ballots and on the third day of early voting. On Wednesday, a judge rejected a Democratic Party-supported lawsuit seeking to allow absentee voters to cancel their ballots and vote again.
The Democratic primary winner is expected to face U.S. Rep. Tom Tiffany, who faces only nominal opposition in the Republican primary. Tiffany, endorsed by President Donald Trump, declined to comment.
Barnes ending his campaign comes after he benefited from other candidates dropping out in the 2022 Senate Democratic primary to clear the field for him. He lost to Republican Sen. Ron Johnson by fewer than 27,000 votes that year.