Lt. Gov. Sara Rodriguez exited the Wisconsin governor’s race Friday, ending a week that began with revelations that her campaign finances were in chaos, allegedly due to massive mismanagement from her top staffer.
“As we continued to dig into our financial reports, it has become clear that there are issues that would be an ongoing distraction,” Rodriguez said in a statement and video. “This race is too important to Wisconsin to let that happen.”
Rodriguez was rising quickly in a crowded field of candidates, coming out of the state Democratic convention with an attention-getting straw poll victory. Her momentum and apparent strong fundraising numbers were factors in the withdrawal of two Democratic opponents, Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley and former WEDC Secretary Missy Hughes. Now Crowley is being urged to get back into the race by some Democratic insiders, including Hughes.
A dramatic week, a historic fall
For Rodriguez, the world turned upside in a 10-day span. On Tuesday, July 7, Rodriguez was puzzled to not see campaign ads that her manager had announced were going to start running on television. In the days that followed, staff members called attention to invoices that hadn’t been paid and a cash balance that was far below what had been reported.
Rodriguez fired Kara Spencer on Sunday and went public Monday afternoon with the revelation that her campaign had hundreds of thousands of dollars less than she had been told. Rodriguez said she was staying in the race, having demonstrated the leadership to take ownership of a problem and turn the focus back to voters’ concerns. But by Friday, after other instances of misreported numbers, she acknowledged the steep odds of trying to become the Democratic nominee in the Aug. 11 election.
“I am deeply hurt and betrayed by what happened,” Rodriguez said. “I cannot in good conscience allow these questions to become a cloud over an election Democrats need to win. Wisconsin deserves better than that.”
Rodriguez said she was not planning to make an endorsement among the remaining active candidates: former Lt. Gov. Mandela Barnes, state Sen. Kelda Roys, state Rep. Francesca Hong, and Evers’ former Administration Secretary, Joel Brennan.
But attention is going to another candidate who left the race earlier.
Crowley as a block to Hong?
The Democratic primary has not seen a lot of public polling and what’s been released shows many voters still undecided about who should take on Republican US Rep. Tom Tiffany for the seat being vacated by retiring Democratic Gov. Tony Evers. However, the polling also shows Hong consistently at or near the top of a pack that once had seven candidates. That has raised alarm bells among some party activists who think her embrace of the democratic socialist label makes her toxic to general election voters in November.
With Rodriguez no longer an alternative to Hong, many see Barnes as having the inside track to win over Rodriguez supporters. But others believe Crowley should reenter the race, citing his healthy campaign fundraising (with $315,000 cash-on-hand as of June 30) and his decision to leave the race based on what turned out to be a false show of fundraising strength by Rodriguez.
The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel cited “two senior Democratic sources” who said Evers was considering an endorsement of Crowley. “From everything we’ve seen, this was Mandela Barnes’s race to lose, and he’s been losing it,” said one of the sources.
Hong told WISN-TV an Evers endorsement of Crowley, if it comes, would not change her campaign–one she claims has the broadest base of popular support.
“We want to make sure this is an election where the voters decide,” Hong said. “Folks are telling us they’re eager for something new and our path to victory in August and in November are ones that we’re going to continue to win for working class people.”
Hughes posted a direct plea to Crowley on social media: “get back in this race!”
Likely no further withdrawals
There will not be any quick consolidation of the pack. Brennan called a press conference on Friday to say he was staying in the race.
“I deeply respect Lieutenant Governor Rodriguez and the ideas and energy she brought to this race,” Brennan said. “While a lot has changed in the Democratic primary, one thing has not: we need a governor who can win and who will fight for Wisconsin to get things done.”
Roys complimented Rodriguez in a social media post.
“Primaries make us stronger, and it takes courage and hard work to run for office,” Roys said. “We are all on the same team and it’s time to unite the party so that we can defeat Tom Tiffany and deliver a Democratic trifecta.”
(A trifecta refers to Democratic hopes to retain the governor’s office and win majorities in the state Senate and Assembly for the first time in 16 years.)
Barnes was in the middle of recording an interview with WISN-TV when he was told about Rodriguez dropping out.
“I don’t think the challenge is any different than it was before,” Barnes said. “It wouldn’t matter if there were two people in the primary or 20 people in the primary. We are going to be focused on Tom Tiffany and beating him in the general election.”
Early voters may have regrets
WisPolitics reported that as of Friday morning, 67,895 absentee ballots have been turned in, though there’s no way to tell how many voted in the Democratic primaries or the Republican contests because the envelopes are not opened until Election Day. (In Wisconsin, voters can only vote in one party’s primary. Voting in more than one will cause the ballot to be rejected.)
The Wisconsin Elections Commission recently ruled that voters cannot ask for a new ballot if the only reason is because their preferred candidate dropped out of the race. All seven Democratic candidates are listed on the primary ballot because they turned in qualifying paperwork in early June.
So while Rodriguez has likely collected a fair share of votes, all she can do now is express gratitude for that past support.
“To everyone who showed up, knocked doors, made calls and believed in what we were building — don’t stop. Wisconsin has always been a place of resilience, where every day citizens show up and accomplish extraordinary things. Let’s keep fighting. I’ll be right there with you.”
