Former Lt. Gov Mandela Barnes dropped out of the crowded and chaotic Democratic gubernatorial primary in Wisconsin on Thursday.
Shortly after he dropped out, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported that it was looking into allegations that Barnes had used his position to have “sexual encounters with young adult women.” The outlet initially provided few other details, adding only that it was continuing to report on the story.
The Journal Sentinel soon updated its story to add that the state Democratic Party hired a law firm last year to look into “similar claims,” but the information it received was “anonymous and unspecific” and was not actionable. The outlet also reported that the Democrat has not been accused of committing crimes.
“There are no allegations of misconduct or wrongdoing against Mandela,” a campaign spokesperson told NOTUS.
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Barnes’ statement announcing that he was suspending his campaign did not address the Journal Sentinel’s reporting.
“Last night I had a very difficult conversation with my staff,” he said in a video posted on X. “We’re incredibly proud of all the things that we’ve accomplished and all the resources that we have raised to spread our message, but it’s become very clear who our nominee is going to be.”
Leading the pack in the race is Francesca Hong, a state representative and democratic socialist. She has gained momentum in the final weeks of the primary campaign, with one poll by Marquette University Law School showing her more than 20 percentage points ahead of Barnes.
He did not explicitly endorse Hong in his announcement, but said he would work to help defeat Rep. Tom Tiffany, who is leading the Republican field.
That leaves four Democratic candidates ahead of the Aug. 11 primary, a race that is being closely followed given that it’s playing out in a battleground state.
Barnes’ exit is yet another shakeup in a primary in which Lt. Gov Sara Rodriguez dropped out after she reported “serious mismanagement and inaccuracies” in her financial campaign filings. That prompted Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley, who had already dropped out of the governor’s race because his campaign was not gaining traction, to reenter with Gov. Tony Evers’ endorsement.
Hong’s rise as the primary’s front-runner is being closely watched, as it’s a test of democratic socialists’ political strength outside of solidly blue districts and states.
Early voting is already underway in Wisconsin, which has created another twist in the race. On Wednesday, the Dane County circuit judge ruled that voters who had cast absentee ballots for Rodriguez would not be able to request new ones — a decision likely to apply to voters who cast ballots for Barnes too.
Democrats in the state were already concerned about Barnes’ electability. From the outset, his gubernatorial bid was haunted by his failed Senate run in 2022, when he lost to Sen. Ron Johnson by just 1 percentage point in a year that Evers won reelection by more than 3 percentage points.
Until his announcement, Barnes’ social media accounts hadn’t otherwise posted since Wednesday. Door-knocking events scheduled for Saturday still appeared on his campaign website, and his social media accounts encouraged supporters to vote early on Wednesday.
Editor’s note: This story has been updated with additional reporting.
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