Former Lt. Gov. Mandela Barnes ended his campaign for Wisconsin governor, virtually assuring state Rep. Francesca Hong of the Democratic nomination
Take a look at a recap of the Democratic governor candidate debate
The Democratic candidates for Wisconsin governor met in a televised debate July 28, 2026.
Former Wisconsin Lt. Gov. Mandela Barnes has ended his campaign for the Democratic nomination for governor of the pivotal swing state. It is the latest in a string of triumphs for the party’s progressive wing, as Barnes was the chief competitor to state Rep. Francesca Hong, who occupies the field’s left lane.
The decision by Barnes came amid reporting by the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel into allegations that Barnes was taking advantage of his role in the party to have sexual encounters with young adult women. The Journal Sentinel is continuing to report the story.
The state Democratic Party in 2025 hired a law firm to look into similar claims sent in a letter but the allegations they received were anonymous and unspecific. The letter was sent to the party, local party officials and media outlets, among others who examined the claims.
The party’s internal review and outside probe found nothing actionable, according to a source familiar with the party’s response. Barnes has not been accused of any crimes.
His departure on July 30 also came the same week as the race’s only televised debate and the release of new statewide polling that showed state Rep. Francesca Hong with a wide lead in the field. Following the debate, Barnes called the primary “the most ridiculous race in the country.”
In a video message, Barnes said, “It’s become very clear who our nominee is going to be. Now I’ve said from the very beginning, when I launched this campaign, that the number one goal was taking on and defeating Tom Tiffany to deliver big wins for Democrats up and down the ticket.”
Barnes, 39, had been the presumed frontrunner in the Democratic primary after he launched his campaign in December. But Hong, a democratic socialist who entered the race in September, has continued surging in the polls in the lead-up to the Aug. 11 primary election.
Barnes has pledged to support the Democratic nominee, which seems all but certain to be Hong – though as recently as Wednesday night during a Journal Sentinel event he raised doubts about whether she could defeat Tiffany.
Campaign finance reports filed July 15 showed that Barnes raised the most money in the Democratic field, bringing in $841,358 in the first half of this year and a total of $1.4 million for the entirety of his campaign. But his campaign spent much of what it took in, leaving him with $204,208 at the end of June.
The next set of reports, covering fundraising for July, are due Aug. 3.
Barnes was first elected to the state Assembly in 2012 when he was just 25 years old. He served two terms as a state representative.
He then became the Democratic nominee for lieutenant governor during the summer of 2018, and joined the ticket with Gov. Tony Evers. That November, Evers and Barnes defeated Republicans Scott Walker and Rebecca Kleefisch, flipping the state’s top offices to Democratic control for the first time in eight years.
Barnes was the first African-American to serve as Wisconsin’s lieutenant governor, and just the second African-American to hold statewide office here. Many saw him as a new star in the party.
In 2022, he decided not to seek reelection and instead run against Republican U.S. Sen. Ron Johnson. Barnes lost the election by about 27,000 votes, or one percentage point.
When Lt. Gov. Sara Rodriguez dropped out of the race last month following revelations that her campaign infrastructure and finances were in disarray, the race was thrown into chaos.
Rather than endorse Barnes, Evers and others convinced Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley to rejoin the race.
Evers endorsed Crowley the same day.