Hong leads Wisconsin primary poll as Barnes withdraws

State party’s 2025 probe of anonymous claims found no actionable evidence

Barnes, 39, ended his campaign for the Democratic gubernatorial nomination on Thursday, announcing the decision in a video posted to social media. “It’s become very clear who our nominee is going to be,” he said. He said he no longer saw a viable path to the nomination with the Aug. 11 primary less than two weeks away.

Soon after Barnes’s exit, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported that it had sent the candidate questions about past allegations of inappropriate behavior that were anonymously submitted to the Wisconsin Democratic Party, local party officials and others. The Journal Sentinel reported that the state party hired a law firm in 2025 to investigate claims made in a letter that Barnes used his position in the party to pursue inappropriate relationships with “young adult women.” The party’s internal review and an outside investigation found no actionable evidence because the claims were “anonymous and unspecific,” according to the Journal Sentinel, which cited an unnamed person familiar with the matter.

Barnes’s campaign denied any wrongdoing. “There are no allegations of misconduct or wrongdoing against Mandela,” the campaign said in a statement.

A Marquette Law School poll showed Hong at 38 percent support among primary voters, Barnes at 16 percent, and about a third of voters undecided. The survey indicated Hong had consolidated liberal support, especially among young voters.

Barnes is the third Democrat to leave the primary. Lt. Gov. Sara Rodriguez withdrew two weeks ago amid a campaign finance scandal, and former state economic development director Missy Hughes ended her campaign earlier in the summer. After Rodriguez’s departure, Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley re-entered the race with the endorsement of Gov. Tony Evers, who is not seeking re-election.

Evers told reporters he was surprised by Barnes’s decision and reiterated his support for Crowley, saying he believed Crowley was the strongest candidate “even if Mandela was in,” the Associated Press reported. Crowley appealed to Barnes’s supporters directly. “There’s a place for you in what we’re building,” he said.

On Wednesday, a judge rejected an effort backed by the Democratic Party to allow voters who had already cast absentee ballots to void their initial vote and cast a new one, amid concerns that many early ballots had been cast for candidates who were no longer in the race.

The Democratic nominee is expected to face Republican U.S. Rep. Tom Tiffany, who is backed by Donald Trump, in the general election.

Barnes ran for the U.S. Senate in 2022 rather than seeking re-election as lieutenant governor, narrowly losing to incumbent Republican Ron Johnson.