In the race to succeed retiring Democratic Gov. Tony Evers, Democrats have built a sprawling and diverse field of 10 candidates, while just two Republicans remain.
Here’s a quick rundown on both parties’ primary rosters to date. The primaries are Aug. 11 and the general election is Nov. 3.
It’s time to pick your Milwaukee favorites for the year!
Democrats
Mandela Barnes served three years in the Assembly before losing a 2016 state Senate primary, challenging the sometimes-centrist incumbent Lena Taylor from the left. In 2018, he won the lieutenant governor primary by more than 2-to-1 to become Evers’ running mate. But he passed on a second term to challenge U.S. Sen. Ron Johnson in 2022, losing by 1 percentage point. His platform calls for closing “tax loopholes for the ultra-rich,” expanding health care, protecting abortion rights and increasing public school funding.
Sara Rodriguez flipped a west suburban Assembly seat blue in 2020, serving one term before winning the 2022 lieutenant governor primary by more than 3-1 to replace Barnes on the Democratic ticket. She’s a nurse campaigning on health care affordability and availability, abortion access and education funding.
David Crowley won two Assembly elections before edging Milwaukee Democratic Sen. Chris Larson in 2020 to become the first Black county executive, winning by half a percentage point in the closest-ever race for that office. Four years later, Crowley won a second term by the widest margin ever, swamping his token opposition more than 5-to-1. In his current office, he has focused on eliminating racial and health care disparities, and he joined Milwaukee Mayor Cavalier Johnson in negotiating a historic deal to boost state funding and sales taxes. His platform stresses job creation, stimulating small businesses and expanding vocational training, health care and affordable housing.
Kelda Roys served two terms in the Assembly before losing the 2018 gubernatorial primary, then returned to the Capitol as a senator, winning the first of two terms in 2020. She’s an attorney who pledges to fight President Donald Trump’s economic and health care policies while pushing to improve paid leave, child care and education funding.
Joel Brennan is perhaps best known for his 11 years as Discovery World president. Since then, he has served three years as secretary of administration in Evers’ cabinet and four years as Greater Milwaukee Committee president, stepping down last year to enter the gubernatorial race. Before joining Discovery World, he led the Milwaukee Redevelopment Authority for three years under then-Mayor Tom Barrett, for whom he had worked as a congressional aide and campaign manager. In his announcement video, Brennan vowed to battle Trump’s policies and bring down the cost of living.
Francesca Hong is in her third term in the Assembly, to which she was first elected in 2020, becoming Wisconsin’s first Asian American legislator, one of the chamber’s four Democratic Socialists and one of the few politicians to regularly use profanity in public statements. She is also a chef and former restaurant owner. Her platform calls for a $20 minimum wage, guaranteed paid leave, universal child care, free school lunches for all students and abolition of school vouchers.
Missy Hughes is a lawyer who worked as a dairy executive until she joined Evers’ cabinet as development chief in 2019. She resigned in September to join the gubernatorial race. She is campaigning on raising wages and expanding affordability and access to health care, childcare and housing.
Brett Hulsey is an environmentalist who served 14 years on the Dane County Board and two terms in the Assembly before losing the 2014 gubernatorial primary. As a lawmaker, he was an opponent of Gov. Scott Walker’s sweeping Act 10 legislation and was a involved in the protests at the Capitol that followed. He was also criticized by both parties for controversial stunts and other antics. During this run, he’s pushing for expanding education funding, reducing homelessness and improving energy efficiency.
Kirk Bangstad, owner of Minocqua Brewing Co., announced his candidacy on May 2, though he has admitted he’s scrambling to collect the signatures necessary to allow his late entry into the race. Since buying the Northwoods brewpub in 2016, Bangstad has steadily turned it into a mouthpiece for liberal politics, particularly since 2020, when he lost a race for State Assembly District 34 to incumbent Rob Swearingen. He founded a liberal super PAC in 2021, and the brewery has become internet-famous for his sometimes controversial posts. One of those posts cost him a 2023 defamation judgment following a lawsuit brought by the publisher of the Minocqua newspaper. Another, about his offer of free beer when Trump dies, spurred a visit from the FBI – an interview he livestreamed and said was the catalyst for his entry into the race.
Also running are Zach Roper, a 22-year-old Carthage College student, and Tim Jacobson, a factory worker who lost a 2024 race for Winnebago County Board.
Already out is American Family Field beer vendor Ryan Strnad, who endorsed Crowley.
Republicans
Tom Tiffany served 2½ years in the Assembly and eight years in the state Senate before winning his northwestern congressional seat in 2020. He’s a Trump loyalist who voted against certifying Democratic President Joe Biden’s 2020 victory before a violent mob of Trump backers invaded the U.S. Capitol in the deadly Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection. Trump endorsed Tiffany in the race in January. In this campaign, Tiffany is calling for freezing property taxes; easing regulations on energy, housing, health care and child care; and cracking down on crime and immigration.
Also running is Andy Manske, a 26-year-old medical service technician from Franklin.
Already out: Whitefish Bay businessman Bill Berrien left the race in September, following reports that he was following sexually explicit social media accounts. Josh Schoemann, who won Washington County’s first executive election in 2020 after six years as the county’s appointed chief administrator, dropped out on Jan. 28.
