A diverse but shrinking field of five Democrats are running for governor, while just two Republicans remain in the race to succeed retiring Democratic Gov. Tony Evers.
Here’s who will be on the ballot in the Aug. 11 primaries, as approved by the state Elections Commission on June 9, although two candidates have since suspended their campaigns. The major parties’ nominees will face each other in the Nov. 3 general election.
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Democrats
Mandela Barnes represented a Milwaukee Assembly district for three years 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. He also has proposed a legally questionable plan to freeze utility rates by appointing only Public Service Commission members who promise to deny rate increases.
Joel Brennan is perhaps best known as Discovery World president from 2007 to 2019. He previously led the Milwaukee Redevelopment Authority and later served three years as secretary of administration in Evers’ cabinet before becoming presidentHe stepped down last year to enter the gubernatorial race. Brennan has pledged to expand health care, particularly for children; said he would mobilize the National Guard if needed to block Republican President Donald Trump from interfering in elections; and called for state investigations of federal immigration enforcement. He drew criticism for suggesting Wisconsin isn’t ready for a female or non-white governor, a comment he later walked back.
Francesca Hong is in her third term in a Madison Assembly seat, 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, phasing out school vouchers and legalizing marijuana. She has come under fire for her views on defunding police and abolishing prisons, both of which she calls long-term ideals after addressing root causes of crime.
Sara Rodriguez flipped a west suburban Assembly seat blue in 2020, serving one term before winning the 2022 lieutenant governor primary by a wide margin to replace Barnes on the Democratic ticket. In this campaign, she has been endorsed by the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, the largest state public employees union. Rodriguez is a nurse campaigning to improve the affordability and availability of healthcare and childcare, guarantee abortion access and increase education funding. Other candidates attacked her for saying she would negotiate the next state budget in secrecy before her inauguration if she won.
Kelda Roys represented a Madison district for 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 serves on the Legislature’s Joint Finance Committee. She is also an attorney who was born in central Wisconsin. In this campaign, she has been endorsed by the Wisconsin Education Association Council, the state’s largest teachers union. Roys pledges to improve healthcare, paid leave, childcare and education funding while fighting Trump’s policies.
Already out but still on the ballot are Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley, who withdrew on July 8, and Missy Hughes, a former dairy executive who was Evers’ development chief from 2019 to 2025 and who suspended her campaign on June 22. Both of them endorsed Rodriguez. Kirk Bangstad, owner of Minocqua Brewing Co. and founder of a liberal super PAC, was unable to correct errors on his nominating petitions in time to qualify for the ballot. Other previously declared candidates did not file nominating petitions, including Brett Hulsey, an environmentalist who served 14 years on the Dane County Board and two terms in the Assembly before losing the 2014 gubernatorial primary; American Family Field beer vendor Ryan Strnad, who endorsed Crowley; and Zach Roper, a Carthage College student. Hulsey still appears to be running as a write-in candidate.
Republicans
Tom Tiffany served 2½ years in the Assembly and eight years in the state Senate before winning his northwestern Wisconsin congressional seat in 2020. Earlier in his career, he owned a river cruise company and managed a dam. 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 has endorsed Tiffany. In this campaign, Tiffany is calling for freezing property taxes; increasing funding for schools; easing regulations on energy, housing, healthcare and childcare; and cracking down on crime and immigration.
Also running is Andy Manske, a medical service technician from Franklin.
Already out are Whitefish Bay businessman Bill Berrien, who left the race in September, after reports that he was following sexually explicit social media accounts; and Washington County Executive Josh Schoemann, who dropped out in January, after Trump endorsed Tiffany.
Others
Among independents, Milwaukee real estate agent and sign-swiper Carlos LeMar Dixon didn’t file his nomination papers but has said he will mount a write-in bid. Another independent, Milwaukee street preacher David King, loser of eight previous races for offices ranging from alderman to lieutenant governor, fell short of the 2,000 minimum signatures and also switched to a write-in campaign. Nobody filed in the Libertarian, Green or Constitution party primaries.
