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| It doesn't matter what race you are. If you support Israel and you're a Democrat, you are not going to win. |
The former lieutenant governor of Wisconsin has dropped out of the bid to replace Democratic governor Tony Evers.
The shooting of a Madison man by the police, inflation and the war in Iran should be issues on the minds of Wisconsin voters. But the Democrats and Republicans will crawl over a bed of nails to distract you from what is the most important issue in the country.
The paychecks.
People cannot afford groceries. They are paying high gas prices, high insurance premiums and high shipping costs. Wisconsin voters have to make a choice to whether they can take a vacation, go to the doctor, go to the mechanic, go to the hospital, go out to eat or have a family.
More people are at food banks, shopping at thrift stores, working two jobs or experiencing burnout from working at their current jobs.
That is not socialism. It is capitalism and its not beneficial to Americans.
When a sexual predator like Elon Musk becomes a trillionaire, it shows you that capitalism sucks.
Mandela Barnes, the pro Israel Democrat who lost his U.S. senate bid to the most incompetent Republican senator in Wisconsin dropped out the governor's race clearing the way for Francesca Hong to become the nominee. She is a state representative from Madison.
Wisconsin went to Donald J. Trump in the general in 2016 and 2024. Bernie Sanders won the state in the primary in 2016. Joe Biden won the primary in 2020 and 2024.
Barnes lost to Ron Johnson, the most vulnerable Republican at the time. Why?
Johnson won because of Biden making the decision to aid Ukraine and it lead to inflation.
Barnes was AIPAC's pick for governor and senator. He is a Black man and was the establishment pick.
Hong, the first Asian American woman to serve in Wisconsin State Legislature is running on a platform about affordability and lived experience. Hong, 37 is a mother of one.
The former lieutenant governor made the announcement in a video posted on his Facebook page as democratic socialist Francesca Hong has garnered strong support from the liberal wing of the party.
Barnes’ decision to drop out came a day after the release of a Marquette Law School poll of Wisconsin Democratic primary voters that found Hong leading Barnes and the other candidates by a significant margin, although about one-third of primary voters remained undecided.
“It’s become very clear who our nominee is going to be,” Barnes said.
Barnes’ move came on the same day that the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported that it had asked him about allegations of inappropriate behavior lodged with the state Democratic Party, local party officials and others against him.
The Wisconsin Democratic Party received an anonymous letter in 2024 and again in 2025 making allegations against Barnes, a person with direct knowledge of the party’s actions told The Associated Press. The person was not authorized to speak publicly about the review.
The party hired a law firm in 2025 to look into claims that Barnes used his position in the party to seek out inappropriate relationships with young adult women, the person said. The review found nothing actionable because the allegations were anonymous and unspecific, the person with knowledge of the probe said.
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| Can you vote for a woman who is a democratic socialist? I would. |
Barnes’ campaign issued a statement saying, “There are no allegations of misconduct or wrongdoing against Mandela.”
Barnes is the third Democrat to withdraw from the race. Lt. Gov. Sara Rodriguez ended her run amid a campaign finance scandal two weeks ago and former state economic development director Missy Hughes dropped out in June.
After Rodriguez ended her campaign, Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley rejoined the race with the endorsement of Evers.
Crowley is a Black pro Israel Democrat. He and Rodriguez ignoring a Wisconsin Arab American organization and Muslim group.
Joe Biden carried Wisconsin in 2020. Kamala Harris lost Wisconsin in 2024. She lost by 56,000 votes because of Biden's support of Israel as it was conducting a genocide. Jill Stein siphoned off 35,000 votes.
Crowley made a direct plea to Barnes’ supporters to back him.
“There’s a place for you in what we’re building,” he posted on social media.
Evers told reporters Thursday that he was surprised by Barnes’ move.
“But he needs to do what he needs to do,” Evers said. “I don’t know why he’s getting out. I have to believe it’s something relatively important.”
Evers said he stuck by his endorsement of Crowley, who worked closely with Evers and Republican lawmakers on a deal to increase funding for local communities. Evers chose to endorse him over Barnes, who served as his lieutenant governor in his first term.
Evers said Crowley was the best candidate “even if Mandela was in.”
Hong did not immediately return a text message seeking comment.
Joel Brennan, a long-shot candidate in the race, said, “It’s unfortunate for voters that this primary has gotten more attention for chaos than the stakes of this election.”
The shake-up comes after nearly 128,000 voters have already returned absentee ballots and on the third day of in-person early voting. On Wednesday, a judge rejected a lawsuit supported by the Democratic Party seeking to allow voters who have already returned their absentee ballots to cancel them and vote again.
The winner of the Democratic primary is expected to face U.S. Rep. Tom Tiffany, who faces only nominal opposition in the Republican primary. Tiffany, who has the endorsement of President Donald Trump, said it’s become clear the race will be a choice between a “socialist agenda” or “common sense.”
Tiffany will use racial dog whistles. In order to pit Black voters against Asian American voters, they will whisper Ricky Chow and the boycott of Asian businesses. Tiffany had called the coronavirus pandemic the "Wuhan Virus."
He has called for bans of Gazans, Syrians and Irans.
Tiffany is supportive of Trump's war with Iran.
“This election is not about red versus blue,” he said. “It is about whether Wisconsin stays Wisconsin.”
Barnes ending his campaign comes after he benefited from other candidates dropping out in the Democratic primary race for Senate in 2022 to clear the field for him. He ended up losing by under 27,000 votes that year to Johnson.
The Foundational Black Americans (Dark MAGA) will exploit racial division to stifle Hong
High-profile national incidents are frequently used by bad-faith actors to inflame Black-Asian tensions online. For example, the recent June 2026 acquittal of South Carolina convenience store owner Rick Chow in the shooting death of Black teenager Cyrus Carmack-Belton sparked immense outrage.
Tiffany and conservative super PACs are already spending heavily to frame Hong as a "Madison radical." Opposition groups could merge this with identity politics, telling Black voters in Milwaukee that a progressive Madison intellectual does not understand the immediate material needs of their community.
Right-wing strategists and factional online agitators—including elements of the FBA movement—often weaponize historical, cultural, and personal vulnerabilities to suppress voter turnout or fracture coalitions between Black and Asian American communities.
Opposition research often targets the personal lives of progressive candidates of color to manufacture "authenticity" critiques. Hong's co-parenting relationship and past marriage to her ex-husband Matt, with whom she co-owned Morris Ramen, could be targeted by cultural nationalists or FBA agitators to question her alignment with grassroots minority struggles.
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