Wisconsin Democratic Primary for Governor Includes Lt. Gov. Rodriguez, Former Lt. Gov. Barnes, and State Rep. Hong

Wisconsin will hold a Democratic primary for governor in August after Gov. Tony Evers retires. Lt. Gov. Sara Rodriguez, who serves with Evers, and former Lt. Gov. Mandela Barnes, who lost the 2022 U.S.

Senate race in the state, are both running. State Rep. Francesca Hong, who represents Madison and identifies as a democratic socialist, is also in the race. Nbc News reported that Hong has been at the top of limited public polling and placed second in a straw poll at the Wisconsin Democratic Party Convention this month.

On Tuesday three candidates backed by New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani won House primaries, two of them against Democratic incumbents. , and another advanced to a runoff in the Los Angeles mayoral race. Hong posted on X that it is a great day to be a democratic socialist and that Wisconsin is next.

The recent wins occurred in solidly Democratic urban areas. Hong has faced scrutiny for past calls to defund and abolish the police. In a separate development, Michael Whatley announced his Senate campaign in July and is running for U.S.

Senate in North Carolina against former Gov. Roy Cooper. Whatley, the former Republican National Committee chair, was born in Michigan and lived in Blowing Rock for roughly three years before attending college elsewhere in the state.

He graduated from Watauga High School and earned degrees from the University of North Carolina at Charlotte and Wake Forest University. He is now a resident of Gaston County. Nbc News reported that Whatley has used some variation of the line that he grew up in Blowing Rock at least 15 times since announcing his run.