{"id":8931,"date":"2026-07-17T20:49:09","date_gmt":"2026-07-17T15:49:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/?p=8931"},"modified":"2026-07-17T20:49:09","modified_gmt":"2026-07-17T15:49:09","slug":"wisconsin-lt-gov-sara-rodriguez-drops-out-of-the-governors-race","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/?p=8931","title":{"rendered":"Wisconsin Lt. Gov. Sara Rodriguez drops out of the governor\u2019s race"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><script>\r\n  atOptions = {\r\n    'key' : '644b717812d811d6a1c1fc5b6ccd6fa6',\r\n    'format' : 'iframe',\r\n    'height' : 90,\r\n    'width' : 728,\r\n    'params' : {}\r\n  };\r\n<\/script>\r\n<script src=\"https:\/\/www.highperformanceformat.com\/644b717812d811d6a1c1fc5b6ccd6fa6\/invoke.js\"><\/script>\r\n<br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div>\n<p id=\"anchor-a41021\" class=\"body-graf\">Wisconsin Democratic Lt. Gov. Sarah Rodriguez said Friday that she was dropping out of the governor\u2019s race, just days after her campaign discovered <a href=\"https:\/\/www.jsonline.com\/story\/news\/politics\/elections\/2026\/07\/12\/sara-rodriguez-fires-campaign-head-for-campaign-finance-inaccuracies\/90897604007\/\" target=\"_blank\">major inaccuracies related to its financial reporting<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p><button class=\"styles_subscriptionCTA__LOUeY\" id=\"subscriptionCTA\" type=\"button\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"data:image\/svg+xml;base64,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\" alt=\"NBC News Icon\" class=\"styles_icon__wRwWv\" aria-hidden=\"true\"\/><\/p>\n<div class=\"styles_textWrapper__vxvko\">\n<p class=\"styles_text__daaVB styles_textLarge__qlzwu\">Subscribe to read this story ad-free<\/p>\n<p class=\"styles_text__daaVB\">Get unlimited access to ad-free articles and exclusive content.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/media-cldnry.s-nbcnews.com\/image\/upload\/rockcms\/2026-01\/arrow-f55fa5.svg\" alt=\"arrow\" class=\"styles_arrow__tnruW\" aria-hidden=\"true\"\/><\/button><\/p>\n<p id=\"anchor-402b83\" class=\"body-graf\">\u201cAs we have continued to dig into our financial reports, it has become clear that there are issues that would be an ongoing distraction, not just for this campaign, but for the primary and for Wisconsin. This race is too important to let that happen,\u201d Rodriguez <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/saraforwi\/status\/2078129560424509931?s=42\" target=\"_blank\">said in a video posted to X<\/a>. <\/p>\n<p id=\"anchor-56d7b7\" class=\"body-graf\">\u201cI cannot, in good conscience, allow these questions to become a cloud over an election that Democrats need to win. Wisconsin deserves better than that,\u201d Rodriguez added. <\/p>\n<p id=\"anchor-7afecd\" class=\"body-graf\">The decision from Rodriguez, who had been among the frontrunners in the Democratic primary, roils a wide-open race for governor in the perennial battleground state.<\/p>\n<p id=\"anchor-12905c\" class=\"body-graf\">Last Sunday, Rodriguez\u2019s campaign announced it had discovered \u201cserious mismanagement and inaccuracies\u201d in its campaign finance reports, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.jsonline.com\/story\/news\/politics\/elections\/2026\/07\/12\/sara-rodriguez-fires-campaign-head-for-campaign-finance-inaccuracies\/90897604007\/\" target=\"_blank\">leading to the firing <\/a>of campaign manager Kara Spencer. Among the errors were duplicated contributions, which inflated how much money the campaign had raised and had on hand.<\/p>\n<p id=\"anchor-3674bb\" class=\"body-graf\">The development prompted calls from several of her Democratic to ender her campaign, with many slamming it as \u201cdisqualifying\u201d<\/p>\n<p id=\"anchor-240d41\" class=\"body-graf\">Just as significantly, the discovery of the errors led Rodriguez to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.jsonline.com\/story\/news\/politics\/elections\/2026\/07\/13\/finance-errors-shrink-sara-rodriguez-campaign-war-chest\/90907165007\/\" target=\"_blank\">learn that her campaign had <\/a>only $200,000 in cash on hand, she told reporters on Monday.<\/p>\n<p id=\"anchor-c03107\" class=\"body-graf\">Rodriguez had been among the leading candidates in the Democratic primary to succeed Gov. Tony Evers, who is retiring after serving two terms.<\/p>\n<p id=\"anchor-e828cc\" class=\"body-graf\">She\u2019d placed first earlier this summer in an <a href=\"https:\/\/www.wispolitics.com\/2026\/rodriguez-wins-wispolitics-straw-poll-for-governor-with-hong-close-behind\/\" target=\"_blank\">unscientific straw poll<\/a> at the Wisconsin Democratic Party\u2019s convention. And two high-profile candidates who\u2019d dropped out of the primary in recent weeks \u2014 former Wisconsin Economic Development Corp. CEO Missy Hughes and Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley \u2014 had endorsed her campaign.<\/p>\n<p id=\"anchor-ffb7ba\" class=\"body-graf\">Other candidates who remain in the race include state Rep. Francesca Hong, a democratic socialist who has <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nbcnews.com\/politics\/2026-election\/democratic-socialists-eye-battleground-state-breakthrough-primary-rcna351135\" target=\"_blank\">unexpectedly seen a surge of momentum in recent weeks<\/a>, and former Lt. Gov. Mandela Barnes, who narrowly lost the 2022 Senate race in the state. Joel Brennan, the former Department of Administration secretary, and state Sen. Kelda Roys are also competing for the Democratic nomination. <\/p>\n<p id=\"anchor-21dabf\" class=\"body-graf\">Reliable public polling in the race has been sparse. A <a href=\"https:\/\/law.marquette.edu\/assets\/community\/poll\/MLSP88\/MLSP88ToplinesRV.html\" target=\"_blank\">Marquette University Law School survey from March<\/a> showed Hong with 14% and Barnes with 11%, with no other candidates receiving more than 3%, and 65% saying they were undecided.<\/p>\n<p id=\"anchor-92185d\" class=\"endmark body-graf\">The winner of the Aug. 11 primary is all but certain to face Republican Rep. Tom Tiffany in the general election.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<script async=\"async\" data-cfasync=\"false\" src=\"https:\/\/pl30214220.effectivecpmnetwork.com\/9ab3d4df8a7e1a6171e16ddbf732cc19\/invoke.js\"><\/script>\r\n<div id=\"container-9ab3d4df8a7e1a6171e16ddbf732cc19\"><\/div>\r\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Wisconsin Democratic Lt. Gov. Sarah Rodriguez said Friday that she was dropping out of the governor\u2019s race, just days after her campaign discovered major inaccuracies related to its financial reporting. Subscribe to read this story ad-free Get unlimited access to ad-free articles and exclusive content. \u201cAs we have continued to dig into our financial reports,&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":8932,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/media-cldnry.s-nbcnews.com\/image\/upload\/t_nbcnews-fp-1200-630,f_auto,q_auto:best\/rockcms\/2026-07\/260717-Sara-Rodriguez-ew-1056a-b2c40b.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[18],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-8931","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-real-trending-viral-news"],"brizy_media":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8931","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=8931"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8931\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/8932"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=8931"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=8931"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=8931"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}