Lt. Gov. Sara Rodriguez has dropped out of the race for the Democratic nomination for governor. In a video posted to X Friday morning, Rodriguez said the finance scandal that engulfed her campaign over the past five days was simply too much to overcome and that she was suspending her campaign.
“As 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,” she said. “This race is too important to let that happen. I am deeply hurt and betrayed by what happened.”
On Sunday night, Rodriguez fired her campaign manager, Kara Spencer, after discovering that campaign finance reports Spencer prepared were wildly inaccurate–overstating the campaign’s fundraising by upwards of $1 million.
“I got into this race because I wanted what was best for Wisconsin, and that hasn’t changed,” Rodriguez continued. “And because I believe that, I cannot, in good conscience, allow these questions to become a cloud over an election that Democrats need to win. Wisconsin deserves better than that.”
Rodriguez’s exit leaves four Democrats vying for the nomination–State Rep. Francesca Hong, former Lt. Gov. Mandela Barnes, State Sen. Kelda Roys, and former Department of Administration Secretary Joel Brennan.
Wisconsin’s primary is August 11th, with the winner facing Republican Rep. Tom Tiffany in the general election in November.
