Lt. Gov. Sara Rodriguez captured the top spot in the WisPolitics straw poll of delegates at the Wisconsin Democratic Party state convention this weekend, handing a stinging rebuke to former Lt. Gov. Mandela Barnes, who finished a distant sixth in the seven-candidate gubernatorial field.
Rodriguez, the sitting lieutenant governor, led the poll of party activists and delegates gathered at Monona Terrace. State Rep. Francesca Hong finished a close second, with state Sen. Kelda Roys placing third. Barnes, long viewed as a frontrunner or co-leader in public polling, saw his support evaporate among the very activists who will drive turnout in the Aug. 11 Democratic primary.
The other candidates in the field, Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley in 4th, former Department of Administration Secretary Joel Brennan in a far better-than-expected 5th, and former WEDC CEO Missy Hughes in a disastrous 7th, rounded out the remaining positions, with Barnes near the bottom.
The outcome stands in sharp contrast to earlier public surveys. A May poll had shown Barnes at 26 percent, Hong at 22 percent, and Rodriguez at 15 percent. The convention results flip that dynamic, revealing that Rodriguez’s profile as the current No. 2 in state government carries more weight with committed Democrat insiders than with the broader electorate. Rodriguez can use the straw poll to make the case that she is actually the strongest candidate in a general election against GOP nominee Tom Tiffany.
Barnes’ sixth-place showing marks another significant setback for the 2022 U.S. Senate nominee. Despite positioning himself as a top-tier contender with name recognition and fundraising muscle, he failed to connect with the party’s activist base at its largest gathering before the primary. The result continues the trend that the campaign has struggled to gain traction even among core Democrats. In “What the Democratic Party Straw Poll Could Tell Us About the Governor’s Race,” we wrote before the straw poll:
Barnes doesn’t need to win the straw poll this weekend–he still has the most name ID of any candidate in the race and a large donor network built up from his previous run for higher office. But he cannot afford a poor performance. Anything outside the top two would be disappointing for Barnes. Anything below third place could only cause those doubts to grow louder and present an opening to someone else.
The straw poll, while informal, serves as an early indicator of organizational strength and activist enthusiasm two months before voters decide the nominee. With no candidate dominating both public polls and party insiders, Democrats head into the final stretch of the primary in visible disarray.
Rodriguez’s victory gives her campaign fresh momentum and a concrete talking point for donors and voters seeking stability against the socialist grassroots tide of Francesca Hong. For Barnes, the message from Madison is clear: frontrunner status and name ID from the 2022 election mean little if the party faithful who knock on doors and staff phone banks are not on board.
