Mandela Barnes has withdrawn from the Democratic primary for Wisconsin governor with less than two weeks remaining before the August 11 election. Barnes, a former lieutenant governor, announced his decision through a video on his Facebook page. His exit comes as democratic socialist Francesca Hong gains substantial support from the party’s liberal faction.

The latest Marquette Law School poll revealed Hong leading Barnes and other candidates by a wide margin, although a significant portion of voters remain undecided. “It’s become very clear who our nominee is going to be,” Barnes stated.

Barnes is the third Democratic candidate to leave the race. Earlier, Lt. Gov. Sara Rodriguez withdrew amid a campaign finance scandal, and former state economic development director Missy Hughes ended her bid in June. Following Rodriguez’s departure, Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley re-entered the race with Governor Tony Evers’ endorsement. Crowley appealed directly to Barnes’ supporters, inviting them to join his campaign efforts with a message on social media.

Governor Evers expressed surprise at Barnes’ decision but maintained his support for Crowley. Evers emphasized Crowley’s collaboration with him and Republican legislators on local funding issues. Evers noted his belief that Crowley was the best candidate despite Barnes’ involvement.

Meanwhile, Hong has not yet commented on the situation. Joel Brennan, another candidate, lamented the focus on the chaos rather than the election’s stakes.

The primary race has seen notable developments as over 128,000 absentee ballots have been returned, and early in-person voting is underway. Additionally, a lawsuit backed by the Democratic Party to allow voters to cancel submitted absentee ballots was dismissed by a judge.

The Democratic primary winner will likely face U.S. Rep. Tom Tiffany in the general election. Tiffany, with President Donald Trump’s endorsement, encounters minimal opposition in the Republican primary.

Barnes’ campaign exit follows a previous political experience where he gained advantage from other candidates’ withdrawals in the 2022 Democratic Senate primary. He narrowly lost that race to Republican Senator Ron Johnson by under 27,000 votes.