Wisconsin Lt. Gov. Sara Rodriguez drops out of governor primary race
The sudden departure comes less than four weeks before the primary election and follows the recent firing of her longtime campaign manager.
MILWAUKEE —
Lt. Gov. Sara Rodriguez announced she is ending her campaign in the Democratic primary for Wisconsin governor, citing financial reporting issues in a statement released.
Rodriguez’s departure follows her decision on July 13 to fire her longtime campaign manager, Kara Spencer, for what she described as “serious mismanagement” and financial inaccuracies.
Rodriguez said at the time that she discovered her campaign manager had been double-counting some contributions, leaving the campaign with about $200,000 cash on hand heading into the final month of the primary.
“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,” Rodriguez said. “This race is too important to Wisconsin to let that happen.”
“I am deeply hurt and betrayed by what happened. As I said on Monday, part of being a leader is taking swift action, doing the right thing, and being as honest as possible when there’s a problem,” she said.
In her statement, Rodriguez thanked her family and supporters and said she got into the race because she wanted what was best for Wisconsin.
“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,” she said.
“To everyone who showed up, knocked doors, made calls, and believed in what we were building — don’t stop,” Rodriguez said. “Wisconsin has always been a place of resilience, where every day citizens show up and accomplish extraordinary things. Better days are ahead because of people like you.”
According to campaign finance filings submitted by the midnight deadline, Rodriguez raised $561,817 with $34,990 cash on hand in her initial filing during the first six months of the year.
“The former staff member who was responsible for preparing our campaign finance information provided limited documentation before termination, and we are continuing to gather the full picture. We expect to amend our reports as additional information becomes available.”
Public court records show Spencer was sued twice in small claims court and faced an eviction filing for more than $8,000 in unpaid rent and fees last summer, according to WISN reporting.
Rodriguez had been one of five candidates remaining in the Democratic primary, alongside Mandela Barnes, Joel Brennan, Francesca Hong and Kelda Roys.
Their reported fundraising totals for the first six months of the year were: Barnes, $841,358 with $204,207 cash on hand; Hong, $708,884 with $410,563 cash on hand; Brennan, $665,627 with $359,583 cash on hand; and Roys, $527,432 with $406,492 cash on hand.
The primary election is Aug. 11.
