In his announcement dropping his bid for governor, Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley said Democrats will need to coalesce around a candidate who can defeat Republican U.S. Rep. Tom Tiffany in November. He provided his answer Thursday for who he thinks can win in the general election: Lt. Gov. Sara Rodriguez.

Crowley is the second candidate to drop out of the race in recent weeks, leaving five candidates competing for the Democratic spot on the November ballot. Along with Rodriguez the Democratic candidates who remain are state Rep. Francesca Hong, state Sen. Kelda Roys, former Lt. Gov. Mandela Barnes and Joel Brennan, former head of the Department of Administration under Gov. Tony Evers. The winner of the August primary will likely face Tiffany, who is endorsed by the state GOP and President Donald Trump.

“I’ve said all along that the next governor’s job description is simple: make this state affordable, make sure care shows up for families before a crisis hits, and build real opportunity that runs from the classroom to a good-paying job,” Crowley said in a statement Thursday. “That was the mission of my campaign, and it’s exactly what Sara Rodriguez has spent her career doing. She doesn’t just meet that job description; she’s lived it, on the front lines, for the people who need it most. That’s the governor Wisconsin needs, and that’s why I’m proud to stand with her.”

Crowley announced his decision to suspend his campaign after failing to break into the top tier of contenders in  public polling. A Marquette Law School poll showed  he had about 3% of Democratic primary voters’ support. The next Marquette Law School poll will be released on July 22.

“We share a belief that government should solve problems and put people first,” Rodriguez said about Crowley in a statement. “We may have started this race on different paths, but today we’re united in the same fight: delivering for Wisconsin families.”

It’s the latest big change in the Democratic primary field as Rodriguez has started to gain some momentum in the race, finishing first in a straw poll at the state party convention last month. Former Wisconsin Economic Development Corp. CEO Missy Hughes, who dropped out in late June, also endorsed Rodriguez. 

At a press conference Thursday morning in Milwaukee, Crowley said nobody called him to ask him to step out and there was “no establishment process” behind his decision. He was answering a question about what he would say to voters who are concerned that mainstream Democrats may be consolidating behind Rodriguez in order to stop Democratic Socialist candidate Francesca Hong.

Hong is running on a platform of universal childcare, paid family and medical leave, establishing a public grocery store and bank as well as implementing a one-year moratorium on data center construction. She has had growing support behind her over the course of the campaign including polling at the top of public polls. 

Hong came in second after Rodriguez in a straw poll of party activists conducted at the Democratic Party of Wisconsin convention.

“I think it’s extremely important that all of us as candidates start to make decisions about how we win this race and making sure that we are keeping the Democratic party, keeping the people at the center of these decisions,” Crowley said, adding that he made the decision himself.

Rodriguez, responding  to the question about whether her supporters are seeking to push out a more progressive candidate, said people should look at her campaign website: “Look at what I’ve done for the state of Wisconsin. Look at what I’m planning to do.”

Rodriguez has served with Evers as lieutenant governor since 2023 and previously served in the state Assembly for one term. Prior to that she worked as a nurse and then in leadership positions for a couple of healthcare organizations, including at Advocate Aurora Health. 

Democratic candidates seek to show strength

Crowley’s departure from the race left other candidates seeking ways to show their campaigns’ strength.

The Barnes campaign shared an internal poll with reporters that was conducted from April 17-23 with 800 likely Democratic primary voters in Wisconsin. The poll showed Barnes polling at 30% support, Hong at 23% and Rodriguez at 17%. Crowley had 5%. The campaign said the internal poll, which also asked voters about their second choice, “suggests Crowley’s exit significantly increases Mandela’s paths to victory, with the majority of his voters going to Barnes.”

The campaign also noted an internal poll from the Rodriguez campaign conducted in May that showed Barnes polling at 26%, Hong at 22% and Rodriguez at 15%. 

In a social media post after Crowley’s announcement, Barnes highlighted that both of them are from the same zip code in Milwaukee.

“David has a life experience that is far too often missing from our politics, and that life experience has driven him to deliver real results for Milwaukee County families,” Barnes said in a social media post. “I hope all those inspired by David’s campaign can find a place in our movement to end the rigged system that’s holding back Wisconsin families. It’s time for us all to come together to beat Tom Tiffany.”

Barnes also launched a six-figure ad buy Thursday that will run in the Milwaukee in the run-up to the primary. An outside group backing Barnes, Impossible Until It’s Done, has also started a $500,000 TV ad for him.

Ahead of next week’s campaign finance filing deadline, Roys’ campaign announced that she raised over $1.2 million for the June 30 filing deadline. The campaign said the money ensures Roys will be able to communicate with voters ahead of the Aug. 11 primary.

Roys spokesperson Jalen Knuteson said in a statement that the campaign’s internal polling shows that her “message performs the best of all the candidates’, and she doesn’t need the most money to win — she just needs enough to get her message out.”

According to the campaign, her second ad will launch next week.

Responding to questions from the Examiner about the state of the race and Roys’ path forward, Knuteson said in a written statement that “voters should decide who the Democratic nominee for governor is, and we would be failing to learn lessons of past elections if we try to crown a candidate without an earnest primary.”

Update: This story has been updated to include additional comment from the Roys campaign.