Candidate forum shows Democrats' strong bench in the race for governor in Wisconsin
If last week’s fundraising suggested there are seven viable Democratic candidates seeking to be Wisconsin’s next governor, this week’s forum confirmed it.
The Recombobulation Area is a 19-time Milwaukee Press Club award-winning opinion column and online publication founded by longtime Milwaukee journalist Dan Shafer. The Recombobulation Area is now part of Civic Media.
Moments before candidates took the stage at The Cooperage in Milwaukee for the first gubernatorial campaign event of 2026, the seven candidates set to take the stage together for Main Street Action’s candidate forum, assembled near the stairway next to the stage. Being the event moderator, I was there to go over a few ground rules on how the soon-to-begin forum would be conducted. As I spoke with the group and took a quick scan of the individuals there with me, I thought about this being the first time these seven candidates would share the stage together for a campaign forum. Part of me wondered how these individuals would fare on stage under the lights in a packed house event like this, with more than 400 people filling The Cooperage with standing-room-only seating. Mostly, though, I had few concerns, and was very much looking forward to hearing what this group of people would have to say.
Because I truly believe this is a terrific group of Democratic candidates running for governor. Each of them are qualified, compelling individuals with something to say about the future of this great state. The people of Wisconsin are lucky to have this group of candidates — Lt. Gov. Sara Rodriguez, Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley, State Rep. Francesca Hong, State Sen. Kelda Roys, former WEDC Director Missy Hughes, former DOA Secretary Joel Brennan, and former Lt. Gov. Mandela Barnes — competing for their votes.
I have said this over and over, dating back to last summer when I called on Gov. Evers’ to not seek re-election and pass the torch to the next generation: Democrats in Wisconsin have a strong bench. There are folks with executive experience, legislative experience, leadership qualities, and a vision for the future of the state. Some of the typical bedwetters on the left might be worried about a big primary. I do not. With so much uncertainty in the direction of the Democratic Party, I think having a robust discussion about where the state is headed with seven more-than-qualified candidates is exactly what we need right now.
Over the last two weeks, the campaign has reached two significant milestones. One was the forum itself — and sure, we can call this the unofficial start of the 2026 campaign season; we’ll take it. You can watch the full event exclusively at the Civic Media YouTube Channel, embedded here.
Candidates fielded questions from small business owners on many of the kitchen table, pocketbook issues that Democrats should be prioritizing in 2026 campaigns, issues like health care, child care, fair tax policy, small business growth, and the Main Street economy. Because let’s not forget, Wisconsin is a small business state. More than 99% of businesses here in the state are small businesses. Nearly half of all employees in Wisconsin are working at a small business, and that’s a higher rate than most U.S. states. It’s a very good thing that they are the types of issues that these candidates are talking about to kick off the 2026 campaign.
I’d encourage you to take the time to listen to these responses — and over at Civic Media Today, we’ve made it simple to navigate to each individual question and answer (find that here) — because the details matter. Yes, these are all Democrats, so there’s a lot they’re going to agree on, but the subtle differences matter. As Erik Gunn of Wisconsin Examiner noted in his coverage of the forum, “Their answers showed only occasional differences on matters of policy. The greater contrasts were in style, tone, vocabulary and presentation.” That matters, too. There’s a lot still for all of us to process from this forum. Hopefully, it serves as an important baseline for many more conversations to come.
Of course, there’s far more going on under the surface in these campaigns, and the other significant milestone for the race came the week prior with the release of candidates’ fundraising reports, which covered July 1 to Dec. 31 of 2025.
Here’s how the tally broke down:
Among the top candidates running in the Democratic primary, Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley led the field with $800,000 raised, followed by Lt. Gov. Sara Rodriguez at $650,000.
Some caveats apply here, as Mandela Barnes and Joel Brennan did not launch their respective campaigns until December, while Rodriguez launched in July, and campaigns for Kelda Roys, Francesca Hong, Missy Hughes, and Crowley each launched in September.
Per JR Ross of WisPolitics, about $141,000 of what Crowley raised was from his Milwaukee County Executive campaign. Ross also notes that Hong had the most individual donations of anyone in the field, at about 7,400.
Overall, though, what this level of fundraising for each of these candidates shows is that every one is now a viable campaign. There were no flops in the bunch. This is going to be a competitive primary, and these numbers and the overall campaign dynamics suggest this is going to be competitive all the way until the Aug. 11 primary date.
If last week’s fundraising suggested there are seven viable Democratic candidates seeking to be Wisconsin’s next governor, this week’s forum confirmed it. This is a deep bench. This is a strong group. And any of them could very well become Wisconsin’s next governor.
I was thrilled to be a part of this conversation as its moderator, and I am looking forward to more robust conversations about the future of the state from this fascinating group of seven candidates.
PLUS: Dan Shafer joined Kate Duffy of Motherhood for Good and Kristin Brey, co-host of 620 WTMJ’s “Point Taken” on their Thursday night live-stream, to talk about the candidate forum and more.
Find more media coverage of the event here:
Here’s all the press (so far):
Main Street Action hosts Democratic gubernatorial candidate forum (Spectrum News)
Wisconsin governor’s race; Democratic candidates debate key issues (Fox 6)
Dem guv candidates condemn ICE following Minnesota shooting (WisPolitics)
7 Democrats make their pitch at governor candidate forum. 6 takeaways (USA Today)
At forum for Democrats running for governor, style and tone differ more sharply than policy (Wisconsin Examiner)
Seven Democratic gubernatorial hopefuls try to separate from the pack at first candidate forum (CBS 58)
Democratic candidates for Wisconsin governor look to stand out at first major forum (WPR)
Democratic gubernatorial candidates discuss small business, I.C.E. activity at Milwaukee forum (620 WTMJ)
And they’re off: 7 Democratic candidates for WI governor hold first forum (UpNorth News)
Dan Shafer is a journalist from Milwaukee who writes and publishes The Recombobulation Area. In 2024, he became the Political Editor of Civic Media. He’s written for The New York Times, The Daily Beast, Heartland Signal, Belt Magazine, WisPolitics, and Milwaukee Record. He previously worked at Seattle Magazine, Seattle Business Magazine, the Milwaukee Business Journal, Milwaukee Magazine, and BizTimes Milwaukee. He’s won 23 Milwaukee Press Club Excellence in Journalism Awards. He’s on Twitter at @DanRShafer.
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I enjoyed attending this event very much! As someone who is not a small business owner I found a lot of the discussion framed the conversation in ways that a friend noted as "republican coded."
I imagine that analysis won't be taken by many serious people, and it would be a mistake to think that specific questions like that from WECAN's Corrine Hendrickson involving childcare didn't resonate beyond the intended audience. It was the perfect environment for someone like a Missy Hughes, or Brennan to shine.
Great job moderating, Dan. Fun to see a packed house.