Following Social Media Discoveries, Republican Ends Campaign For Governor

Wisconsin businessman Bill Berrien launched a Republican bid for governor on Wednesday, July 9, 2025. Screengrab from Berrien campaign.

One of the candidates in the GOP primary for Wisconsin governor has dropped out of the race, days after it was reported that he once followed several authors of sexually explicit essays on social media.

New Berlin businessman Bill Berrien, who got into the race for governor in July, announced Friday that he was suspending his campaign.

“As a result of our politics today, I cannot focus on the issues I know will turn Wisconsin around,” Berrien wrote in a statement on his campaign website. “I have come to the conclusion I do not have a path to the nomination. Looking towards what is in the best interest of the party, voters, donors, and my family, I have decided to end my campaign.”

Berrien’s departure from the race comes the same week that Congressman Tom Tiffany, a Republican from Minocqua, announced he was running for governor. Also running is Washington County Executive Josh Schoemann, who got into the race for governor in May.

When Berrien launched his campaign this summer, he began with an ad that framed himself as a businessman, ex-Navy SEAL and political outsider, not to mention a big supporter of President Donald Trump. Berrien financed his early ads with the help of a political action committee, whose biggest donors included the billionaire brothers known as the Winklevoss twins, made famous for their lawsuit against Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg.

The ads also criticized Gov. Tony Evers’ record on transgender issues, pledging to “keep boys out of our daughters’ sports and locker rooms.” Evers has vetoed multiple bills aimed at restricting trans kids from joining K-12 girls’ or university women’s sports teams.

While Berrien’s position is common in GOP politics, it came under new light when his social media history became public. The Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel reported that Berrien used the social media platform Medium to follow a transgender porn star named Jiz Lee. Berrien also followed publications like “Sexography,” which calls itself “an inclusive place for people to talk about and explore sexuality from all orientations, cultures, and perspectives,” and “Polyamory Today,” which promotes relationships with multiple partners.

As news of the subscriptions spread, Lee, who identifies as non-binary, addressed them on social media.

“It’s okay to follow trans porn stars,” Lee wrote on the platform Bluesky. “It’s okay to read articles about sex and relationships. What’s not okay is the hypocrisy of backing forceful legislation that restricts what people, trans and otherwise, can do with their own bodies. That is shameful.”

In Berrien’s statement Friday, he considers himself intellectually curious, suggesting the media had “cherry-picked” a handful of articles he read years ago based on opposition research aimed at forcing him out of the race.

“And for what?” Berrien wrote. “For reading! Nothing illegal, nothing unethical and nothing immoral. Just reading. Wouldn’t you want your political and business leaders (and all of society, frankly) to be widely read and thoughtful and aware of different perspectives and ideas?”

While there had been calls by at least some Republicans for Berrien to drop out of the race, Anthony Chergosky, a professor of political science at the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse, said it was still unusual to see so early in a campaign.

“It’s always very surprising when a candidate drops out prior to the calendar year in which the primary is going to happen,” Chergosky said. “So a candidate dropping out at this stage reveals that something has gone horribly wrong.”

While Berrien’s social media history received more attention, there were other elements of his past that bothered some conservatives. In the last presidential campaign, he donated $30,000 to support former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley, who was seen early-on as a leading alternative to Trump in the GOP primary. Conservative talk radio hosts also attacked Berrien for his past support of ranked choice voting.

But in other ways, he checked significant boxes for Republicans, billing himself as a private sector candidate and political “outsider.” The other Republicans running, Tiffany and Schoemann, are best known for their government experience.

The field of candidates on the Democratic side is larger, and expected to grow. It includes Lt. Gov. Sara Rodriguez, Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley, Madison state Sen. Kelda Roys and Madison state Rep. Francesca Hong. Others who may yet run include Attorney General Josh Kaul and former Lt. Gov. Mandela Barnes.

Republican Bill Berrien ends campaign for Wisconsin governor was originally published by Wisconsin Public Radio.