Lt. Gov. Sara Rodriguez Ends Campaign For Governor

Sara Rodriguez. Photo from the candidate.

Lt. Gov. Sara Rodriguez has ended her campaign for governor, abandoning a once-promising bid that unraveled in less than a week amid revelations that she had been given wildly inaccurate information about her campaign’s finances.

Rodriguez announced her withdrawal Friday, four days after she described the financial problems as a “bump in the road” and vowed to remain in the race.

“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 in a statement. “This race is too important to Wisconsin to let that happen.”

Her departure follows several days of rapidly changing campaign finance filings and unanswered questions about how much money the campaign actually has.

Rodriguez’s campaign filed and refiled its latest finance report several times in recent days, alternately reporting approximately $34,000 and $600,000 in cash on hand as of June 30 before again reporting approximately $34,000.

The lieutenant governor said Monday that her campaign’s financial position was “hundreds of thousands of dollars” worse than she had been led to believe. At the time, she said the campaign had slightly more than $200,000 available.

Rodriguez said Monday that campaign contributions had been double-counted and that certain significant expenses were not included in reports prepared by her longtime campaign manager, Kara Spencer. Rodriguez fired Spencer on Sunday and assembled a team of attorneys, accountants and campaign finance experts to examine the records.

The campaign contacted the Wisconsin Ethics Commission and began reviewing reports Spencer had prepared throughout Rodriguez’s political career.

It remains unclear whether the review has identified missing money, additional unpaid obligations or other inaccuracies. Rodriguez did not provide new details about the discrepancies in announcing her withdrawal.

“I am deeply hurt and betrayed by what happened,” she said. “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.”

The collapse began when a previously announced $1 million television advertising campaign failed to launch July 7. Rodriguez said her media team told her the following day that an advertising invoice had not been paid and that Spencer offered explanations that “did not make sense.”

At approximately the same time, Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley was ending his gubernatorial campaign.

Rodriguez pursued Crowley’s endorsement after learning there were problems with the advertising purchase, though she said she did not yet understand the scope of the campaign’s financial problems. Crowley publicly endorsed Rodriguez July 9 without being told about the unpaid invoice or questions surrounding her campaign’s finances, according to a source close to his campaign.

Rodriguez said Monday that she did not learn the extent of the discrepancies until after accepting the endorsement.

The timing drew additional scrutiny because Rodriguez had previously attacked Crowley over the accidental lapse of Milwaukee County’s employee health insurance contract, calling that incident a “breakdown in leadership.”

Her Democratic rivals quickly seized on the campaign finance revelations.

Joel Brennan asked Monday, “How is this not disqualifying?” State Sen. Kelda Roys’ campaign said voters were becoming “far too familiar” with Rodriguez apologizing. Former Lt. Gov. Mandela Barnes’ campaign issued the harshest response, saying Rodriguez “only noticed hundreds of thousands of dollars missing when she didn’t see her face on TV.”

Rodriguez had appeared to be gaining momentum before the financial problems became public. She won the straw poll at the Democratic Party of Wisconsin convention and secured endorsements from Crowley and former Wisconsin Economic Development Corp. Secretary Missy Hughes, who had also withdrawn from the race.

The lieutenant governor said Friday that remaining in the race would allow the controversy to overshadow the Democratic primary and the party’s effort to retain the governor’s office.

“I got into this race because I wanted what was best for Wisconsin. That hasn’t changed,” Rodriguez said. “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.”

Though much like the murky financial situation, her withdrawal wasn’t clear. She never explicitly said she’s suspending her campaign and similarly worded press release. A campaign spokesperson needed to confirm the campaign’s suspension to the press.

Her withdrawal leaves Barnes, Brennan, Roys and state Rep. Francesca Hong competing in the Aug. 11 Democratic primary. The winner is expected to face Republican U.S. Rep. Tom Tiffany in November. Gov. Tony Evers is not seeking a third term.

Rodriguez, a former emergency room nurse and health care executive, was elected to the state Assembly in 2020 and became lieutenant governor in 2023. She would have been Wisconsin’s first female governor.

She did not endorse another candidate Friday.

“To everyone who showed up, knocked doors, made calls, and believed in what we were building — don’t stop,” Rodriguez said. “Better days are ahead because of people like you.

“Let’s keep fighting. I’ll be right there with you.”