Wisconsin Democrat Mandela Barnes announced his campaign for governor earlier this month, despite warnings against it from both the Milwaukee Courier and The New York Times. Barnes is considered the frontrunner, largely from name recognition — he was Tony Evers' Lt. Governor during his first term and lost a Senate bid to Ron Johnson in 2022. But it's clear Democrats don't think he can win, and rightly so: Barnes is a far-Left radical who supports cashless bail, abolishing ICE, and defunding the police. Even Barnes knows this, as his campaign rhetoric has suddenly turned more moderate on those hot-button issues.
And now we learned Barnes lost a key endorsement from the state's largest public employee union.
The clearest sign yet that institutional Democrats do not want Mandela Barnes to win the Wisconsin gubernatorial primary: AFSCME Local 32 (the state's largest public employee union) endorsed him in the 2022 Senate primary. This time? They endorsed Sara Rodriguez. pic.twitter.com/5uv5QjLk29
— Dan O'Donnell (@DanODonnellShow) December 10, 2025
Sara Rodriguez is the current Lt. Governor of Wisconsin.
Here's more from Rodriguez's campaign website:
In a major development in the 2026 governor’s race, AFSCME Wisconsin — representing thousands of state, county, municipal, and frontline workers across Wisconsin — today announced its endorsement of Lt. Governor Sara Rodriguez for Governor. This marks one of the most influential labor endorsements in the state and a clear signal that working people see Rodriguez as the strongest candidate to win in November and fight for them in office.
“We are proud to stand with a leader who has spent her life on the front lines, both as a nurse and an elected official devoted to enacting laws that help working people thrive rather than serving the interests of politicians,” said AFSCME Wisconsin President Paul Spink. “As the people who make public services a reality for our communities, we are excited to endorse Sara Rodriguez for Governor and stand beside her in this critical race.”
Rodriguez embraced the endorsement.
Recommended
When working people win, Wisconsin wins.
— Sara Rodriguez (@saraforwi) December 8, 2025
Honored to have the support of AFSCME as we build an economy that actually works for workers, not just CEOs. pic.twitter.com/tJgqcQ5gn7
As the daughter of a proud union teaching assistant, this endorsement from AFSCME hits home. I’ve been on the frontlines – in the ER, in public health, and in the Capitol – and I’ll never stop fighting for Wisconsin’s workers.https://t.co/KZMyjBZHVv
— Sara Rodriguez (@saraforwi) November 20, 2025
The union endorsement is key, as Democrats in the state try to overturn Act 10, the union-busting legislation passed by former Governor Scott Walker in 2011. They have long opposed the legislation, which made enrolling in public sector unions optional, among other things.
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