7 Candidates, 5 minutes each: Democrats make their pitch for governor
MADISON Wisc. (CBS 58) -- It was the second and final day of the Democratic State Convention and all seven democratic candidates running for governor were given five minutes to tell their party why they should be the democratic nominee for governor.
The topics varied but each candidate shared how they plan to move the state forward. With just five minutes some had their mics cut before they were done speaking. Each of them touched on an issue that recent polling has shown is on the minds of Wisconsinites affordability.
One Milwaukee delegate we spoke with says there are multiple layers to affordability.
“I guess you could say that would be a variety of things when it comes to affordability, like housing or tuition,” Ana Wilson, a Milwaukee County delegate said.
Wilson is a college student and says she has a candidate in mind that she is leaning towards but didn’t want to share who that was. She wants whoever the candidate is to be there for their constituents and listen to the concerns they have.
Every candidate touched on how to make things more affordable. Some acknowledging the issue during their speech and blaming Tom Tiffany.
“Tom Tiffany doesn’t care he has voted for Trumps entire cost raising agenda 100% of the time,” Lt. Gov. Sara Rodriguez and democratic candidate for governor said.
The Democratic Party of Wisconsin conventioneers voted in a WisPolitics straw poll and favored Lt. Gov. Sara Rodriguez to be the party’s nominee for governor in 2026.
Mandela Barnes, the former Lt. Governor, notably lost a race for Senate to incumbent Republican Senator Ron Johnson in 2022. He places sixth in the straw poll. He focused much of his speech to convention goers on Tom Tiffany, the republican nominee for Governor.
“Tom Tiffany is a coward. Every single day instead of representing the people he was elected to represent he bends the knee to a wannabee dictator,” Barnes said.
According to WisPolitics, Barnes has been a frontrunner in public and private polling.
Others highlight their experience and track record.
Joe Brennan, who served as the secretary of the Wisconsin Department of Administration under Governor Tony Evers from January 2019 to December 2021, highlighted policy victories he feels he helped craft.
“We created the largest surplus in state history. We grew rainy day fund from less than 200 million dollars to two billion. We invested in broadband,” Brennan said.
Brennan placed fifth in the straw poll.
Missy Hughes, the former CEO of Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation took an economic approach. She shared how she helped build the company Organic Valley. She says the company started with seven family farms that changed how they do business and eventually grew to include 1,600.
“In order to have economic justice, you have to have economic growth and you have to deliver a candidate to them who has proven record of results,” Hughes said.
She placed last in the straw poll.
Current Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley focused his speech on policy change. He said when he is in office he will focus on affordability, care and opportunity calling them the "badger basics."
He said he will repeal a law that has been on the books in Wisconsin since 1939. He says that law adds 36 cents to every gallon of gas Wisconsinites buy. He says he has a track record of creating change.
“When people in Milwaukee County needed affordable housing, we acted and built over a thousand units in just six years,” Crowley said.
Crowly placed fourth in the straw poll.
State Sen. Kelda Roys, who finished third in the poll, said she wants to increase wages and lower costs. She highlighted her record on abortion, and how she worked to expand Bager Care. She says she will fight corporations to make sure they pay their fair share in Wisconsin. She says she is ready to lead Wisconsin Democrats from their goalie era to their governing era.
“I don’t just have bullet points, I have bills. I don’t just have social posts, I have plans, and we know this is possible, because we have done it before,” Roys said.
Self-proclaimed Democratic Socialist State Rep. Francesca Hong used her speech to highlight how Wisconsin has always been a state that looks to the future. She says while her policies might be hard to envision now, they are possible and she is electable on a statewide level, because people like her have been elected before.
“Wisconsin is where environmentalism was born, where progressivism was born, where the 'Wisconsin Idea' was born,” Hong said. "This is the state of Vel Phillips.”
According to UW Madison, Vel Phillips was an African American woman who graduated from the University of Wisconsin–Madison law school in 1951. In 1956, she became the first woman and the first African American elected to Milwaukee’s Common Council. Throughout the 1960s, Phillips championed fair housing bills and often participated in non-violent protests against discrimination in housing, education, and employment. In 1978, Phillips made national history as the first woman and first African American elected to a state office as the Secretary of State of Wisconsin.
Each one of these candidates will be on the ballot in August. A breakdown of the WisPolitics poll can be found below. Democrats also responded to a poll of who they would like to see as the Democratic nominee for president too. Those results are included.
2026 Democratic convention straw poll results
Ballots cast: 597
If the 2026 Democratic primary for governor were held today, whom would you support?
Sara Rodriguez…………164 votes
Francesca Hong………..138 votes
Kelda Roys………………114 votes
David Crowley…………...78 votes
Joel Brennan…………….52 votes
Mandela Barnes…………41 votes
Missy Hughes……………10 votes
If the 2028 Democratic primary for president were held today, whom would you support?
Pete Buttigieg…………………....102 votes
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez………101 votes
JB Pritzker………………………...81 votes
Mark Kelly…………………………49 votes
Jon Ossoff…………………………40 votes
Gavin Newsom…………………...34 votes
Andy Beshear…………………….33 votes
Kamala Harris…………………….29 votes
Gretchen Whitmer………………..26 votes
Josh Shapiro………………………18 votes
Cory Booker……………………….15 votes
Ro Khanna…………………………15 votes
Wes Moore…………………………13 votes
Rahm Emanuel…………………….4 votes
Elissa Slotkin……………………….4 votes
Ruben Gallego……………………..0 votes
Write-in……………………………..13 votes
No vote……………………………...20