A new ad from long-shot gubernatorial candidate Joel Brennan casts fellow Democrats Francesca Hong, who is Asian American, and Mandela Barnes and David Crowley, who are Black, as unable to win a general election, but does not mention Kelda Roys, who is white.
“She is an proud socialist,” he ad says of Hong. “He lost statewide before,” it says of Barnes, who narrowly lost a race for US Senate to incumbent Ron Johnson in 2022. “A couple weeks ago, he dropped out,” it says of David Crowley, who excited the race July 7 and re-entered 10 days later after Sara Rodriguez dropped out. “They’ll all lose to Republicans in November,” Brennan says in the ad. “I will win in November, and I’ll never quit on Wisconsin.”
Critics note that State Senator Kelda Roys, who consistently has polled ahead of Brennan but well behind Barnes and Hong, was not included in Brennan’s list of unelectable candidates.
A Marquette University Law School poll released Wednesday, with data gathered before Rodriguez left and Crowley re-entered the race, found Hong with a commanding lead at 26% to Barnes’ 15%. Rodriguez polled at 11% followed by Brennan at 2% and Roys at 1%. Nearly half of the voters polled, 45%, say they’re still undecided.
Marquette also found Hong tied with Republican Tom Tiffany in a hypothetical general election at 45% each, with 11% undecided.
In May, Brennan said, “I don’t think we’re there yet” when asked whether Wisconsin was ready for a governor who’s not a white man. He later clarified those remarks and in July, at a forum hosted by Blacks for Political and Social Action, said a Black candidate could win statewide in Wisconsin.
In a statement issued Wednesday, the Democratic Party of Wisconsin Black Caucus called the ad released this week “disappointing.”
“As Governor, it will be your responsibility to understand the impact your actions have on Wisconsinites and learn from them,” the statement reads. “It’s extremely disappointing that Joel Brennan released an ad saying none of the candidates of color running for governor could win in November following previous comments in May on this issue. We hope the feedback he’s receiving will readjust campaign messaging to undo this harm and demonstrate that any Wisconsinite, regardless of background, can be elected Governor of our state.”
In response to a request for comment from Madison365, the Brennan campaign wrote in an email, “Madison insiders want Wisconsin Democrats to believe the three candidates we highlight are the only candidates – they are not. Each candidate has to make their own case, and our ad points to the facts about others running, why Joel is the strongest candidate to beat Tom Tiffany, and what he’ll do for Wisconsin as governor.”
