Sara Rodriguez exits Wisconsin governor race following campaign finance controversy

Wisconsin Lieutenant Governor Sara Rodriguez has withdrawn from the Democratic race for governor, days after her campaign uncovered major errors in its financial reporting.

In a video posted on X, Rodriguez said: “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. This race is too important to let that happen.”

“I cannot, in good conscience, allow these questions to become a cloud over an election that Democrats need to win. Wisconsin deserves better than that”, she added.

Rodriguez had been considered one of the leading candidates to succeed Governor Tony Evers, who is retiring after two terms.

Earlier this week, her campaign announced it had discovered “serious mismanagement and inaccuracies” in campaign finance reports.

The findings led to the dismissal of campaign manager Kara Spencer after duplicated contributions overstated the campaign's fundraising totals.

The errors also revealed that the campaign had only $200,000 in cash available, Rodriguez told reporters on Monday.

According to the report, several Democratic rivals called on Rodriguez to end her campaign, describing the financial reporting problems as “disqualifying.”

Rodriguez had recently received endorsements from former Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation chief Missy Hughes and Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley, and had topped an unofficial straw poll at the Wisconsin Democratic Party convention earlier this summer.