WI-GOV: Small Set of Counties Could Pick Democratic Candidate for Governor

It was a poll of registered voters, but it suggests what major gains Democratic candidates for governor must make to win the party’s nomination in the Aug. 17 primary — only six months away. The November election will be the first vote for a governor with no incumbent since 2010.

In November 2022, votes for governor in only 11 counties — and four regions of the state — made up 54% of the statewide vote total of 2.65 million. Fine-print details of the October 2025 Marquette University Law School poll show how little-known six of the eight Democratic candidates for governor were to voters in those four regions.

Two disclosures: First, the Oct. 15-22 poll was conducted before two more Milwaukee County Democrats — former Lt. Gov. Mandela Barnes and former state Administration Secretary Joel Brennan — announced their runs for governor. Barnes announced on Dec. 2; Brennan, Dec. 12. And it was conducted before Washington County Executive Josh Schoemann dropped out as a Republican candidate, leaving 7th District U.S. Rep. Tom Tiffany as the presumptive Republican nominee for governor in November.

Still, even with those caveats, the low October name ID numbers of the six Democrats in those four regions of the state are notable.





https://urbanmilwaukee.com/2026/02/16/the-state-of-politics-small-set-of-counties-could-pick-democratic-candidate-for-governor/