E-Paper
Who is Sara Rodriguez? Wisconsin Lt. Gov drops out of governor primary race after firing campaign manager, ‘deeply hurt’
Wisconsin Lt. Gov. Sara Rodriguez has ended her Democratic primary campaign for governor due to financial reporting issues.
Lt. Gov. Sara Rodriguez has declared the termination of her campaign in the Democratic primary for the governorship of Wisconsin, attributing this decision to issues related to financial reporting in a statement that was made public.
Rodriguez's exit comes after her choice on July 13 to dismiss her longtime campaign manager, Kara Spencer, due to what she referred to as “serious mismanagement” and discrepancies in financial reporting, WISN reported.
Rodriguez mentioned during that period that she realized her campaign manager was double-counting certain contributions, which left the campaign with around $200,000 in cash as they approached the final month of the primary.
Sara Rodriguez says she's ‘deeply hurt and betrayed’
"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," Rodriguez stated, according to WISN. "This race is too important to Wisconsin to let that happen."
"I am deeply hurt and betrayed by what happened. As I said on Monday, part of being a leader is taking swift action, doing the right thing, and being as honest as possible when there's a problem," she said.
Sara Rodriguez thanks family, supporters
In her statement, Rodriguez expressed gratitude towards her family and supporters, stating that her motivation for entering the race was to pursue what she believed to be in the best interest of Wisconsin.
"And because I believe that, 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 noted.
"To everyone who showed up, knocked doors, made calls, and believed in what we were building — don't stop," Rodriguez said. "Wisconsin has always been a place of resilience, where every day citizens show up and accomplish extraordinary things. Better days are ahead because of people like you."
Sara Rodriguez's campaign finance report
As per the campaign finance reports submitted by the midnight deadline, Rodriguez has raised a total of $561,817, with $34,990 in cash available in her initial filing for the first half of the year. "The former staff member who was responsible for preparing our campaign finance information provided limited documentation before termination, and we are continuing to gather the full picture. We expect to amend our reports as additional information becomes available."
Public court records stated that Spencer was involved in two lawsuits in small claims court and faced an eviction notice due to over $8,000 in unpaid rent and fees last summer, as per WISN.
Wisconsin Gov race: Who are the other candidates
Rodriguez was among the five candidates still in the Democratic primary, which included Mandela Barnes, Joel Brennan, Francesca Hong, and Kelda Roys.
The reported fundraising amounts for the first half of the year were as follows: Barnes raised $841,358 with $204,207 in cash on hand; Hong raised $708,884 with $410,563 in cash on hand; Brennan raised $665,627 with $359,583 in cash on hand; and Roys raised $527,432 with $406,492 in cash on hand.
The primary election is scheduled for August 11.
