2026 Wisconsin gubernatorial election

2026 Wisconsin gubernatorial election

The 2026 Wisconsin gubernatorial election is scheduled to take place on November 3, 2026, to elect the governor of Wisconsin. The primary election will take place on August 11, 2026. Incumbent Democratic governor Tony Evers declined to seek re-election to a third term.

This will be one of five Democratic-held governorships up for election in 2026 in a state won by President Donald Trump in the 2024 presidential election and the state with the closest presidential margin of victory, just under one percentage point. This is the first Wisconsin gubernatorial election since (/wiki/2010Wisconsingubernatorialelection) in which the incumbent was not seeking re-election.

Background

2026 Wisconsin gubernatorial election

Wisconsin is considered to be a purple state at the federal and state levels with a uniquely competitive track record (presidential races decided by less than a point in (/wiki/2016UnitedStatespresidentialelectioninWisconsin), (/wiki/2020UnitedStatespresidentialelectioninWisconsin), (/wiki/2024UnitedStatespresidentialelectioninWisconsin), Senate races decided by roughly a point in (/wiki/2022UnitedStatesSenateelectioninWisconsin) and (/wiki/2024UnitedStatesSenateelectioninWisconsin), and a governor's race decided by a point in (/wiki/2018Wisconsingubernatorialelection)). The past two Wisconsin elections featured split outcomes, with Democrats winning for governor and Republicans for Senate in (/wiki/2022Wisconsinelections), and Democrats winning for Senate and Republicans for president in (/wiki/2024Wisconsinelections). Wisconsin has voted with the winner of the last five presidential elections, and in 2024 had the second highest voter turnout levels in the country behind Minnesota and one of the biggest turnout increases in the country. Both parties have seen success in the state in recent years. Republicans narrowly control both chambers of the Wisconsin Legislature and hold a supermajority in Wisconsin's U.S. House delegation. However, Democrats control most statewide executive offices and have won the last two gubernatorial races.

Incumbent Democratic governor Tony Evers, was first elected in (/wiki/2018Wisconsingubernatorialelection) when he narrowly defeated incumbent Republican Scott Walker. He was re-elected by a slightly larger margin in (/wiki/2022Wisconsingubernatorialelection), defeating Republican businessman Tim Michels. In July 2025, Evers announced he would not seek re-election to a third term. The race is widely seen as a tossup due to Evers' retirement and the state's even partisan lean.

Democratic primary

Declared

• Mandela Barnes, former lieutenant governor (2019–2023) and nominee for U.S. Senate in (/wiki/2022UnitedStatesSenateelectioninWisconsin) • Joel Brennan, former secretary of the Wisconsin Department of Administration (2019–2022) • David Crowley, Milwaukee County Executive (2020–present) • Francesca Hong, state representative from the 76th district (2021–present) • Missy Hughes, former CEO of the Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation (2019–2025) • Brett Hulsey, former state representative from the 78th district (2011–2015) and candidate for governor in (/wiki/2014Wisconsingubernatorialelection) • Sara Rodriguez, incumbent lieutenant governor (2023–present) • Zachary Roper, college student and nominee for Wisconsin's 84th Assembly district in (/wiki/2024WisconsinStateAssemblyelection) • Kelda Roys, state senator from the 26th district (2021–present), candidate for Wisconsin's 2nd congressional district in (/wiki/2012UnitedStatesHouseofRepresentativeselectionsinWisconsin#District2), and candidate for governor in (/wiki/2018Wisconsingubernatorialelection)

Declined

• Tony Evers, incumbent governor (2019–present) • Sarah Godlewski, Wisconsin Secretary of State (2023–present) and candidate for U.S. Senate in (/wiki/2022UnitedStatesSenateelectioninWisconsin) (running for lieutenant governor) • Cavalier Johnson, Mayor of Milwaukee (2021–present) (endorsed Crowley) • Josh Kaul, Attorney General of Wisconsin (2019–present) (running for re-election) • Tip McGuire, state representative from the 64th district (2019–present) • Ben Wikler, former chair of the Wisconsin Democratic Party (2019–2025) and candidate for Democratic National Committee chair in (/wiki/2025DemocraticNationalCommitteechairmanshipelection)

Fundraising

Campaign finance reports as of January 15, 2026
Candidate	Raised	Spent	Cash on hand
Mandela Barnes (D)	$555,647	$88,265	$471,471
Joel Brennan (D)	$566,212	$13,872	$552,339
David Crowley (D)	$789,281	$187,529	$602,181
Francesca Hong (D)	$368,685	$234,782	$134,588
Missy Hughes (D)	$465,402	$63,058	$402,343
Brett Hulsey (D)	$1,904	$0	$1,904
Sara Rodriguez (D)	$618,284	$135,493	$603,075
Zachary Roper (D)	N/A
Kelda Roys (D)	$355,455	$84,930	$334,032
Ryan Strnad (D)	$20,785	$19,630	$1,072
Source: Wisconsin Ethics Commission

Polling

Poll source	Date(s) administered	Sample size	Margin of error	David Crowley	Francesca Hong	Kelda Roys	Mandela Barnes	Missy Hughes	Sara Rodriguez	Other	Undecided
Marquette University	March 11–18, 2026	393 (RV)	± 6.7%	3%	14%	1%	11%	1%	3%	2%	65%
Patriot Polling (R)	March 10–16, 2026	– (LV)	–	6%	27%	–	18%	–	6%	43%
Marquette University	February 11–19, 2026	394 (RV)	± 6.9%	3%	11%	1%	10%	2%	6%	3%	65%
TIPP Insights (R)	February 6–12, 2026	1,524 (RV)	± 2.7%	7%	5%	2%	28%	1%	20%	1%	35%
TIPP Insights (R)	November 17–21, 2025	589 (LV)	–	6%	–	1%	21%	2%	6%	11%	52%
Marquette University	October 15–22, 2025	378 (RV)	± 6.9%	3%	6%	3%	–	2%	4%	0%	81%
Platform Communications	September 28–30, 2025	– (LV)	–	7%	4%	4%	16%	2%	8%	20%	39%

Declared

• Sarah Godlewski, Wisconsin Secretary of State (2023–present) and candidate for U.S. Senate in (/wiki/2022UnitedStatesSenateelectioninWisconsin)

Declined

• Sara Rodriguez, incumbent lieutenant governor (2023–present) (running for governor)

Republican primary

Declared

• Andy Manske, medical service technician • Tom Tiffany, U.S. representative for Wisconsin's 7th congressional district (2020–present)

Withdrawn

• Bill Berrien, manufacturing executive • Josh Schoemann, Washington County Executive (2020–present)

Declined

• Rohn W. Bishop, mayor of Waupun, Wisconsin (2022–present) • Eric Hovde, bank executive, nominee for U.S. Senate in (/wiki/2024UnitedStatesSenateelectioninWisconsin) and candidate in (/wiki/2012UnitedStatesSenateelectioninWisconsin) • Ron Johnson, U.S. senator (2011–present) • Mary Felzkowski, president of the Wisconsin Senate (2025–present) from the 12th district (2021–present) • Bill McCoshen, WTMJ-TV host and owner of the Janesville Jets • Tim Michels, co-owner of the Michels Corporation, nominee for governor in (/wiki/2022Wisconsingubernatorialelection) and U.S. Senate in (/wiki/2004UnitedStatesSenateelectioninWisconsin) • Matt Neumann, business owner • Bryan Steil, U.S. representative for Wisconsin's 1st congressional district (2019–present) (running for re-election; endorsed Tiffany) • Scott Walker, former governor (2011–2019)

Polling

<table><thead><tr><th>Poll source</th><th>Date(s) administered</th><th>Sample size</th><th>Margin of error</th><th>Bill Berrien</th><th>Andy Manske</th><th>Josh Schoemann</th><th>Tom Tiffany</th><th>Other</th><th>Undecided</th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td>Marquette University</td><td>March 11–18, 2026</td><td>396 (RV)</td><td>± 6.3%</td><td>–</td><td>6%</td><td>–</td><td>40%</td><td>0%</td><td>54%</td></tr><tr><td>Patriot Polling (R)</td><td>March 10–16, 2026</td><td>– (LV)</td><td>–</td><td>–</td><td>8%</td><td>–</td><td>65%</td><td>27%</td></tr><tr><td>Marquette University</td><td>February 11–19, 2026</td><td>371 (RV)</td><td>± 6.4%</td><td>–</td><td>2%</td><td>–</td><td>35%</td><td>–</td><td>63%</td></tr><tr><td></td><td>January 28, 2026</td><td>Schoemann withdraws from the race</td></tr><tr><td>Marquette University</td><td>October 15–22, 2025</td><td>406 (RV)</td><td>± 6.9%</td><td>–</td><td>0%</td><td>6%</td><td>23%</td><td>–</td><td>70%</td></tr><tr><td></td><td>September 26, 2025</td><td>Berrien withdraws from the race</td></tr><tr><td>Fabrizio, Lee & Associates (R)</td><td>July 28–31, 2025</td><td>600 (LV)</td><td>± 4.0%</td><td>10%</td><td>–</td><td>13%</td><td>40%</td><td>–</td><td>37%</td></tr></tbody></table>

Declared

• Will Martin, former director of strategic workforce initiatives for the Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development and candidate for lieutenant governor in (/wiki/2022Wisconsingubernatorialelection#Republicanprimary) • Nick Polce, business owner and candidate for Wisconsin's 1st congressional district in (/wiki/2018UnitedStatesHouseofRepresentativeselectionsinWisconsin#District1) • Cyril Sablich, college student • John Totz, Oakfield school board member • David Varnam, former mayor of Lancaster (2016–2022) and candidate for lieutenant governor in (/wiki/2022Wisconsingubernatorialelection#Republicanprimary)

Potential

• Cindy Werner, businesswoman and perennial candidate

Minor parties and independents

Declared

• David King, pastor and perennial candidate • Carlos Dixon, musician

Filed paperwork

• Oliver Carranza, college student • Alexander Kent, electoral reform activist • Mike Kohn • Zachariah David Russell • Korey Streich

General election

Predictions

<table><thead><tr><th>Source</th><th>Ranking</th><th>As of</th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td>The Cook Political Report</td><td>Tossup</td><td>September 11, 2025</td></tr><tr><td>Inside Elections</td><td>Tossup</td><td>August 28, 2025</td></tr><tr><td>Sabato's Crystal Ball</td><td>Tossup</td><td>September 4, 2025</td></tr><tr><td>Race to the WH</td><td>Tossup</td><td>September 11, 2025</td></tr></tbody></table>

Polling

Poll source	Date(s) administered	Sample size	Margin of error	Mandela Barnes (D)	Tom Tiffany (R)	Other	Undecided
TIPP Insights (R)	March 13–19, 2026	1,175 (LV)	± 2.9%	43%	41%	6%	10%
1,495 (RV)	± 2.7%	40%	38%	7%	15%
Impact Research (D)	October 2–8, 2025	500 (LV)	± 4.4%	50%	44%	–	7%

Poll source	Date(s) administered	Sample size	Margin of error	David Crowley (D)	Tom Tiffany (R)	Other	Undecided
TIPP Insights (R)	March 13–19, 2026	1,175 (LV)	± 2.9%	42%	41%	5%	12%
1,495 (RV)	± 2.7%	39%	38%	7%	16%

Poll source	Date(s) administered	Sample size	Margin of error	Francesca Hong (D)	Tom Tiffany (R)	Other	Undecided
TIPP Insights (R)	March 13–19, 2026	1,175 (LV)	± 2.9%	40%	43%	6%	12%
1,495 (RV)	± 2.7%	37%	40%	7%	16%
Patriot Polling (R)	March 10–16, 2026	812 (LV)	± 3.5%	42%	46%	12%

Poll source	Date(s) administered	Sample size	Margin of error	Sara Rodriguez (D)	Tom Tiffany (R)	Other	Undecided
TIPP Insights (R)	March 13–19, 2026	1,175 (LV)	± 2.9%	44%	41%	5%	10%
1,495 (RV)	± 2.7%	40%	39%	7%	15%