Bombshell news in the
Democratic primary for governor
former Lt. Gov. Mandela Barnes
dropped out of the race.
So, though trailing
Barnes was polling second
to Francesca Hong
and had solid name recognition
from his run for Senate
against Ron Johnson.
What is afoot here?
Yeah, I mean, he did have
excellent name recognition
coming into the campaign.
He had a national donor base
that he could draw on.
But ultimately it seemed
like he just wasn't able
to catch up to Hong.
It's worth noting, Fred
that during the debate this week
he did not directly
go after Hong.
He did not go negative on Hong.
If anything, Barnes was
more focused on David Crowley
than he was the front-runner.
To me, it symbolized
how Barnes just couldn't quite
get going in this campaign.
I think he started the campaign
in general election mode
really focusing on Tom Tiffany
more than
his Democratic opponents.
But that might
have been a misstep
because while he was trying to
portray a sense of inevitability
around his nomination
Francesca Hong was
quietly building a lead.