Contact: Lauren Luxenburg
lluxenburg@rga.org
Democrats in Wisconsin continue to struggle to find a viable candidate to run for governor. Dane County Executive Joe Parisi is the latest top-tier Democrat to take a pass on the 2018 governor’s race, as failures to recruit serious gubernatorial candidates continue to plague Democrats in the state and nationally.
Wisconsin Public Radio reports:
“Another Democrat has announced he won’t run for governor in 2018.
Dane County Executive Joe Parisi told The Capital Times that while he considered the race, it was an easy decision not to run.
Parisi is just the latest Democrat to decide against running for governor in a likely race against GOP incumbent Gov. Scott Walker. U.S. Rep. Ron Kind briefly mulled a race before announcing last month he wouldn’t run. Former state Sen. Tim Cullen had all but launched his campaign before he decided against it, too.
Recent Stanford graduate Bob Harlow, 25, is the only Democrat to officially announce plans to run for governor.”
Parisi is the latest Democrat to add his name to a long list of potential candidates refusing to enter the race, further diminishing hopes that Wisconsin Democrats can flip the seat in 2018. As Governing Magazine recently noted, “A lack of serious gubernatorial candidates could be a problem for Democrats not just in Wisconsin but other states where the party is hoping to make gains next year.”
This leaves Wisconsin Democrats with just Bob Harlow – a failed Congressional candidate from California – as their only gubernatorial candidate currently in the race.
