TO: Interested Parties

FROM: Brennan for Wisconsin

DATE: July 16, 2026

RE: A Whole New Race

With less than four weeks until the Democratic primary election for Wisconsin governor, the race has been turned upside down by the bombshell campaign finance scandal that has rocked one top candidate, and serious and persistent questions about the electability of two others– and it’s become clear that Joel Brennan is the best Democrat to defeat Tom Tiffany in November.

The finance reports made public this week show that Joel Brennan remains a serious, viable contender for the nomination. No candidate has a fundraising advantage in this primary race, and Joel has raised similar amounts of money and has similar cash on hand to his rivals.

Joel has the resources to compete in this election, and he has the message and the vision voters will rally around in November. Joel gives Democrats the best opportunity to win this crucial race this fall, because he is ready on Day One to deliver for Wisconsin:

  • Proven Get Sh*t Done Experience
    • Gov. Evers appointed Joel as his top cabinet official and Secretary of the Department of Administration, and Joel helped put Wisconsin back on firmer financial footing after eight years of mismanagement by Scott Walker.
    • Joel helped generate a nearly $4 billion budget surplus, grew the state’s rainy-day fund, and helped ensure small businesses, families, and farmers across the state got the support they needed through COVID.
  • Bold Plans to Lift Up Wisconsin Workers, Families, and Communities
    • An aggressive agenda to lower costs, expand BadgerCare, and make housing affordable – and defend Wisconsin against Trump’s attacks on our democracy.
  • No Baggage or Toxically Unpopular Policy Proposals
    • Joel is an open book: in an unprecedented move for transparency, Joel publicly released his entire self-opposition research book for all to see.
    • Joel staunchly opposes Defund the Police and Abolish Prisons proposals that make Wisconsin less safe and are widely rejected by the people of Wisconsin.

Here are the facts:

The stakes in this election could not be higher. Whoever wins the August 11th primary will face MAGA Tom Tiffany, who reported nearly $3 million cash-on-hand in the latest finance report.  

In addition to an enormous war chest, Tiffany will have a unified Republican party behind him in the fall. If Tiffany and his MAGA allies can localize the election in the general – as Ron Johnson successfully did in 2022 – he has an excellent chance to win, despite 2026 shaping up to be one of the biggest Democratic election waves in years.  

This means Donald Trump would have a sycophant all too eager to interfere with the 2028 presidential election and serve the state’s electoral votes up to MAGA on a silver platter. This is a terrifying prospect that should alarm anyone who cares about the rule of law, American and Wisconsin values, and working- and middle-class people in our state.

Yet this nightmare prospect seems plausible considering the clear liabilities of other Democrats in the field.

  • Sara Rodriguez has mismanaged her campaign, still cannot account for the extensive financial inaccuracies, and admitted she will need to file amendments to her campaign finance disclosure report. This is a glaring issue that raises questions about her judgment and the campaign’s ability to move forward, let alone take on a well-funded Tom Tiffany.
  • The Republican Party is running ads to boost Francesca Hong, a candidate they are confident they can beat in November because of her extreme positions on defunding the police, abolishing prisons, and other views out of step with mainstream Wisconsin values.
  • Mandela Barnes lost a winnable race in the 2022 US Senate contest, and as a result, Donald Trump’s MAGA majority in the Senate is one seat larger than it should be. There are serious doubts that he may once again cost Democrats a campaign that we must, need, and should win.

With less than four weeks remaining in the primary election, Joel Brennan offers the voters a proven fighter who gets things done and champions the progressive values Wisconsin cherishes. With the race scrambled, Joel Brennan has emerged as the best Democrat to defeat MAGA Tiffany in November.