Contact: WisPolitics.com Editor JR Ross, 608-669-8418
Activists back Rodriguez for lt. guv, Sabor for secretary of state, Battino for treasurer
La CROSSE — Democratic Party of Wisconsin conventioneers voting in a WisPolitics.com straw poll narrowly favored Lt. Gov. Mandela Barnes over state Treasurer Sarah Godlewski for the party’s 2022 U.S. Senate nomination.
Barnes was favored by 121, or 32.4 percent, of the 373 delegates and registered guests who cast a vote for U.S. Senate in the straw poll featuring the eight candidates who spoke at the convention Sunday morning. Godlewski was favored by 119, or 31.9 percent.
Alex Lasry, on leave from his job with the Milwaukee Bucks, was next at 58 votes, or 15.5 percent, and Outagamie County Exec Tom Nelson was fourth at 35 votes, or 9.4 percent.
In other statewide races:
— Brookfield state Rep. Sara Rodriguez was favored for lieutenant governor. She received 241 votes, or 64.6 percent, while The Hmong Institute CEO Peng Her took 132 votes, or 35.4 percent.
— Conventioneers preferred Dane County Dem Party Chair Alexia Sabor over longtime incumbent Doug La Follette for secretary of state. Sabor received 252 votes, or 67.6 percent, while La Follette received 121 votes, or 32.4 percent. La Follette first won the office in 1974, left it in 1978 to run for lieutenant governor and then won it again in 1982. He’s held it ever since.
— In the state treasurer’s race, Wausau Dr. Gillian Battino received 182 votes, or 48.8 percent, while West Allis Ald. Angelito Tenorio received 148 votes, or 39.7 percent. Fitchburg Mayor Aaron Richardson was in third at 43 votes, or 11.5 percent.
State Dem officials said 160 delegates and 588 guests attended the convention in person. There were another 156 delegates who participated in the convention virtually and 206 online guests. They weren’t eligible to vote in the straw poll.
See complete coverage of the straw poll and the Democratic Party of Wisconsin convention in the WisPolitics.com Convention Blog: www.wispolitics.com/category/dem-convos/
WisPolitics.com, started in 2000, is a nonpartisan online news organization based in Madison that operates an email news service in addition to the free sites WisPolitics.com and WisBusiness.com. WisPolitics.com has frequently conducted straw polls at both state Republican and Democratic conventions over the years.
**2022 Dem convention straw poll results**
Ballots cast: 373
–If the 2022 Democratic primary for U.S. Senate were held today, whom would you support?
Total votes: 373
Mandela Barnes: 121
Sarah Godlewski: 119
Alex Lasry: 58
Tom Nelson: 35
Steven Olikara: 19
Kou Lee: 12
Peter Peckarsky: 5
Darrell Williams: 4
— If the 2022 Democratic primary for lieutenant governor were held today, whom would you support?
Total votes: 373
Sara Rodriguez: 241
Peng Her: 132
— If the 2022 Democratic primary for secretary of state were held today, who would you support?
Total votes: 373
Alexia Sabor: 252
Doug La Follette: 121
— If the 2022 Democratic primary for state treasurer were held today, who would you support?
Total votes: 373
Gillian Battino: 182
Angelito Tenorio: 148
Aaron Richardson: 43
