On-leave Milwaukee Bucks executive Alex Lasry has ended his bid for the Democratic nomination to challenge Sen. Ron Johnson (R-WI), and has endorsed Lt. Governor Mandela Barnes (D-WI).
Lasry, who had given his campaign fund about $12 million in personal loans, decided to back Barnes, who is now the favorite to win the nomination.
“We’ve been saying since day one the most important thing that we can do for Wisconsin is to get rid of Ron Johnson,” Lasry told Politico. “I firmly believe that if there was no path to victory, the best thing to do is to make sure that we can as early as possible rally around a nominee so that we can spend every second that we have making sure that we’re working toward that goal.”
Earlier this week, another Democrat dropped out and endorsed Barnes. Outagamie County Executive Tom Nelson on Monday announced his endorsement of Barnes. The lieutenant governor has also received the support of Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY), Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT), and Sen. Cory Booker (D-NJ).
In recently released second quarter fundraising reports, Barnes brought in just over $2 million in donations.
“This quarter’s unprecedented show of support is proof that working families are ready to support a candidate who understands firsthand the challenges they’re facing and their hopes for the future,” said Lauren Chou, deputy communications director for the Barnes campaign.
State Treasurer Sarah Godlewski (D-WI) remains in the race and has championed her support for abortion as a key reason Wisconsin Democrats should support her. She took in $900,000 in donations, and contributed $600,000 in self-loans during the quarter as well.
Johnson raised more money than his Democratic opponents during the fundraising quarter, bringing in over $7 million.
Barnes welcomed Lasry’s support, calling him a friend and someone he admired, per Politico.
“I deeply admire Alex’s commitment to creating good union jobs and raising wages throughout his career and throughout this campaign, and the work he’s done to bring pride and opportunity to Milwaukee, a city we both love.”
Lasry did not tell Politico if he had any future plans to run for political office.
“I know we always love to talk about the next race, but I’m very focused on this one. And whether it’s running for something or making sure we’re getting good people and good Democrats elected, I will be involved in that always,” he said.