Milwaukee Bucks executive Alex Lasry plans to drop out of Wisconsin’s U.S. Senate race on Wednesday, less than two weeks before the primary, a Democrat who spoke with Lasry about his plans but was not authorized to comment publicly about it told The Associated Press.
Lasry’s departure in the race would leave Lt. Gov. Mandela Barnes as the top candidate in a race public polls had shown was a tight contest with Lasry. State Treasurer Sarah Godlewski and other lesser-known candidates remain in the contest. On Monday, Outagamie County Executive Tom Nelson dropped out of the race.
The Democrat with knowledge of Lasry’s decision to drop out said Lasry was leaving the race because of private polling showing him far behind Barnes. This week, Barnes’ campaign released an internal poll that showed Barnes ahead of Lasry by 14 points.
The winner of the Aug. 9 primary will advance to face Republican U.S. Sen. Ron Johnson.
Lasry, 35, and members of his campaign team did not immediately return messages Wednesday. His plans to drop out of the race were first reported by the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Lasry already had spent more than $12.3 million of his own money on the race.
