June 2, 2018

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: WisPolitics.com Editor JR Ross, 608-669-8418

Activists back Barnes for lt. guv, La Follette for secretary of state, Godlewski for treasurer

OSHKOSH — More than 23 percent of Democratic Party of Wisconsin conventioneers voting in a WisPolitics.com straw poll favored former state Rep. Kelda Roys for the party’s 2018 gubernatorial nomination.

Roys, of Madison, was favored by (184), or 23.3 percent, of the 789 delegates, alternates and registered guests who cast a vote for governor in the straw poll featuring the 10 candidates who spoke at the convention Friday night. Firefighters’ union head Mahlon Mitchell came in second, backed by (93), or 11.8 percent, edging state schools Superintendent Tony Evers who garnered 11.5 percent, with 91 votes.

Four other candidates finished with 80 votes or more.

In other statewide races:

— Former Milwaukee state Rep. Mandela Barnes of Milwaukee was favored for lieutenant governor. He won 80.9 percent, or 617 votes, while Sheboygan businessman Kurt Kober took 19.1 percent, or 146 votes.

— Conventioneers preferred longtime incumbent Doug La Follette for secretary of state. La Follette won 52.9 percent, with 385 votes, while Madison alderwoman Arvina Marie Martin took 47.1 percent, with 343 votes. 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.

— Madison businesswoman Sarah Godlewski was the convention-goers’ pick for state treasurer. Godlewski won 75.3 percent, garnering 530 votes, while Madison’s Cynthia Kaump, a businesswoman and former director of communications and community outreach with the state treasurer’s office, took 15.5 percent, or 109 votes.

State Dem officials said 976 delegates, 48 alternates and 358 guests attended the convention.

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.

**2018 Dem convention straw poll results**

Ballots cast: 800

–If the 2018 Democratic primary for governor were held today, whom would you support?

Total votes: 789

Tony Evers: 91

Matt Flynn: 71

Andy Gronik: 89

Mike McCabe: 81

Mahlon Mitchell: 93

Josh Pade: 7

Kelda Roys: 184

Paul Soglin: 1

Kathleen Vinehout: 83

Dana Wachs: 89

— If the 2018 Democratic primary for lieutenant governor were held today, whom would you support?

Total votes: 763

Kurt Kober: 146

Mandela Barnes: 617

— If the 2018 Democratic primary for secretary of state were held today, who would you support?

Total votes: 728

Doug La Follette: 385

Arvina Marie Martin: 343

— If the 2018 Democratic primary for state treasurer were held today, who would you support?

Total votes: 704

Sarah Godlewski: 530

Cynthia Kaump: 109

Dawn Marie Sass: 65