Democrat Alex Lasry to drop out of Wisconsin Senate race

Milwaukee Bucks executive Alex Lasry plans to drop out of Wisconsin’s U.S. Senate race, less than two weeks before the Democratic primary

Election 2022 Wisconsin Senate (Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.)

Milwaukee Bucks executive Alex Lasry plans to drop out of Wisconsin's U.S. Senate race on Wednesday, less than two weeks before the Democratic primary, his campaign spokesman said.

Lasry's departure in the race would leave Lt. Gov. Mandela Barnes as the top Democratic candidate in the primary where the winner will advance to take on Republican U.S. Sen. Ron Johnson.

Barnes has led in public polls, all of which showed a tight race between him and Lasry. This week, Barnes’ campaign released an internal poll that showed Barnes ahead of Lasry by 14 points.

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 and endorsed Barnes. Lasry will endorse Barnes, his campaign spokesman Thad Nation said.

Lasry, 35, already had spent more than $12.3 million of his own money on the race. His plans to drop out of the race were first reported by the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.

Lasry was born in New York City and moved to Milwaukee in 2014 after his billionaire father was part of a team that bought the NBA's Bucks. Lasry served as an executive vice president for the team and has touted his connection to the 2021 championship Bucks, frequently mentioning both their title run and employing union workers to build the stadium where the team plays.