This is completely hilarious. Embattled Lt. Gov. Sara Rodriguez released a deranged video tonight. It reminded me of one of those “proof of life” hostage videos or Sara’s campaign equivalent of the Mitch McConnell hospital photo where he’s holding the fuzzy newspaper to prove he’s not a vegetable.
Then, right around midnight on 7/15, she dropped her latest campaign finance report, and it reveals that Rodriguez has a paltry, shockingly embarrassing $34,990 cash on hand. That’s even less than she paid crisis comms flack Kimberly Kane.
I don’t even know where to go with that. It’s hard to put into words how bad that is. It’s not even enough money to purchase a mobile home in Ladysmith, much less the $1 million ad buy her campaign lied was coming. But it gets much worse.
She raised $561,817 and spent $634,560. Do the math. If that’s not a case study example of why you don’t want Democrats getting their grubby paws on the state budget, what is.
At the end of her proof of life video, Sara claimed that Republicans “are scared of me.” Not anymore.
It reminds me of those people years ago who bought snazzy lake houses with interest-only loans and then ended up so upside down when the market crashed. Then they just abandoned it.
Sara’s campaign is also carrying debt – “incurred obligations” – of more than $152,000.
That means she doesn’t have enough cash on hand to pay her bills!!!! Reminder: Sara claimed at her press conference the other day that she had $200,000 cash on hand. She doesn’t. Not even close.
Unbelievably, Sara’s debts include $9,431.07 that she still owes to the state of Wisconsin. This may be for mileage because she paid a separate similar expense for that to the state.
She stiffed the state!!!!!!!!!
And just like that, it makes sense why Sara hasn’t quit yet and why she recorded a bizarre video today BEFORE her report came out begging for donations.
She needs the money.
She can’t pay her campaign bills, including to the state. How was it not blatantly dishonest for Sara to record a video begging for donations on the basis of her supposedly being the most viable candidate a few hours before she released a ghastly report showing she’s in so much debt she can’t even pay a bill she owes to the state??
Republicans dropped $2.2 million to pick the Democratic nominee for governor.
Let me be clear, this primary belongs to Wisconsin voters. Not out-of-state MAGA donors. pic.twitter.com/zy6aZGkWb3
— Sara Rodriguez (@saraforwi) July 16, 2026
How bad is this? It’s like Sara is Leo DiCaprio at the end of the Titanic, clinging to a floating board and still speaking to Rose while slowly turning into an ice cube. We’re Rose. Yeah, sure, her campaign is still alive – she was just ranting about MAGA on video! – but not for long.
It’s done.
Some tidbits from her insanely bad report:
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- She paid Kane $42,098 on June 30. Wow. And all she has to show for it publicly was a lousy press conference and a bunch of bad headlines. She still owes Kane’s company another $45,158.98.
- The campaign appears to enjoy DoorDash.
- She transferred $1,500 to the Wisconsin Federation of Republican Women. What?!!!
As with Mitch’s proof of life pic, Rodriguez’s video seemed designed to prove to everyone that her campaign isn’t de*d yet. Unfortunately for her, the video was both hysterical and strange at the same time – and that was before her latest report dropped around midnight. I’ve never been a fan of the candidate-riding-in-cars candid campaign videos. The angles and lighting usually do them no favors. Sara seemed really wound up, speaking too fast, like she got no sleep and then downed 12 cups of coffee and a Powerade.
The RGA Scores a Goal
Sara was big mad about a brilliant television ad that is about to air around Wisconsin. It’s by the Republican Governors Association. The ad doesn’t say anything inaccurate. It just highlights Democratic frontrunner Francesca Hong’s crazy liberal policies on illegal immigration – which aren’t that different from the crazy liberal anti-ICE policies that Rodriguez and all of the other Democrats have espoused at endless forums. So what’s the problem? Why would liberals be angry about a factual ad calling liberal Hong a liberal? The ad also highlights Hong’s opposition to Trump’s immigration policies.
Here’s what makes the RGA ad so brilliant, and why it’s driving Democrats crazy. It’s helps boost Hong in the primary AND destroys her for a general. At the same time. All that reveals, though, is how out of of step the Democrat primary voters on the fringe are with most Wisconsinites. But in a five-way primary, the fringe can prevail. The RGA would like to ensure it.
It’s not a state secret. Of course, Congressman Tom Tiffany – who posted strong campaign finance numbers today, raising $8 million this period – has the strongest chance against Hong. And, yeah, the “tell” is that RGA spent $2 million to air the ad in Democratic Milwaukee and Madison, and on CNN and MSNow. Excuse me for a minute.
Hahahahahaaaaa.
Democrats think this is dirty pool. Why? It’s not false. All RGA is doing is amplifying Hong’s ACTUAL message to more liberal voters. They are educating Democrat primary voters about their candidates. Heck, RGA is performing a public service.
Why are Democrats now against voter education.
Excuse me again.
Hahahahahaaaa….
You have to give Hong a point. While other Democrats were freaking out about the video, she thanked the RGA for highlighting her platform. I’m not kidding.
If Sara really cared about her party, by the way, she would quit, so another candidate who isn’t Hong might have a realistic chance. Instead, by limping along, the field remains hopelessly fractured, which ensures that the fringe could win because someone only needs about 20% to walk away with it. So it’s selfish. But we already knew Sara was selfish because she deceptively allowed reasonable Democrat David Crowley to quit the race and endorse her despite already knowing her campaign had a problem. I’m starting to understand why Tony Evers doesn’t like her.
Liberal pundit Dan Shafer posted a hilarious ranked choice voting Democrat primary poll. Fascinatingly most people wanted Hong. But Mandela Barnes, Rodriguez and Kelda Roys were almost evenly divided as people’s second choice. This field is hopelessly fractured. I think only Hong or Barnes has a chance to win it. The others have too much ground to make up, and they’re dividing the remaining pie.
That’s Sara’s fault more than RGA’s.
In my last column, I predicted that eventually Sara would get “the call,” meaning shadowy powerbrokers will call the question and tell her to please get out of the race. She got the call Wednesday, but not directly. A guy named Joe Oslund went on social media and said, “Sara Rodriguez’s campaign is over. There is no coming back from this and she should drop out.” He accused her of having “sheer ego.” The significance is that Oslund is the former spokesperson for the #Wisconsin Democratic Party.
That was the call. They won’t do it directly.
Maybe Mitch is going to live to see another day, but Sara’s campaign isn’t going to last the week. I’d feel sorry for her except, after the way she treated Crowley, it’s feeling more like karma.
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