The Wisconsin Democrats (WisDems) are desperate. Mandela Barnes, their only candidate who was polling to actually beat Republican Tom Tiffany, dropped out of the race yesterday amid allegations that he used his political position to proposition young women.

It was a brutal week for the WisDems. Not only did Francesca Hong spur a week-long autonomous zone in Madison by calling an officer-involved shooting an "execution," they lost in court, too, after a judge ruled the 100,000-plus voters who have already submitted absentee primary ballots cannot get a mulligan even though a few candidates have dropped out of the race.

Now Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley and Gov. Tony Evers are hitting the road in what would be the worst buddy comedy ever. They're going to try to win over voters with 12 days to the primary.

Here's more:

A Marquette Law School poll released Wednesday showed Hong with 38 percent support among Democratic primary voters, with Barnes in a distant second with 16 percent and Crowley stuck in third with just 7 percent. The same poll found that 30 percent Barnes supporters picked Hong as their second choice, almost twice as many as those who picked Crowley, though a plurality remained undecided.

Democrats, including some close to Barnes, are hoping the last-minute drop will allow voters to coalesce around Crowley, who is set to hit the campaign trail with Evers next week in the final stretch, according to four people with direct knowledge of the matter. Evers is also slated to appear at several fundraisers for Crowley in the coming days, including one in Madison on Thursday and a Friday event in Milwaukee.

Those Democrats believe Evers can help boost Crowley’s support with older voters, who turn out more reliably than Hong’s base of younger Wisconsinites. Crowley still faces a major uphill battle, but that’s the only path to challenge Hong.

This just seems like a waste of everyone's time and money, of course, because even Mandela Barnes said when he suspended his campaign that we all know who the nominee is going to be, even if Democrats don't want it. And while Barnes didn't go so far as to endorse Hong, he gave a half-hearted push to unite to defeat Tom Tiffany.

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And a poll shows that Evers' endorsement really doesn't make a difference with voters.

Ouch.

"Hong had 38 percent in this week's MU poll. If one-quarter of Barnes supporters by percentage go to Hong, and one-quarter of undecideds also land on Hong, she is at a mathematically insurmountable 50.5 percent. This is the more conservative Hong number; when undecideds were pressed by pollsters, her support rose to 46percent," the post reads. "This excludes all those who have already voted for Barnes and Rodriguez during early voting. A lot of non-Hong voters have already voted and will not count, while early votes for Hong will still count."

"The path for DPW to stop Hong is easier, but now they need to force Brennan and Roys out. If Hong falls just short of a mathematical guarantee of 50%+1, then the four percent they're taking could make all the difference," it continues.

"Whether or not the race consolidates to a Crowley v. Hong matchup, a runaway win by Hong is not good for Team Tiffany, either. A sharp divide on the Dem side is better than one candidate riding a runaway bandwagon. Republicans should not be gleeful about Hong's rise. She is underestimated at the GOP's own peril and having her a hair away from being governor is not a cause for celebration," it says.

Republicans should not rest on their laurels. They must mobilize to support Tom Tiffany and state Republicans. Despite the chaos on the Democratic side, they will all fall in line and get behind Hong.