In an already messy Democratic Primary, Lt. Governor Sara Rodriguez just had to fire her campaign manager. Rodriguez, who is running to replace outgoing Governor Tony Evers, was recently endorsed by two of her fellow Democratic candidates, Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley and Missy Hughes, who both dropped their bids for Governor.
The campaign said it fired the manager after an internal review found 'serious mismanagement and inaccuracies in campaign finance filings.'
Lt. Gov. Sara Rodriguez has fired her campaign manager after an internal review uncovered “serious mismanagement and inaccuracies in campaign finance filings.” https://t.co/JUWcmdNVBc pic.twitter.com/MQkhi1vCRh
— The Heartland Post (@HeartlandPostWI) July 13, 2026
“The Sara Rodriguez for Wisconsin campaign has terminated its campaign manager, effective today, after discovering serious mismanagement and inaccuracies in campaign finance filings she prepared,” the campaign said. “An initial review found that the manager filed inaccurate and incomplete campaign finance reports. The campaign will be in contact with the Wisconsin Ethics Commission first thing Monday morning to ensure the inaccuracies are corrected.
The moment Sara learned of these inaccuracies, she acted swiftly and decisively removed her. The campaign will continue to build support to win in August and beat Tom Tiffany in November.”
Rodriguez did not explain the nature of the mismanagement or misreporting issues that led to the firing. While campaign finance issues are relatively common and easily remedied through paperwork corrections, it is highly unusual for a high-profile campaign figure to be fired over them. This suggests that the issues are not mere oversight, but are potentially criminal in nature and necessitated a quick response to get ahead of discrepancies that would be discovered when the publicly-available reports are filed this week.
The next round of campaign finance reports is due this Wednesday, July 15, and it appears the Rodriguez campaign is trying to get ahead of bad press and attacks from her remaining opponents.
New: Dem candidate for gov Sara Rodriguez says she fired her campaign manager. Campaign says “an initial review found that the manager filed inaccurate and incomplete campaign finance reports”
— Matt Smith (@mattsmith_news) July 13, 2026
Announcement comes ahead of the filing deadline Wednesday pic.twitter.com/s0kgIHvhOj
We wonder if the staffer will face legal consequences.
So in other words they were going to expose her for it so she got ahead of it so she didn't look like the idiot that she is. Got it
— Calling Gloria 🎵 🇺🇸 🌴☀️ (@LynnFreedom68) July 13, 2026
Bingo.
Imagine if the Evers/Rodriguez administration would take a page from this campaign, and allow for reviews of Wisconsin Government. #Transparency
— First Sergeant (Retired) ◇ 🇺🇲 (@DT73153708) July 13, 2026
They will not
Rodriguez herself said she would craft the state budget in secret.
Transparency is not her thing.
The only explanation for making a move like this a month before the primary is that there was embezzlement and/or campaign finance fraud discovered and Rodriguez needs to get ahead of the story since finance reports are due on Wednesday. https://t.co/FMXIOOu4yd
— Dan O'Donnell (@DanODonnellShow) July 13, 2026
That's likely what happened here.
Questions that need to be answered:
— Megan Novak (@meganjnovak) July 13, 2026
Has this staffer run campaigns before? Are there problems with those reports too? What role did the finance director play? How many issues were in previous Rodriguez reports? Were any identified by the Ethics Commission prior to this firing?… https://t.co/MlVM7NUPT8
Those are all great questions the media should be asking the Rodriguez campaign.
LOL...
— Bobacheck (@Bobacheck) July 13, 2026
It's amusing when they get caught but nobody ever seems to go to prison. https://t.co/4ab4wofOBz
Weird how that keeps happening.
Townhall reached out for comment and will report back if we hear from the Rodriguez campaign.