MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Early in-person voting begins Tuesday in swing state Wisconsin’s chaotic Democratic primary for governor, with a democratic socialist trying to overcome the incumbent governor’s choice to replace him.
Democrats are hoping to retain control of the governor’s office and flip both chambers of the Legislature to earn full control of Wisconsin state government for the first time since 2010. But they have failed to coalesce around one candidate for the top job, spurring fears that they could miss an opportunity to win in November.
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Wisconsin Democratic candidate for governor Mandela Barnes speaks at a campaign stop on Tuesday, July 14, 2026, in Madison, Wis. (AP Photo/Scott Bauer)
FILE - Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley addresses a crowd, March 29, 2025, in Milwaukee. (AP Photo/Andy Manis, File)
Democratic gubernatorial candidate Francesca Hong talks with a Milwaukee resident during "We Outside" Annual Community Event at Metcalfe Park Rising, Friday, July 24, 2026, in Milwaukee. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh)
FILE - Absentee ballots during a count at the Wisconsin Center, Nov. 8, 2022, in Milwaukee. (AP Photo/Morry Gash, File)
The five Democratic candidates are scheduled to meet for their only debate Tuesday night ahead of the Aug. 11 primary.
Insurgent democratic socialist Francesca Hong has garnered strong support among the most liberal wing of the party. Former Lt. Gov. Mandela Barnes, who narrowly lost a 2022 U.S. Senate race, is hoping that voters in his hometown of Milwaukee help him overcome Hong, whose base is in Madison. Those two cities hold the largest number of Democratic voters in Wisconsin.
Also in the race is Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley, who is running with the endorsement of Gov. Tony Evers. Crowley had dropped out of the race on July 8, but got back in on July 17, the day after Lt. Gov. Sara Rodriguez dropped out amid a campaign finance scandal.
Both Crowley and Barnes are trying to become Wisconsin's first Black governor.
The winner of the Democratic primary will advance to take on Republican U.S. Rep. Tom Tiffany in November. Tiffany, who is running with the backing of President Donald Trump in a state Trump won in 2016 and 2024, faces only nominal opposition in the primary.
And hours after polls open for early voting, a judge was scheduled to hear arguments in a Democratic lawsuit seeking to allow voters who already returned their ballots to cancel those and cast a new one. As of Monday, more than 100,000 ballots had already been returned by mail.
The lawsuit was filed last week with support from the Wisconsin Democratic Party. They are seeking an order from a judge to immediately allow for already-cast ballots to be canceled, a rarely used practice known as ballot spoiling.
Democrats argue it's necessary given that Rodriguez and former state economic director Missy Hughes ended their campaigns, and Crowley got back in the race, after tens of thousands of ballots had already been returned.
Hughes and Rodriguez’s names remain on the ballot.
In-person absentee voting, which began Tuesday, runs through Aug. 9. All absentee ballots must be received by the time polls close on election day Aug. 11 in order to be counted.
Mayes-Osterman is a corps member for The Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative. Report for America is a nonprofit national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on undercovered issues. She reported for this story from Milwaukee.
Wisconsin Democratic candidate for governor Mandela Barnes speaks at a campaign stop on Tuesday, July 14, 2026, in Madison, Wis. (AP Photo/Scott Bauer)
FILE - Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley addresses a crowd, March 29, 2025, in Milwaukee. (AP Photo/Andy Manis, File)
Democratic gubernatorial candidate Francesca Hong talks with a Milwaukee resident during "We Outside" Annual Community Event at Metcalfe Park Rising, Friday, July 24, 2026, in Milwaukee. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh)
FILE - Absentee ballots during a count at the Wisconsin Center, Nov. 8, 2022, in Milwaukee. (AP Photo/Morry Gash, File)
SEATTLE (AP) — There were at least three suspects involved in a shootout at a crowded food festival near Seattle’s Space Needle over the weekend, police said Monday. One of them was among those killed in the violence.
In a document filed in juvenile court in Seattle, where a 15-year-old arrested in the case waived his initial appearance Monday, police said they believe there were at least three shooters: the 15-year-old, an acquaintance who died at the scene and “at least one other unknown suspect.” Authorities had earlier said they believed there were two.
Nicole Powell, the Seattle Police Department's assistant chief of investigations, said at a news conference Monday afternoon that investigators believe the shooting may have been gang-related, with two groups firing at each other. The deceased shooter was 19.
A judge ordered the 15-year-old held in juvenile detention for investigation of firearms violations and first-degree assault. The King County prosecutor's office said it expected to receive the case from Seattle police on Wednesday for a charging decision.
The gunfire erupted around 6 p.m. Sunday in the waning hours of the Bite of Seattle, leaving the 19-year-old shooter and two others dead. At least four others, including a toddler, were injured. The annual three-day festival draws hundreds of food and retail vendors and performers to Seattle Center, a sprawling park in the shadow of the Space Needle. Many attendees rushed into campus buildings or ran from the park at the sound of the shots.
News that there were at least three suspects followed a series of confusing statements from city officials concerning the shooting.
On Sunday, the police department waited five hours to share with the public that one shooter had been arrested and that they believed another to be on the loose. Earlier, Mayor Katie Wilson had announced two people were in custody, a statement she retracted.
At a news conference before the court hearing Monday, Police Chief Shon Barnes said investigators weren’t sure if the second shooter was among the dead. Neither he nor the mayor made any reference to additional shooters. Barnes had been out of town Sunday, attending a conference of Black law enforcement executives in Dallas.
The officials defended their handling of the case, saying they were trying to ensure they provided accurate information about chaotic events.
The King County Medical Examiner's Office on Monday identified the dead as Carlos Israel Sanchez Villalba, 44; Ashley Whitehead, 56; and Junior Cee Niko Semo, 19.
Villalba was a husband and father of three known for his kindness and willingness to help others, according to a GoFundMe campaign launched Monday to help his family with funeral expenses. He died from a gunshot wound to his torso, while Whitehead died from a gunshot to her pelvis and Semo died from multiple gunshot wounds, according to the medical examiner’s office.
The four wounded included a 2-year-old boy, two men, ages 23 and 27, and a woman, 39, all of whom were discharged, a hospital spokesperson said.
One of the victims was walking a bicycle when struck, the court document said. The toddler was with his mother.
Vendors were allowed to return to the campus Monday morning to collect their equipment. Skewered squid on grills, roasted ducks in ovens and plates full of food were among the items left behind as people fled.
Near the spot of the shooting, a stain of what appeared to be blood was still visible.
By Monday night, dozens of people gathered among candles and flowers for a vigil at the center. They held a moment of silence and raised up flashlights on their phones to honor those that had been killed, while one woman held a sign that said, “Whitehead Strong.”
Dozens of officers were providing security at the event and responded in seconds, with at least one observing a suspect firing, authorities said. Police searched an IMAX theater on the grounds where they initially believed a second shooter had fled.
Adam Lombardo, who had a Burmese food stand at the festival, described the panic of fleeing people as a “stampede.” As he gathered his equipment Monday, he described how police escorted food vendors back to the crime scene to turn off their ovens and stoves.
“They just came to enjoy a food festival with people, with friends, with new friends, and they lost their lives in just what sounds like meaningless bloodshed," he said.
Moises Perez, 30, was cooking in his apartment next to the Seattle Center when he spotted people running and yelling outside his window. When he opened his door, he heard gunshots and started ushering more than a dozen people, mostly women and children, inside.
“I was like, ‘OK, we need to help these people,’” said Perez, a construction worker who had attended the food festival that morning. He said losing his brother to gun violence in Mexico years ago made him determined to help the people trying to get to safety.
He and his roommate, William Large, 25, made sure the door was locked and started directing people to the bathroom and hallway, and told them they could stay as long as they needed.
“They were definitely in shock. I know that a lot of people were crying, people were screaming, people were just in complete fear," said Large, who works in social services.
About 30 minutes later, Perez walked out to see what had happened. He found a woman shot in the leg being helped by emergency officials.
The festival started in 1982 and draws 350,000 attendees, according to its website.
Associated Press journalists Manuel Valdes and Lindsey Wasson in Seattle; Annika Wolters in Bangkok; and Christopher Weber in Los Angeles contributed to this report.
A vendor throws away food while cleaning up the day after a shooting at Seattle Center during the Bite of Seattle food festival, Monday, July 27, 2026, in Seattle. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)
The U.S. flag flies at half staff at the Space Needle as cleanup continues the day after a shooting at Seattle Center during the Bite of Seattle food festival, Monday, July 27, 2026. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)
A worker cleans blood off the pavement the day after a shooting at Seattle Center during the Bite of Seattle food festival, Monday, July 27, 2026. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)
The U.S. flag flies at half staff as cleanup continues at the Space Needle the day after a shooting at Seattle Center during the Bite of Seattle food festival, Monday, July 27, 2026. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)
A man walks near the scene, a day after a shooting at Seattle Center during the Bite of Seattle food festival, Monday, July 27, 2026. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)
A Seattle Police officer sets up police line tape at the site of a shooting at Seattle Center during the Bite of Seattle food festival Sunday, July 26, 2026, in Seattle. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)
An unidentified man is led into the scene by police after they responded to a shooting at Seattle Center during the Bite of Seattle food festival Sunday, July 26, 2026, in Seattle, Wash. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)
Seattle Mayor Katie Wilson, center, speaks at a news conference after a shooting at the Bite of Seattle food festival Sunday, July 26, 2026, in Seattle, Wash. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)
Police respond to a shooting at Seattle Center during the Bite of Seattle food festival Sunday, July 26, 2026, in Seattle, Wash. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)
An unidentified man is led into the scene by police after they responded to a shooting at Seattle Center during the Bite of Seattle food festival Sunday, July 26, 2026, in Seattle, Wash. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)
A Seattle Police officer walks through tents with colorful toys at the scene of a shooting at Seattle Center during the Bite of Seattle food festival Sunday, July 26, 2026, in Seattle. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)
A crime scene photographer arrives as law enforcement examines the scene following a shooting at Seattle Center during the Bite of Seattle food festival Sunday, July 26, 2026, in Seattle. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)
