Randy Bryce, a former Democratic candidate for Wisconsin’s 1st Congressional District, has suspended his 2026 campaign.
“We had some family issues going on, and I didn’t even turn signatures in,” Bryce said in a June 2 interview with the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. “I’m not going to be able to dedicate full-time [to the campaign] from now until November.”
Bryce was running to unseat incumbent Republican Congressman Bryan Steil.
When asked if he was backing a candidate in the field, Bryce said he is “in favor of the three guys that can sign their own nomination signature sheet.”
Meaning he’s backing any of three candidates competing in the primary: Mitchell Berman, Miguel Aranda and Lorenzo Santos.
“The only one that I’m not endorsing is [Peter] Burgelis from Milwaukee,” Bryce said. “I feel like you should be able to sign your own nomination signature sheet to be able to run. And I’ve gotten along with the other three. We’ve all gotten along really well. We genuinely like each other.”
Burgelis, a Milwaukee alderman, does not live in the first district but did file nomination papers before the June 1 deadline.
Burgelis responded to Bryce’s comments by saying:
“I’m running for Congress to beat Bryan Steil so Democrats can flip the House and hold Trump accountable.”
Bryce ran for Congress against Steil in 2018, losing by about 40,000 votes. In May 2025, Bryce announced he was running again as a Democrat.
Before dropping out of the race, Bryce raised $45,618.73 but had spent $36,854.72, ending with less than $9,000 of cash on hand, according to records from the Federal Election Commission.
(This story was updated to add new information.)
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Democrat Randy Bryce suspends campaign for Wisconsin’s 1st District
Reporting by Ricardo Torres, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel / Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
