Madison’s 2027 mayoral race is now an open contest: Mayor Satya Rhodes-Conway says she will not seek a third term, ending a reelection campaign she launched in July 2026. She cited threats directed at herself, city council members, staff and her family, a decision that reshapes a race in which several challengers had already announced.
Rhodes-Conway said the political climate around her office had shifted from substantive disagreement toward personal attacks. The Wisconsin Examiner reported her description of increasingly vitriolic discourse. She also said she wants future leaders to focus on effective government, continual improvement and listening to Madison’s needs, Urban Milwaukee reported.
She also described the job’s personal toll. “The price of being in public office has gotten too high,” she said, according to Channel 3000, which reported that she thinks about her physical safety daily. The Wisconsin Examiner reported that she said stepping away was right for her, her family, her safety and her mental health and wellbeing.
A Career Shaped by Sexism and Statehouse Pressure
Rhodes-Conway said she has faced implicit and explicit sexism dating back to her very first mayoral campaign, telling reporters she was subjected to “the levels of implicit and explicit sexism to which I have been subjected to from the very beginning of my first campaign,” according to the same report. She was first elected mayor in 2019 and won reelection in 2023 by an 11-point margin, the outlet noted.
She also pointed to friction with state lawmakers, whom she said had tried to strip Madison of funding and powers. In describing her tenure, Rhodes-Conway cited the city’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic, new housing, infrastructure investment and the launch of its bus rapid transit system. She warned that local democracy faces risks from right-wing extremism and a toxic political culture that crosses partisan and ideological lines, and urged people to examine the local political environment during the rest of her term, the Wisconsin Examiner reported.
Dane County's Top Official Reacts
Dane County Executive Melissa Agard thanked Rhodes-Conway for her service and said she was troubled that threats and harassment contributed to the mayor’s decision. “No one who steps forward to serve their community should have to fear for their safety or the safety of their loved ones,” Agard said, according to the Wisconsin Examiner.
Research suggests the threats and harassment described by Rhodes-Conway are part of a wider problem for local officials. A Brennan Center for Justice report based on surveys and interviews with more than 1,700 officials nationwide found that more than 18 percent of local officeholders experienced threats or attacks over an 18-month period. The share rose to 52 percent when lower-level abuse, such as insults and harassment, was included. More than 40 percent said the abuse made them less willing to seek reelection or higher office; women were three to four times as likely as men to face abuse targeting their gender.
The Brennan Center also found that about 40 percent of local officeholders said harassment made them less willing to work on controversial topics. Separately, a May 2023 Brennan Center finding cited by PBS Wisconsin found that 38 percent of local election officials nationwide had experienced threats, harassment or abuse, while more than half were concerned for the safety of colleagues or staff. Channel 3000 reported that threats are more likely to target people underrepresented in government. Rhodes-Conway said the effects are especially pronounced for women, minority officials and new officeholders.
What Madison’s threat policy says
Madison Police Department policy says reports of threats of targeted or mass-casualty violence should be taken seriously and investigated fully and promptly. The department’s procedure does not establish how any specific threat against Rhodes-Conway was handled, what information about such reports is public, or how Dane County and state agencies document or respond to threats against officials.
Eight Candidates Already in the Running
The Wisconsin Examiner reported that eight candidates had announced plans to challenge Rhodes-Conway before she withdrew. Isthmus identified them as Syed Abbas, former president of the Madison Common Council, along with Brian Benford, Kaleem Caire, Natalia Hacerola, Jonny Hinds, Marcus Robert Johnson, April Kigeya and Larry “Ace” Williams.
Jason Ilstrup, president of Downtown Madison Inc., told Isthmus he is “strongly considering” joining the race as well. Among the declared candidates, Kaleem Caire founded One City Schools in 2014 and has led the organization ever since, according to Isthmus's candidate tracker. His campaign, as described by WMTV15 News, centers on making Madison affordable, healthy, prosperous and united, with education and childcare central to his vision for city planning.
The mechanics of the race are already set. Isthmus reports the filing deadline for the 2027 spring election is Jan. 5 at 5 p.m., with a nonpartisan primary scheduled for Feb. 16 and the spring election set for April 6. The City of Madison Clerk's office confirms the mayoral office will indeed appear on the 2027 ballot.
