20 Democrats considering running for Wisconsin governor

MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Numerous Democrats are considering running for governor in 2018. This is where they stand.

Major announced candidates: State Superintendent Tony Evers; state Sen. Kathleen Vinehout, of Alma; state Rep. Dana Wachs, of Eau Claire; former Democratic Party Chairman Matt Flynn; Milwaukee businessman Andy Gronik; political activist Mike McCabe; and firefighter union leader Mahlon Mitchell.

Other announced candidates: political newcomer and recent Stanford University graduate Bob Harlow; disability rights advocate Jeff Rumbaugh; salon owner Michele Doolan; Dave Heaster, an information-technology worker who ran unsuccessfully for Congress against U.S. Rep. Jim Sensenbrenner in 2012; and political newcomer Andrew Lust, whose GoFundMe page has a $30 million goal but no donations to date.

Registered candidates exploring a bid: Sheboygan businessman Kurt Kober; former state Rep. Brett Hulsey, of Madison; Jared Landry, a private investigator from La Farge who ran for state Senate in 2016 but lost in the primary to Democratic Minority Leader Jennifer Shilling; and Ramona Whiteaker, a photographer from Stoughton.

Those who have said they are thinking about running, but have not registered or declared: Madison Mayor Paul Soglin and former state Rep. Kelda Roys, of Madison.

Those who are mentioned as possible candidates, but haven't said what their intentions are: Jefferson County District Attorney Susan Happ and Dan Speckhard, the former U.S. ambassador to Greece and Belarus and current president and CEO of Lutheran World Relief.