Candidate tracker: Madison mayor's race 2027

A list of declared candidates in the Feb. 16 spring mayoral primary election

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Having trouble keeping up with the race for Madison mayor? Mayor Satya Rhodes-Conway now has more challengers than can fit on one hand.

The pool is likely going to grow before it shrinks. The filing deadline for the 2027 spring election is Jan. 5, at 5 p.m. The nonpartisan primary, on Feb. 16, will whittle the field down to the two top candidates. Those candidates will go head-to-head in the spring nonpartisan election on April 6.

This live tracker will be updated with additional information over the course of the campaign. Candidates are listed in alphabetical order; we will include links to our coverage as well as to other news outlets.

Syed Abbas

A Pakistani immigrant who became an organizer in his Eken Park neighborhood, Syed Abbas was first elected to the Madison city council in 2019. After re-election, he was elected council president by his colleagues. Abbas ran for state Assembly in 2022 but lost a primary challenge; he resigned his seat on the council several months before his term expired. Abbas now works as the deputy legislative director at the Wisconsin Department of Health Services, and says that down the road he plans to take time off from his job to focus on his campaign.

Abbas launched his campaign at the Northstreet taproom on Aug. 25, where he said he wanted to be a “mayor for the people.” He filed a declaration of candidacy with the City Clerk’s Office on Aug. 20.

Abbas is running on a platform of four planks: fiscal responsibility, housing, social and environmental justice, and transportation. Notable supporters include former Alds. Sheri Carter and Amani Latimer Burris, and former Downtown Madison Inc. president Susan Schmitz.

Brian Benford

The son of one of Milwaukee’s first Black police officers, Brian Benford spent his early childhood in Milwaukee, where he recalls seeing civil rights icons Vel Phillips and Father James Groppi in action. Then, he moved to the largely white community of Fort Atkinson.

Benford has spent decades working in community service jobs for such nonprofits as Operation Fresh Start and for Madison’s oldest community center, the Neighborhood House. In 2007, he graduated from UW-Madison’s Odyssey Project, later earning bachelor’s and master’s degrees in social work with the program’s support. He has worked as a success coach for the Odyssey Project since 2019.

Benford has also served as an alder on the Madison city council. He was first elected in 2003 and re-elected to the District 12 seat in 2005; he was elected to District 6 in 2021. He ran for a state Senate seat in 2020, but lost.

Benford announced his campaign on Aug. 25. He filed a declaration of candidacy with the City Clerk’s Office on Sept. 8. When asked if he was running in reaction to the July 22 killing of Corey Ruiz by a Madison police officer and subsequent clearing of an encampment, Benford told Isthmus that Madison policymakers have too often ignored the city’s racial disparities. “I’m running because for 170 years in the history of Madison, political leaders have always swept racial disparities [and] social injustices under a rug…and it’s got to stop.”

Kaleem Caire

 Lasting change in Madison runs through City Hall, argues Kaleem Caire, a community leader who has spent decades in education and community leadership.

“While one school can change a neighborhood and one program can change a family… The budget runs through City Hall. Housing runs through City Hall. Buses, streets, parks, permits, public safety, and the expectation that this community will open doors for all of us runs through City Hall,” said Caire while officially launching his campaign. 

He also described the City County Building where he’d like to work — “the same place where the mayor of Madison goes to work every morning”—  as a place where his mother, while unhoused, would sometimes sleep in the vestibule. 

Caire was born in Madison, attended West High School and served in the U.S. Navy as a sonar technician aboard a nuclear submarine. In 2014, he founded One City Schools, which operates a public charter elementary and secondary school and an independent preschool, and has led the organization since its founding. He says there’s a plan in place with the school's board of directors that will allow him to run for office.

Previously, he was the president and CEO of the Urban League of Greater Madison, executive director of Fight For Children, and founding president and CEO of the Black Alliance for Educational Options.

Caire launched his campaign at the Center for Black Excellence and Culture on Sept. 28 where he said he was running on four pillars: “for the city to be affordable, healthy, prosperous, and we all work together.” He filed a declaration of candidacy with the City Clerk’s Office on Sept. 21.

In his announcement, Caire listed supporters including former Madison mayors Sue Bauman, Dave Cieslewicz and Joe Sensenbrenner, his treasurer; former Madison Police Chief Noble Wray; and UW-Madison emeritus professor Gloria Ladson-Billings. His campaign manager is Josh Wescott, former chief of staff to former Dane County Executive Joe Parisi.

Natalia Hacerola

She’s a visual artist, designer, activist and musician. Natalia Hacerola creates under the name Pranamaker, a term that Hacerola defines for Isthmus as the creator of an “uplifting, upward-moving life force.” 

Hacerola attended UW-Milwaukee and has a master’s degree in transformative leadership from the California Institute of Integral Studies. The mother of twin daughters lives in downtown Madison in transitional housing, and has worked as a yoga instructor and manager of several stores. 

A self-described “(w)rap artist,” Hacerola performs activist art by wrapping sites where police have killed people with fabric, then making fashion from it. She says models have walked her designs during New York Fashion Week.

Hacerola also sings. In her recent song “Deep Freeze State,” she rhymes: “They got an army of ten to run against me / whose impact must be immense, me  / Anti-police brutality my whole personality / make my fantasy a reality.” The song was posted Oct. 6, the same day Hacerola filed a declaration of candidacy with the City Clerk’s office. She says she first announced her campaign on her personal social media on Aug. 6. 

Hacerola’s platform includes limiting the mayor to two terms in office, along with pledges to set aside $100,000 of the mayor’s salary (currently $169,975)  toward long-term housing for people experiencing homelessness, and to “jail all killer cops.” While the mayor cannot jail anyone, Hacerola says the pledge expands the conversation: “I want people to know  what is first and foremost in the philosophy that will be informing my spending, what I approve, how I use my veto, how I network,” she says. 

When asked if Hacerola has held elected office before, she says she was elected to student government in school. Her campaign motto: “Dare to be different, try something new. Vote for Natalia, she’ll work for you.” 

Hacerola says she plans to post about her campaign under her existing social media profiles, but does not have plans to develop a dedicated campaign website or social media.

Jonny Hinds

Madison native Jonny Hinds is a strength and conditioning coach and founder of the Monkey Bar Gym. The gym, which opened in 1999, boasted more than a dozen national and international franchises at its zenith; in recent years, it transitioned to online before closing at the start of 2026, his campaign confirms. 

Hinds has also spent time developing fitness tools, following in the path of his late father, Bobby “Sugar” Hinds, the “jump rope king,” who invented the plastic-beaded Lifeline jump rope.

Hinds has not yet released policy proposals and his campaign declined an interview in August, saying that he was “doing the work to make sure that when Jonny does speak publicly about a potential campaign, he's able to do so thoughtfully and with a much clearer understanding of what he's heard from the community.”

In his campaign literature he cites a five-step philosophy guiding his approach to tackling big issues: “Understand the problem. Strip away what isn't necessary. Build something that works. Measure the result. Keep improving.”

Hinds filed a declaration of candidacy with the City Clerk’s Office on Aug. 13; for several months, he has been posting social media videos about issues facing Madison. He soft-launched his campaign in a video online on Sept. 26, but promised an official launch in November. In the meantime, he’s holding listening sessions, including one slated for Tuesday, Oct. 6, from 11am-noon at Rotunda Cafe.

Marcus Robert Johnson

Marcus Robert Johnson is a longtime east-side bartender: He worked at the Harmony Bar on Atwood Avenue from 2007 to 2020, and now bartends at Villa Tap on the northside. He is also a boxer who fights as a welterweight, according to a 2019 profile from the Capital Times, and now trains boxers. He was a Wisconsin Golden Gloves champion in 2016 and 2019.

Johnson announced his campaign Sept. 29, and filed a declaration of candidacy with the City Clerk’s Office on Sept. 28.

April Kigeya

April Kigeya has lived in Madison since 1991, and says she’s seen “the good and the bad of what Madison has to offer.” The mother of four describes herself as a community organizer; she attended UW-Madison while raising two children.

First elected in 2022, Kigeya served two terms as a Dane County Board supervisor, resigning in December 2025 after moving out of her district. She has also held a variety of professional roles, including several director-level positions at Wingra School.

Kigeya announced her campaign on Sept. 10 at Hayes Place, an event venue at the Northgate Shopping Center. She filed a declaration of candidacy with the City Clerk’s Office on Sept. 9.

Her campaign emphasizes seven planks: attainable housing, community-led government, safe communities, mental health and wellness, functioning transportation, opportunity, and transparency in government. She has community town halls scheduled at Goodman Community Center (Oct. 6), Sequoya Public Library (Oct. 21), and Wil-Mar Neighborhood Center (Oct. 28).

Notable supporters include former Dane County Board Supervisor Dana Pellebon, who describes Kigeya as someone with a steady hand who is capable of listening to people most impacted by an issue. Kigeya’s campaign is being managed by VoteShift, a political consulting firm that supports progressive candidates.

Mayor Satya Rhodes-Conway 

Incumbent Mayor Satya Rhodes-Conway was first elected in 2019 after emerging from a crowded primary and beating former Mayor Paul Soglin in the general election by nearly 62%; in 2023, she faced a challenge from Gloria Reyes but was re-elected with roughly 55% of the vote. If Rhodes-Conway wins and completes a third term, she would be the longest consecutively-serving mayor in city history.

Rhodes-Conway has pledged to continue her priorities: building more pathways to homeownership; adding a second bus rapid transit line and establishing passenger rail service to Milwaukee; creating safer streets; supporting small businesses; and mitigating climate change. She’s also emphasized property tax relief and “fair funding and local control” from the state; voters in 2024 approved a $22 million property tax referendum to plug a structural budget deficit.

Rhodes-Conway announced her campaign July 16 at the Tenney Park Pavilion, when she became the first candidate to enter the race. She told Isthmus her run was "not about politics” but instead about being a stable leader who is “best-suited” to meet challenges facing the city and take advantage of opportunities. She has yet to file a declaration of candidacy with the City Clerk’s Office.

In her first term, Rhodes-Conway was the target of a short-lived, unsuccessful recall campaign over a wheel tax she proposed to fund bus rapid transit early. There have been two periods of major protests against police violence during her tenure: in 2020, after the fatal police shooting of George Floyd in Minneapolis, and in 2026, following the fatal police shooting of Corey Ruiz on Willy Street.

Notable supporters include Gov. Tony Evers, Congressman Mark Pocan, state Rep. Francesca Hong, and state Sen. Kelda Roys. More than half of the city council has officially endorsed her campaign and she has support from other current and former elected officials as well. Her campaign is being managed by Joel Rivlin, of Vilas Consulting.

Larry “Ace” Williams

When Larry “Ace” Williams moved from Chicago to Madison, he spent a period of time unhoused, hanging out and skateboarding on State Street. A chance encounter led him to a job at J. Taylor’s Antiques, Maps and Antiquities; he’s since held other roles in the entertainment and food service industries.

Williams says he knew Corey Ruiz, who was shot and killed this summer by Madison police; the two met while making music together. He also says he knew Tony Robinson, who was fatally shot by a Madison police officer in 2015. He has described their deaths as part of what has shaped his interest in running for mayor.

Williams’ priorities include housing, government transparency and accountability, public safety, and community trust. In policing, he’s proposed neighborhood-level safety groups so residents and police can share concerns before problems escalate.

Williams announced his campaign Aug. 13; in an accompanying video filmed at B-Side Records on State Street he asks patrons browsing records if they are supporting his candidacy. He filed a declaration of candidacy with the City Clerk’s Office on Aug. 5.

Williams has not listed a campaign website or dedicated social media sites at this time.