MADISON - A Democratic candidate for governor is calling on Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to resign from his post as the nation's leader on health matters after the firing of the Centers for Disease Prevention and Prevention leader.
Lt. Gov. Sara Rodriguez, a former nurse who also worked in the CDC, said she is calling on Kennedy to resign or be fired "because we need actual public health leadership at HHS."
"We have several top-level officials who are either resigning or being asked to resign because they are trying to put science over ideology," Rodriguez said in an interview on Aug. 28.
Rodriguez said HHS leadership "needs to be grounded in science, not conspiracy theories or politics."
CDC Director Susan Monarez, who has ties to Wisconsin, was fired this week after Kennedy questioned whether she supported his decision to rescind certain approvals for access to COVID-19 vaccines, including for young children. Several high-ranking officials resigned in response.
A spokesperson for Kennedy did not immediately react to Rodriguez's comments.
Rodriguez, of Brookfield, is one of two Democratic candidates for governor thus far in the 2026 race. Longtime beer vendor Ryan Strnad of Mukwonago is also running for office as a Democrat.
Other Democrats are expected to join in the coming months, including Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley, State Sen. Kelda Roys and Wisconsin Economic Development Corp. Secretary Missy Hughes, among others.
On the Republican side, Washington County Executive Josh Schoemann and Whitefish Bay manufacturing CEO Bill Berrien are running in 2026. U.S. Rep. Tom Tiffany, who represents the 7th Congressional District, is also expected to join the race in the coming weeks.
Monarez's ouster, less than one month after the Senate confirmed her to the role, was followed by resignations from three other top CDC officials in protest of Kennedy's leadership, including his direction on vaccines.
Kennedy is well-known for his vaccine skepticism, which raised alarm with public health experts that he would attempt to limit public access to them once he was confirmed to his role.
Rodriguez called rescinding the vaccine approvals "reckless" and warned that putting CDC leadership in turmoil would harm the state's response to future disease outbreaks.
"Gutting that level of expertise is going to make us all less safe," she said. "It is going to make people sick and some people are going to die with this misinformation."
According to her testimony before the U.S. Senate, Monarez is the daughter of a Wisconsin dairy farmer. She also received bachelor's and doctorate degrees in microbiology and immunology from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
Molly Beck can be reached at [email protected].
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Wisconsin governor candidate calls on RFK Jr. to resign over
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