Sherwin Hughes, a talk radio host on Milwaukee's 101.7 The Truth radio station, said on his show Tuesday morning that conservative mayoral candidate Bob Donovan is an "in-the-closet homosexual."
"If Bob Donovan was not an in-the-closet homosexual, he would be using his whiteness and galvanizing frightened white people in the City of Milwaukee so he can run for mayor and win," Hughes said on his program "The Truth with Sherman Hughes."
"I said it!" he added. "I mean, I'm all for him if he wants to come out we'll be supportive. He's probably trying to get his strength from his whiteness and his masculinity. I'm going to get in trouble for that one, I can already feel it. It's fine. I'm just stating the facts, I suppose."
Donovan, a retired alderman, has been married to his wife Kathy since 1985. Together, they have a son and four daughters and 11 grandchildren, ranging in age from 9 to 22.
"It’s disappointing that my opponents need to get into name-calling and attacks," he said, "but it’s proof that we’re making a difference and that people in Milwaukee are beginning to realize that we need to move in a different, better direction."
Neither 101.7 The Truth nor Good Karma Brands, which owns the station, has yet responded to a request for comment on Hughes’ comments.
Hughes has long been active in Democrat politics, twice serving as vice chair of the Milwaukee Democratic Party as well as a spokesman for Wisconsin State Senator current mayoral candidate Lena Taylor. In 2005, Governor Jim Doyle appointed him chairman of the Wisconsin Elections Board.
Donovan retired as an alderman representing Milwaukee’s south side in 2020 after 20 years in office but announced last August that he would run for mayor. Tom Barrett, who defeated Donovan in the 2016 mayoral election, resigned in December after he was confirmed as the United States Ambassador to Luxemburg.
Donovan is one of seven candidates running in a special election to fill the remainder of Barrett’s term. The top two vote-getters in next Tuesday’s primary will advance to the general election on April 5th. Donovan is considered the only conservative in the race and is running on a tough-on-crime platform. Milwaukee has set all-time records for homicides in both 2020 and 2021 and has already seen 26 murders in 2022.