David Crowley Pulls Off Stunning Upset to Win Wisconsin's Democratic Primary for Governor
Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley narrowly turned back a democratic-socialist challenge from Rep. Francesca Hong, setting up a fall clash with Trump-backed Rep. Tom Tiffany — and a shot at becoming the state's first Black governor.
MILWAUKEE — David Crowley, the Milwaukee County executive, narrowly won Wisconsin's Democratic primary for governor Wednesday, fending off a late progressive surge from state Rep. Francesca Hong and setting up a November face-off with Republican U.S. Rep. Tom Tiffany.
The race was called a "photo finish" by Wisconsin's PBS affiliate, capping a chaotic month in which Crowley briefly suspended his own campaign in July before re-entering as the race's moderate alternative with the backing of outgoing Gov. Tony Evers.
Crowley, 38, became Milwaukee County's first Black executive and its youngest ever when he took office in 2020. A win in November would make him Wisconsin's first Black governor and only the fourth Black governor elected in U.S. history.
A rough month for the party's left flank
Hong, a democratic socialist state representative from Madison, had hoped to ride a wave of recent progressive primary wins in Michigan, New York and Colorado. Her campaign was rattled in its final stretch by resurfaced 2019-2021 social media posts calling to defund the police and abolish ICE and the U.S. Senate, according to the Washington Post. Former Lt. Gov. Mandela Barnes, also in the race, withdrew just days before the vote.
"WE ROSE FROM THE ASHES."
"Today, I stand before the people of Wisconsin after we rose from the ashes," Crowley told supporters Wednesday night, thanking Evers "for his friendship, his leadership, and his belief that Wisconsin works best when working people come together."
Crowley has bristled at being cast as the party establishment's pick, calling the label a "slur" against a candidacy he says was shaped by growing up in one of the state's poorest ZIP codes with parents who struggled with addiction and mental illness, according to TheGrio.
The general election now pits Crowley against Tiffany, a three-term congressman from Wisconsin's 7th District who has Trump's endorsement. Political analyst Larry Sabato's Crystal Ball shifted its rating on the race from "toss-up" to "leans Democratic" following Wednesday's result — a notable data point in a battleground state Trump carried in 2024. Both campaigns are expected to spend heavily through the fall in a race widely seen as a bellwether for the midterms.