Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley’s stunning comeback victory in Wisconsin’s Democratic Party gubernatorial primary — achieved just over one month after dropping out of the race — sets up a general election matchup with conservative Republican congressman Tom Tiffany, who easily won the Republican primary.
Crowley, who suspended his campaign on July 8, reentered the race on July 18 when Lt. Gov. Sara Rodriguez dropped out.
He received the endorsement of Democratic Gov. Tony Evers and parlayed that endorsement and a surge of late campaign cash into an improbable victory over state Rep. Francesca Hong.
With 98% of precincts reporting, Crowley declared victory with 39.8% of the vote, compared to 39.4% for Hong, who conceded the race in a phone call to her opponent.
State Sen. Kelda Roys, D-Madison, garnered 7.5% of the vote, and former Department of Administration Secretary Joel Brennan received 4.7%.
On July 29, a Marquette Law poll had Hong leading Crowley by 22 points, but Hong could not overcome a barrage of criticism for past controversial statements and fears that as a democratic socialist, she could not win the general election.
In a message to supporters attending her Madison watch party, Hong called for party unity and said she is proud of running a campaign that will change politics.
“We have built a beautiful, multigenerational, multipartisan, multiracial, working class movement, and it is a movement that meets the moment,” she said.
While the Democrats had to wait for nearly the full vote count to determine their winner, Tiffany’s victory was apparent early on as he received 95% of the GOP primary vote against Andrew Manske.
Tiffany, who has been endorsed by President Donald Trump, grew up on a dairy farm in the Pierce County village of Elmwood. He has represented Wisconsin’s 7th Congressional District since 2020.
In a statement issued Wednesday morning, Tiffany said there’s not a dime’s worth of difference between Crowley, who has been portrayed as a moderate, and Hong.
“His record in Milwaukee County shows exactly what Wisconsin would get: mismanage the government, run up the bill, and raise your taxes to pay for it,” Tiffany said. “Wisconsin doesn’t need more of the same failed policies. I’m running to lower costs, restore accountability in Madison, and expand opportunity across our state.”
In accepting the Democratic nomination Wednesday morning, Crowley pledged to build a broad coalition to defeat Tiffany.
“Today begins a new chapter. Today, we get back to work. We’ll knock on more doors. We’ll have more conversations. We’ll welcome Democrats, Republicans, independents, and every Wisconsinite who believes in democracy, who believes in opportunity, in moving our entire state forward,” Crowley said.
“Together we will build a broad coalition that this moment absolutely demands. Together we will reject division. Together we will reject extremism. Together, we will make history and write the next chapter of Wisconsin’s story — one built on opportunity, compassion, hard work, and hope. And together, we will defeat Tom Tiffany.”
