Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley has won the Democratic primary in the Wisconsin governor’s race, NBC News projects, dealing a major setback for Democratic Socialist Francesca Hong. The result marks a dramatic turnaround for Crowley, who had dropped out of the race about a month ago after initially struggling to gain traction only to re-enter days later with the backing of outgoing Democratic Gov. Tony Evers. Hong, a state lawmaker from Madison, had led in polls in the final stretch of the race but faced increasing scrutiny over her past controversial positions and her viability in the general election. His defeat is a setback for progressives, who have had success in other high-profile primaries across the country this year against establishment-backed candidates. Crowley will face Republican Rep. Tom Tiffany, backed by President Donald Trump, in a general election that will be one of the most important gubernatorial showdowns this fall. Crowley garnered 39.8% of the Democratic primary vote to 39.4% for Hong with 98% of the expected votes counted. Crowley, 40, has served as Milwaukee County executive since 2020. Before that, he was a member of the state Assembly representing an urban Milwaukee district. As recently as late July, he was in single digits in the well-regarded Marquette University Law School poll, with a large plurality of voters behind Hong, but more than a third saying they were still undecided. His victory marks the latest unexpected development in a volatile primary that had long lacked a clear favorite. Gov. Sara Rodriguez, who some Democrats expected to emerge as a leading centrist contender, abruptly dropped out of the race in mid-July amid problems with campaign finance reporting. A few weeks later, former Lt. Gov. Mandela Barnes, a progressive who was the party’s 2022 Senate candidate, ended his candidacy. Among those moves, Crowley relaunched his campaign after initially struggling to gain ground in a crowded field, part of a last-ditch effort by moderate Democrats to find an alternative to Hong. Francesca Hong, after voting in Tuesday’s primary election in Madison, Wisconsin. Scott Olson/Getty ImagesEvers, a popular governor who decided not to run for a third term, defended Crowley on the campaign trail, arguing that he was the most electable candidate in the primary. The message seemed to reach some voters. Ali Plummer of Madison told NBC News that she “voted for Crowley because I’m a risk-averse person, and I was really reading a lot about who has a chance to beat Tom Tiffany in the most important election.” But Plummer was part of a “split vote couple” with Shawn Bass, who voted for Hong. “I really think she has a great platform to talk about universal health care, talk about universal child care,” Bass said. Crowley’s campaign and allied outside groups also spent $4 million on ads during the primary, according to AdImpact, far more than any of his Democratic rivals. By comparison, Hong’s campaign and the groups supporting her spent less than half a million dollars on ads. David Crowley at a campaign rally in Milwaukee on Monday. Scott Olson/Getty ImagesCrowley faced some of his own controversies. Shortly after re-entering the race, NBC News reported on a years-old social media account registered in her name that featured inflammatory posts about women and race, along with derogatory LGBTQ references. But the focus in the final weeks of the primary was on Hong, who faced concerns about his ability to win in November in one of the country’s most divided states. He walked back his previous calls to defund and abolish the police, eliminate the U.S. Senate and cancel Thanksgiving. And while he has fiercely criticized Israel and its leaders over the war in Gaza, he did not make the issue a central part of his campaign message, as other progressives have done. Still, Hong did not shy away from the democratic socialist label and held a rally with left-wing streamer Hasan Piker and Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., one of the House’s most liberal members. Notably, Hong did not receive the endorsement of the country’s leading democratic socialist voices, Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez., who have weighed in in other contentious Democratic primary fights. Hong also faced very few attacks from his Democratic rivals. In the only primary debate late last month, none of her opponents criticized her directly. On the airwaves, a pro-Crowley outside group began running a television ad targeting Hong in the final days of the race, saying that his “history is a distraction we cannot afford.” Meanwhile, a group linked to the Republican Governors Association has spent nearly $3 million on ads portraying her as too liberal, an apparent effort to boost the party’s preferred general election opponent in the primary. Voters cast their ballots at a polling location inside Chippewa Valley Technical College in Eau Claire, Wisconsin on Tuesday. Steven Garcia/Bloomberg via Getty Images Candidates other than Hong and Crowley played a major role on Tuesday, earning a combined 20% of the vote. Among them were Rodríguez and Barnes, who each obtained almost 4% support. A Wisconsin judge had ruled that voters who returned absentee ballots could not request new ones, even if the candidates they supported were no longer in the race. Progressive state Sen. Kelda Roys came in third, just shy of 8%. On the Republican side, Tiffany, who has represented the 7th Congressional District, which comprises much of the northern part of the state, since 2020, easily won the party’s gubernatorial nomination. In a speech to supporters, Tiffany said, “Support me as we protect the Wisconsin way of life, and stand with me as we move Wisconsin forward.” Democrats have held Wisconsin’s governorship since 2019 and hope to take control of at least one state legislative chamber for the first time since the 2010 election. The winner of the Crowley-Tiffany showdown will be in power during the 2028 presidential election. Tiffany voted against certifying Joe Biden’s 2020 victories in Arizona and Pennsylvania as a member of the House. If Crowley wins in November, he would become the first black governor in Wisconsin history.
