Milwaukee County Exec. David Crowley drops bid for governor, narrowing Wisconsin Democratic primary field

Crowley, a former state lawmaker who has served as the top executive of Milwaukee County executive since 2020, launched his campaign in September, saying his executive experience  would serve him well in the governor’s office and that he wanted to work to address the state’s affordability crisis. He pitched himself to voters as someone who could build bridges among communities across the state.

“It has become clear that I will not be the Democratic nominee for Governor, so today I am stepping out of this race, but I am not stepping away from the work. Politics should not be about who talks the loudest. It’s about showing up, working with anyone who wants to solve the problem, and delivering results people can see in their own communities,” Crowley said in a statement.

The news of Crowley’s exit, first reported by WisPolitics, is the second in recent weeks as former Wisconsin Economic Development Corporations CEO Missy Hughes dropped out at the end of June. It leaves the Democratic primary a five-way race between Lt. Gov. Sara Rodriguez, former Lt. Gov. Mandela Barnes, state Rep. Francesca Hong (D-Madison), state Sen. Kelda Roys and Joel Brennan, the former head of the Department of Administration under Gov. Tony Evers. 

While Crowley appeared to be building some momentum at the beginning of the campaign, including leading the Democratic field in early finance reports, he was also unable to break into the top tier in the polls. In a February Marquette Law School poll, he had the support of 3% of voters. In a straw poll conducted by WisPolitics at the Democratic Party of Wisconsin convention last month, he came in fourth behind Rodriguez, Hong and Roys.

Unlike Hughes, who endorsed Rodriguez, Cowley did not issue an endorsement when he ended his campaign. 

Crowley said the most important thing for Democrats to do is to unite behind whoever wins in August and defeat U.S. Rep. Tom Tiffany, the presumptive Republican candidate who has the endorsement of President Donald Trump. 

“Tiffany’s record in Washington does not reflect Wisconsin’s values, and the people of this state deserve a governor who will fight for working families, protect our natural resources, invest in our communities, and be beholden to the people of our state, not Donald Trump,” Cowley said. “While I will not be the candidate, I will still do everything in my power to ensure that we win in November.” 

Crowley said that the state’s next governor needs to focus on the basics including “making this state affordable, making sure care shows up for families before a crisis instead of after and building real opportunity from the classroom to a good-paying job.”

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