David Crowley wins Dem primary, to face Tom Tiffany in Wisconsin governor race

Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley won the Democratic primary for governor on Wednesday, setting up a general election matchup with U.S. Rep. Tom Tiffany (R-WI).

Crowley overcame the three other remaining candidates in the race, former Wisconsin Department of Administration Secretary Joel Brennan, state Rep. Francesca Hong (D-Madison) and state Sen. Kelda Roys (D).

AP News called the race for Crowley early Wednesday morning, long after polls had closed. As of 10:30 a.m. CST, Crowley narrowly led over Hong by under 4,000 votes, with an estimated 95%+ of the vote counted.

Crowley initially dropped out of the race in early July and endorsed Lt. Gov. Sara Rodriguez. After Rodriguez suspended her campaign because of a campaign finance scandal, Crowley reentered the race on July 18 with a crucial endorsement from Gov. Tony Evers’ (D). A more moderate candidate, Crowley repeatedly portrayed himself as more electable in a general election compared to Hong.

Hong, a self-described democratic socialist, ran a campaign centered on universal child care, pivoting away from supporting private voucher education and a statewide moratorium on new artificial intelligence data centers.

Over the final three weeks of the race, Crowley launched an aggressive statewide sprint and raised over $1 million. Crowley also pushed back on critics calling him an “establishment” candidate, claiming that is a slur.

The general election matchup

With the Democratic nomination secured, Crowley will face Tiffany (R-WI) in November. Tiffany, who is backed by President Donald Trump and Republican leadership, easily defeated medical service technician Andrew Manske in Tuesday’s GOP primary. The race in Wisconsin — a key Midwestern battleground state that Trump carried in 2024 by less than one percentage point — is expected to be one of the most closely watched and expensive gubernatorial contests in the country.

Democrats aim to hold the governor’s mansion to maintain veto power over the state legislature. Although, Democrats have a chance to flip both chambers of the Wisconsin legislature for the first time in over a decade, giving the party a chance at a trifecta if Hong wins.

Cook Political Report rates the race a tossup, while recent general election polling suggests a statistical tie between Crowley and Tiffany.