Milwaukee County Executive nypost.com narrowly defeated democratic socialist Bostonherald in Wisconsin’s Democratic gubernatorial primary on Tuesday. The outcome was declared early Wednesday by the Associated Press after reporting delays involving absentee ballots in Milwaukee, Winnebago, and Green counties.
David Crowley Pulls Off Upset Over Francesca Hong in Wisconsin Democratic Primary
Crowley defeated Hong by less than half of a percentage point, trailing by more than 3,200 votes out of more than 787,000 ballots cast as of 6 a.m. ET, resulting in a margin of 0.41 percentage points. According to Crowley’s campaign, Hong called Crowley early Wednesday to concede the race. The primary contest served as a key test of whether recent democratic socialist victories in deep blue states could be replicated in Midwestern battlegrounds.
An Unprecedented Comeback Amid Polling Surprises
The election outcome defied statewide polls that had consistently shown Hong carrying a double-digit lead in the final stretch, including in a survey commissioned by Crowley’s own campaign. Crowley had initially dropped out of the race in July after polling showed he failed to break through in a crowded field, but he re-entered days later following an endorsement from outgoing Democratic Governor Tony Evers, whose job approval rating exceeded 50% in a Marquette University Law School survey.
Crowley’s late return reshaped the establishment wing of the race after Lieutenant Governor Sara Rodriguez and her predecessor, Mandela Barnes, dropped out in preceding weeks. Meanwhile, Republican groups spent millions of dollars on ads during the primary to boost Hong’s name recognition, viewing her as a more beatable candidate in the general election than her moderate rivals.
Scrutiny Over Past Statements and General Election Stakes
In the final weeks of the primary, Hong faced national scrutiny and criticism over past social media posts, including comments calling to abolish police and criticize holidays. Crowley and Evers spent the final month of the race arguing that Hong could not beat Republican nominee sportsbookwire.usatoday.com in November due to those past statements.
Hong’s left-leaning policy platform had included abolishing the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency, a one-year moratorium on new data centers, and increased taxation of billionaires and corporations. Despite these policy goals proving popular with a sizeable number of Democratic voters, critics in both Democratic and Republican circles expressed concern about her past remarks. Prominent national socialists Bernie Sanders and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez kept their distance from Hong during the primary.
Path Forward to the November General Election
With the primary concluded, Crowley will advance to face Republican U.S. Representative Tom Tiffany in the November general election in an open race to succeed Tony Evers. Tiffany secured his Republican nomination with 95.3 percent of the vote.
However, Crowley enters the general election facing an electorate that largely remains unfamiliar with him. In the latest Marquette University Law School poll, two-thirds of Democratic primary voters indicated they did not know enough about Crowley to have an opinion. Crowley’s campaign manager, Garren Randolph, stated that the nominee is ready to build a broad coalition focused on making life more affordable, strengthening schools, creating good-paying jobs, and ensuring opportunity across the state.
Related reading
- Bulldozing Begins at Big Bend National Park for Border Wall Construction
- Panama Canal Transit Fees Soar as Iran War and El Niño Cause Major Shipping Delays
- Former Hartford Mayor Luke Bronin Wins Connecticut Democratic Primary Against John Larson (news-usa.today)
- Key Takeaways from Primary Elections in SC, WI, MN, and CT (archynewsy.com)