Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley Surprises in Democratic Primary

In a surprising twist, Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley emerged victorious over State Representative Francesca Hong in the Wisconsin Democratic gubernatorial primary. This sets the stage for a contest against Republican Rep. Tom Tiffany, who has the backing of President Donald Trump.

After counting nearly all votes, Crowley secured 315,278 votes, or approximately 39.8%, while Hong followed closely with 311,495 votes, equating to around 39.3%. This result signifies a narrow win for the Democrats, as reported by the Associated Press.

Other Democratic contenders, such as attorney Kelda Roys, nonprofit executive Joel Brennan, Wisconsin Lieutenant Governor Sara Rodriguez, nonprofit executive Mandela Burns, and attorney Missy Hughes, struggled to cross the 10% threshold.

The race was regarded as a significant win for progressive Democrats, including figures like New York City Mayor Zoran Mamdani and Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed, among others from New York.

Hong, who identifies as a democratic socialist, faced harsh criticism for her past social media activity, even while she led in polls prior to the primary. In the campaign’s final weeks, she removed a 2020 post advocating to “Cancel Thanksgiving,” but previous posts advocating for police defunding and expressing irritation with “too many old white people” resurfaced.

A now-deleted tweet from her stated, “We should have done this in 1621. If it takes a global pandemic for us to stop celebrating colonialism, then so be it.”

Later, she appeared to soften her stance, stating that Thanksgiving is her favorite holiday, clarifying, “I really like it. Honestly, I’m sometimes kind of mean when it comes to holidays in general.”

As for Crowley, he had briefly stepped back from the race last month, doubting his chances of winning. However, he chose to re-enter just ten days later when he felt reassured about his prospects, especially after Rodriguez exited the race due to a campaign finance scandal.

On the Republican side, Tiffany garnered 467,738 votes, a remarkable 95.3%, with his opponent, Andy Manske, only receiving 4.6% of the votes.

Trump had publicly endorsed Tiffany earlier this year, expressing confidence in his ability to champion sensible values for the state and the nation.

“I was a strong supporter of Tom as a congressman early on, and he won in a landslide,” Trump remarked on Truth Social. “Tom has a proven track record as a businessman and leader dedicated to serving his community.”