On Tuesday, NBC News national political correspondent Steve Kornacki seemed taken aback by a mishap in the vote counting during Wisconsin’s gubernatorial primary.
Francesca Hong, the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) candidate, had been leading in the polls but ended up losing to Democratic candidate David Crowley by a margin of less than one percent. Kornacki appeared confused when it was revealed that Milwaukee County officials had discovered five flash drives containing incorrect voting data, which delayed the counting process.
“Really? Really?” Kornacki commented. “Does that mean we’re back to square one?”
He struggled to respond to the unexpected delays during the live broadcast, letting viewers know it was unfortunate they had to go off-air without final results. “We have this major update coming from Milwaukee and… well, we waited for them for 90 minutes, and it turns out there was nothing on the stick. I don’t want to do this to you,” he expressed. “I want you to know that I don’t like it, because we’re all here for results, and we’re so close. We’ve been doing this for a long time,” Kornacki added, trying to reassure viewers.
The results soon followed, with Hong admitting defeat early Wednesday morning.
“Thank you so much to everyone who joined us for last night’s livestream. We couldn’t believe the turnout after waiting into the early morning hours in Milwaukee. Hope you all managed to get some rest!” Kornacki posted on X.
Despite her loss, some voting data indicated that Hong had initially led by more than 20 points by Tuesday. In Michigan, polls had suggested Democratic Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed would win by a double-digit lead, yet he secured victory by only one point.
The Democratic establishment had been pushing back in this election cycle after facing setbacks in recent primaries against DSA candidates and others politically to the left. DSA candidates had seen success in New York, Colorado, and Michigan with endorsements from notable figures like independent Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders and Democratic New York Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, both of whom were notably absent from Hong’s campaign.
