Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley has won the Democratic nomination, edging out Francesca Hong.
Crowley received 39.8% of the vote, totaling approximately 315,000 votes as of Wednesday morning. State Rep. Francesca Hong narrowly trailed Crowley by less than 4,000 votes, resulting in an upset and major blow to progressives in the state and across the country.
Crowley originally entered the race in September, as he held the office of Milwaukee County Executive which he has held for 6 years.
Crowley suspended his campaign in early July and endorsed Lt. Gov. Sara Rodriguez. Rodriguez’s campaign later revealed serious discrepancies in its finances and she ended her campaign on July 17. Crowley returned to the race the following day and immediately received the endorsement of outgoing Democratic Gov. Tony Evers.
A Marquette Law School Poll placed Hong at 38%, former Lt. Gov. Mandela Barnes at 16% and Crowley at just 7%, although 34% remained undecided. Another poll released around the same time put Hong at 44%, Crowley at 15% and Barnes at 14%. Barnes subsequently dropped out, leaving Crowley as the strongest mainstream alternative to Hong.
Crowley has toed the line when it comes to the opposition of Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Crowley says he doesn’t see “any scenario where we would want to partner with ICE.” Socialist opponent Francesca Hong took a stronger stance, stating she’s in favor of the “abolition of ICE.”
Crowley has had some recent controversy regarding a social media account with crude posts. The X, formerly Twitter, account called “Dirt McGirk” was a burner account that Crowley was an owner of and contains homophobic and sexist remarks. The Crowley campaign profusely denied the accusations that Crowley made any of those posts.
Crowley has also supported: publicly subsidized child care, making statewide healthcare open to all people, codifying abortion law, and raising the minimum wage to $20 an hour. Crowley supported a “Green New Deal” with public schools, suggesting retrofitting and updating schools through 2050 with tax payer money.
