Democratic candidate David Crowley often asks his supporters to volunteer the “Three T’s”: “time,” “talent” and “treasure” — or money. But with about a week until the election, he put a new spin on the phrase at a rally with former Vice President Kamala Harris Monday evening. 

“I usually say the last piece is treasure, but we’ll make an executive decision and turn that third T into turnout,” Crowley said. “We may not have billionaires, but we got something better. We’ve got you.”

Harris reinforced that message as she addressed attendees at the Pfister Hotel in Milwaukee.  Harris said she came through Milwaukee to say “thank you” for the work people are doing to help elect Crowley, and she emphasized that the work needs to continue through Election Day. 

“People have been feeling like ‘I can’t do anything about this,’ and I know how much pain people are in,” Harris said, commenting on the “brutality” of the Trump administration and the feeling of powerlessness it engenders. But, she added, “That phase is over. We are now in a moment to turn anger into action.”

Crowley faces Republican candidate U.S. Rep. Tom Tiffany in the state’s first open race for governor since 2010. 

Harris told attendees that their voices and votes matter.

“You don’t have to put up with this,” Harris said. “They’re putting a whole lot of money to try and convince people either that their vote doesn’t count or to lead them astray, but we have the power of the people on our side, so for the next eight days, let’s get out there and do everything we possibly can in a way that we show people who we are, what we want from leadership, and what we deserve.”

Harris is the latest surrogate to speak on Crowley’s behalf. Other Democrats who have visited the state or plan to include Maryland Gov. Wes Moore, Georgia U.S. Sen. Raphael Warnock and former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg. 

During her speech, Harris spoke about rising costs, criticized Tiffany and told voters that they had the power to change the direction of the state and the country. 

Ahead of Harris’ visit, Tiffany criticized the Crowley campaign, saying that he wants to bring California policies to Wisconsin. 

“Wisconsin rejected Kamala Harris once, and now it’s time to reject David Crowley and his tax-hiking, spending spree and toll road agenda,” Tiffany said in a statement. 

President Donald Trump won against Harris in Wisconsin in the 2024 election by fewer than 30,000 votes. During his second term, Trump’s popularity in Wisconsin has fallen to record lows with 60% disapproval in the latest Marquette Law School poll. 

“Let’s talk about the fact that David’s opponent denied the election of 2020,” Harris said. Tiffany voted against certifying voters’ choice of Biden in two states in the 2020 election, and said he would have voted against certifying Wisconsin’s vote. 

“By the way, we won. We won that election,” Harris said. 

The rally was targeted at mobilizing women to vote and the economic pressure women are facing was a common theme among the speakers as well as one of the issues at the top of mind of women who attended. 

While waiting for Harris and Crowley, Sarah Bielejeski, a 38-year-old Milwaukee resident, told the Examiner that she was asked to attend by her friend. She said she wasn’t comfortable speaking in detail about the candidate’s positions, but she knew “enough to know that Tom Tiffany is not right.”

During the interview, Bielejeski reached for another attendee standing beside her to join in the conversation.

Megan Czarnyszka, a single mom from the Milwaukee suburbs, said she had decided to attend the rally so her daughter could witness the civic engagement and was looking forward to learning more. She said that while she supported a different candidate in the primary, she was now backing Crowley.

Both Bielejeski and Czarnyszka said they were glad to be in a room with like-minded people. 

Czarnyszka, a small business owner, said she wants Democrats to win control of the Legislature as well as the governor’s office because Affordable Care Act insurance has become too expensive for her and she also wants to see schools fully funded.

“It’s like tripled right now,” Czarnyszka said about her health insurance premiums. “The deductible will be another $1,500. We’re talking $5,000 before my insurance ever kicks in. We’re talking the difference between me thriving, having my medications, and going all the way back to like poverty levels.” 

Harris described cost of living as a women’s issue, as did, Crowley and his wife.

Ericka Crowley gave a speech emphasizing costs before her husband and Harris took the stage.

“I’m a mother of three, y’all. I got a child in college and I’m still trying to figure out how to pay this tuition. I was at the grocery store the other day and I was like, ‘Oh I’m so exhausted of these prices. I’m tired of it, and I know y’all are exhausted,” she said. “We deserve better.” 

Crowley highlighted the same issue when he took the stage. 

“We feel these prices, too, and so when I say I get it, I get it. You know who doesn’t get it though? Congressman Tom Tiffany. He went to Washington, DC, and sold Wisconsin out,” he said. 

Harris said she was used to reporters asking her to speak about women’s issues. “I’d look at them and say, ‘I’m so glad you wanna talk about the economy,’” Harris, the first female vice president and the second Black woman elected to the U.S. Senate, said. Then she pivoted to making a plug for Crowley.

“David had everything to say about what is important to all people, including women. He stands for affordable childcare — only 7% of your income should go to childcare,” she said, referring to one of Crowley’s policy proposals. “He stands for affordable healthcare. We all know his opponent voted for that big bad bill that cut Medicaid by a trillion dollars to help millionaires and billionaires to cut their tax bills.”

Clarification: This story has been updated to clarify Sarah Bielejeski’s comments.

About a month and a half out from the midterm elections, gubernatorial Republican candidate Tom Tiffany is taking some small steps to distance himself from President Donald Trump and the rising gas prices that are resulting from the war in Iran. Meanwhile, Democratic candidate David Crowley is seeking to highlight Tiffany’s history of loyalty to the two-term president. 

Tiffany and Crowley made comments about gas prices, the Iran war and Trump’s recent media bans while talking to reporters at the Wisconsin Counties Association on Tuesday after pitching local county officials on why each is the right candidate to lead the state.

Tiffany , who is endorsed by Trump, told reporters that he thinks it is “time to “wrap up” the war in Iran, even though he has voted in Congress against measures that would have directed Trump to end the military engagement and respect the constitutional warmaking authority of Congress. Most recently, Tiffany did not join the seven House Republicans who broke ranks last week and voted to stop  Trump’s war with Iran unless Congress approved further action.

Trump pondered on Monday whether to “annihilate” Iran while addressing the United Nations General Assembly.

Tiffany explained that he voted against the measures ending the conflict because he believes the “president has that authority, and so he should exercise that authority.” 

Congress holds the sole power to declare war under the U.S. Constitution. 

“The president has final say in regards to this, but I just believe that we should be exiting Iran,” Tiffany said. “It’s time to move on. We’ve degraded their nuclear facilities. We degraded their military. Most of their ships are on the bottom of the ocean. Time to come home, take care of business here in America.”

The Iran war has driven diesel prices to a record high average of $6.51 per gallon this week with the Midwest outpacing the rest of the country. In Wisconsin, the average prices of a gallon of diesel hit $6.56 on Monday, according to AAA.

Asked whether the gas prices will hurt Republicans in the midterms, Tiffany said “we’ll see what happens” and said the U.S. needs to work to become energy independent. He argued that Crowley would not help the issue given his support of “net zero.” 

“No diesel fuel, no gasoline, no crude oil. Do you think he’s gonna fix the problem? Clearly he won’t,” Tiffany said. 

Crowley has been targeting Tiffany on the issue this week, visiting a farmer in Baraboo to talk about the issue and releasing an ad that blames Tiffany for contributing to the rise in diesel and gas prices.

“Tiffany has proven with every vote that he works for Donald Trump and the billionaires trying to buy this election, not for the families, farmers, and small business owners paying the price at the pump,” Crowley said in a statement. “Five times he has had the chance to end the war that’s driving our prices up, and five times he’s chosen Trump instead. Tom Tiffany’s only loyal to Trump — not us, Wisconsin.” 

Tiffany said he would not restrict media access on a state level. The Trump administration banned three media outlets, CNN, Politico and MS Now, from covering him in the White House. The outlets are suing, and other major outlets are boycotting by halting TV coverage of the White House. 

While Tiffany said he believes in a free press, he also immediately turned to criticize “slanted” media outlets and told a reporter from the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel that despite his belief that her outlet is “slanted,” he would “continue to allow” her to cover him.

“I did not deter anyone here from joining us today and I don’t plan on doing that. I believe in open free press that they be able to ask us questions,” Tiffany said. “The principle that I live with is that I just expect all of you to be fair, and as long as you’re fair in your writing, I always welcome the press here. It’s when the press is slanted, that’s what’s frustrating,” he said, echoing Trump’s criticism of much of the U.S. media.

“Even when the press has been slanted, as we’ve seen with the Journal Sentinel… we still have them here today,” Tiffany added.

Crowley said he would “absolutely not” implement any statewide media ban as governor and said he was glad to see major outlets supporting the other outlets by boycotting coverage.

“We want to make sure that we have the freedom of the press. I think it’s extremely important,” Crowley said.

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Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley jumped back into the race for governor Saturday in a last minute attempt to take control of the contest just 24 days before the August primary.

Crowley’s campaign also got a boost with an endorsement from Gov. Tony Evers, who had previously declined to back a candidate in the Democratic primary.

The late maneuvering underscored a schism in the state Democratic Party between traditional Democrats and Madison Rep. Francesca Hong, the democratic socialist who has energized the party’s progressive base. 

This past week, a group tied to the Republican Governors Association began running a multi-million dollar ad campaign that many Democrats viewed as an attempt to boost Hong in the Democratic primary.

What worries some Democrats is that Hong’s brand of politics is too liberal for a general election and would ensure a victory in November by Republican U.S. Rep. Tom Tiffany.

At his campaign re-launch in Milwaukee, Crowley said the RGA is “bankrolling millions of dollars, not to attack a Democrat, but to boost one up” without mentioning Hong by name.

“Democrats cannot afford to head into this general election with a nominee who lacks the experience, who lacks the record, or the coalition necessary to win this race, especially with Republicans actively trying to hand us that exact outcome,” said Crowley. “This election is too important to gamble on, and that’s why today I am re-entering this race.”

Crowley said it’s time for Wisconsin Democrats “to make our choice” and fight back.

“My record proves that I can do it, and I am ready for this fight on day one!” said Crowley.

In a statement, Hong said she welcomed Crowley back to the race, and looked forward to the perspective he’d bring as the candidates make their cases to voters in the next three weeks.

“Competition is good for democracy, and voters deserve a substantive debate about the future of our state,” Hong said.

Not all Democrats were as understanding.

While the theory of Crowley’s return to the race is that he’ll unite the party and prevent Hong from advancing and losing in the general election, there’s also a clear chance it could divide Hong’s Democratic opponents just enough to ensure she wins the primary.

The campaign of former Lt. Gov. Mandela Barnes, who was the only candidate to come close to Hong the last time Marquette University released a public poll on the race, issued a statement that criticized Crowley, titled “David Crowley Left This Race For A Reason.” The statement noted that Crowley had only received 3 percent in three Marquette surveys on the race.

“With just 3 weeks until Election Day and after nearly 70,000 people have voted, this Hail Mary serves no purpose other than playing spoiler and handing our state to Trump’s handpicked candidate in Tom Tiffany,” said Barnes Campaign Manager Darby O’Connor.

Evers endorsement a wild card

One factor Crowley will have going for him in this home-stretch run that he didn’t have earlier is the public backing of Evers.

In a social media post Saturday, the governor said he didn’t plan to endorse anyone in the race, “because I know each of the candidates” and wanted to give them time to make their case to Wisconsin residents.” But he said in a tight race, Democrats need to rally behind Crowley to prevent Tiffany from winning the governorship.

Today, I'm endorsing @DavidcCrowley to be Wisconsin’s next governor.

I'm urging Wisconsinites to join me in uniting and supporting David in the upcoming August 11 primary and the November election.

We’ve got a lot to do and only a short time to do it, folks. Let’s get to work! pic.twitter.com/KvArA2cZdt

— Tony Evers (@Tony4WI) July 18, 2026

“Wisconsin only knows one direction to go, and that’s Forward, and let’s unite to make sure David is our next governor so we can keep building the future our kids and grandkids deserve,” said Evers. “We’ve got a lot to do and only a short time to do it. Let’s get to work.”

The governor declined to get involved in the primary earlier, despite several candidates in the race who’d held prominent roles in his administration.

That includes Barnes, Evers’ first lieutenant governor, and current Lt. Gov. Sara Rodriguez, who ended her campaign for governor Friday amid financial turmoil. It also includes Joel Brennan, the former secretary of Evers’ Department of Administration, whose campaign said he would remain in the race.

“Joel Brennan is in this race to win it,” read the statement. “Wisconsin needs a candidate who can beat Tom Tiffany in November and get to work for Wisconsin families from day one. That was true yesterday, and it’s still true today — no matter who else is in or out.”

Madison Sen. Kelda Roys has also said she’ll remain in the race, regardless of who gets in.

“I have a lot of respect and affection for David, but I would hope that he makes the right choice for the party, which is that we should be moving forward,” Roys said during a Friday interview with WISN-TV. “What I am hearing from people is that they want to see consolidation of support behind a candidate who can actually win this primary.”

Republicans seemed to relish the last-minute scramble by Democrats, which has given Tiffany the chance to run millions of dollars in ads boosting his brand.

“Remember,” said state GOP Chair Brian Schimming on X, “for all the absurd antics among Wisconsin Democrats right now, there is an irrefutable, undeniable fact: it’s all about stopping #FrancescaHong. All. Of. it. Full stop.”

This story was produced by WPR.

David Crowley returns to governor’s race in last-minute effort to win Democratic primary is a post from Wisconsin Watch, a non-profit investigative news site covering Wisconsin since 2009. Please consider making a contribution to support our journalism.