Democratic gubernatorial candidate David Crowley polled slightly ahead of Republican U.S. Rep. Tom Tiffany in the first Marquette Law School poll conducted since the primary earlier this month. The poll results were released Wednesday.

The poll was conducted from Aug. 12, the day after the primary, through Aug. 20. Surveyors interviewed 891 Wisconsin registered voters, with a margin of error of 4 percentage points. The likely voter sample was 738, with a margin of error of 4.5 percentage points.

With less than three months until the midterm election Nov. 3, the candidates have been criss-crossing the state to get their names out to voters and win over support. 

 Crowley pulled in support from 49% of  likely Wisconsin voters, while Tiffany had 44%; another 7% of likely voters said they were undecided. Among registered voters, Crowley and Tiffany were tied at 44%.

The poll found a Democratic advantage among those who are certain that they’ll vote in November, with  84% of Democrats reporting they were certain compared with 82% of Republicans.

“You could either come away with a modest Crowley advantage, by about five points, or a dead tie, depending on whether you’re looking at everybody that’s registered to vote or looking at those absolutely certain to vote,” poll director Charles Franklin said.

The poll showed that 98% of likely voters who were Democrats planned to vote for Crowley, while 91% of likely Republican voters said they planned to vote for Tiffany. 

The biggest percentage of undecided voters were independents: 30% of independents who said they were likely to vote were undecided. Among registered voters, undecided independent voters jumped to 47%.

Among likely voters, Crowley had an advantage with independent voters. About 55% said they supported him, while 16% said they would support Tiffany.

Following the divisive and chaotic primary campaign, Crowley called on Democrats to unify to win in November and campaigned with state Rep. Francesca Hong, who finished a close second in the primary.  

“It’s interesting that the Democrats do appear to be completely unified behind their candidate and Republicans, quite unified, but not quite as much as Democrats,” Franklin said. 

Tiffany and Crowley will be working to win over undecided voters and flip people to support them over the next 10 weeks, especially as Wisconsin’s statewide races are typically decided by close margins. In 2018, Gov. Tony Evers defeated Gov. Scott Walker by about 30,000 votes.

Out of the 98 state legislative bodies across the U.S., the Wisconsin Senate has been deemed the “most flippable” by Wisconsin Democrats. Still, Sen. Patrick Testin (R-Stevens Point) told the Wisconsin Examiner that he sees a definite path for Republicans to maintain their majority.

“We have our chessboard fully laid out. I don’t think there’s any question that, you know, this cycle, it seems as though our backs are against the wall,” Testin said. 

Testin is leading the Committee to Elect a Republican Senate (CERS), which is the campaign arm of the Senate Republican caucus, as Senate Majority Leader Devin LeMahieu (R-Oostburg) decided to retire this year. 

Senate Republicans currently have an 18-seat majority, meaning that they only have room to lose one seat this year. Four seats have been identified by Democrats and Republicans as essential to determining control:

• Senate District 5: covering Wauwatosa and other parts of Milwaukee County. State Rep. Robyn Vining (D-Wauwatosa) and Republican Mike Roberts are vying for the seat that is currently represented by Sen. Rob Hutton, who opted not to run for reelection. 
• Senate District 17: A southwest district covering Iowa, Lafayette, Green, Crawford and Grant counties as well as parts of Dane County. Sen. Howard Marklein (R-Spring Green) faces a challenge from Rep. Jenna Jacobson (D-Oregon). 
• Senate District 21: Incumbent Sen. Van Wanggaard (R-Racine) is retiring this year, leaving open the southeast district that includes part of Racine and Milwaukee Counties. Democrat Trevor Jung, the former Racine transit and mobility director, is running against Republican businessman Jim Croft.
• Senate District 31: Sen Jeff Smith (D-Brunswick) is seeking another term in office and faces a challenge from Republican Michele Magadance Skinner, an Eau Claire County board member. The district covers Eau Claire County and parts of Dunn, Trempealeau and Chippewa counties.

Senate Minority Leader Dianne Hesselbein (D-Middleton) expressed confidence in her party’s effort to take over the chamber during a press conference after the August primary, saying that Senate Democrats flipped four seats in 2024 and her caucus expects to do the same this year. “I think we’re going to be able to do it with David Crowley leading the way,” she said. 

There are a few factors that have contributed to Democrats’ confidence. 

The midterm election environment is expected to be friendlier to Democrats with a Republican in the White House, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures. President Donald Trump’s popularity has steadily declined in Wisconsin since he took office for his second term, according to Marquette Law School polling. 

A recent Marquette poll found that 46% of Wisconsin voters said they would vote for Democrats in legislative races, while 42% said they’d vote for Republicans. The survey did not deliver detailed information on specific districts.

Democrats also got to work early, immediately after the state budget was finished last year, hoping to take advantage of new, more favorable voting maps.

“We had these maps early,” Hesselbein said. As a result, campaigns got started sooner than they had in past years.

Senate Democrats are targeting two districts that went for Trump in 2024. Democrat Charly Ray and Republican Erik Severson are competing in Senate District 25, an open district that encompasses Douglas, Bayfield, Ashland, Washburn, Iron, Sawyer, Polk and Burnett Counties. In Senate District 29, which includes Marathon, Wood, Portage and Waupaca Counties, Sen. Cory Tomczyk (R-Mosinee), who was elected to the seat in 2022, is facing a challenge from Democrat Gillian Battino, a retired radiologist. 

Republicans didn’t know until this year how many of their incumbents would run for reelection — one-third of the caucus ended up deciding to retire including Sen. Van Wanggaard in SD 21, Sen. Rob Hutton in SD 5 and Sen. Jesse James, who had previously planned to challenge Smith. 

Testin said the environment around the races “means we have to work overtime between now and November to help our candidates get across the finish line and do what we can to contrast our candidates versus the Democrats in the key races.”

Testin said this may be the year that not having incumbents in a seat could turn into an advantage, noting that there’s been “sort of an incumbency malaise that we’ve seen in the electorate” and Republican Senate candidates are being encouraged to stay “hyper focused on local and state issues”, including affordability issues and lowering property taxes, and to avoid “getting wrapped into the national narratives of what’s happening out in D.C.”  He said their candidates are relying on a good “ground game” to protect their seats and candidates have strict metrics for doorknocking and are on track to get to 15,000 to 20,000 doors in the key seats. 

“So far our candidates have done exactly that,” Testin said. 

“We have our budget set for our key races,” Testin added, noting that it could be anywhere from $1.5 million to $2.5 million allocated to the competitive seats. “Based on what we’re able to raise, we are going to make adjustments on the fly as needed, and as things sort of evolve on the ground and things change as they always do in campaigns, you have to be nimble and flexible.”

According to July reports, the Committee to Elect a Republican Senate has raised nearly $5 million this year and had $5.3 million on hand. The bulk of that fundraising came from billionaires Diane Hendricks and Elizabeth Uihlein, who each gave $2 million.

Testin said he is proud that the Republicans have been able to outraise Democrats so far and they are running ahead of where they were in 2024 when it comes to fundraising, but he is expecting money to flood into the state now that the primary is over. 

“These races are expensive. It costs a lot of money to get our candidates’ message out there, to get them up on air to do digital ads, radio, direct mail, and that’s just the sad reality,” Testin said. 

When it come to the Uihleins and Hendricks, he said they’ve been strong supporters of the caucus and “despite the criticism leveled against those individuals, what never gets a light shined onto it is the money that comes in from states like Illinois, New York, California, billionaires and multi-and mega-millionaires from the liberal elite who have flooded Democrat coffers for years.”

The Republican Senate committee is also working closely with its Assembly counterpart, which is being led by Assembly Majority Leader Tyler August: “I often joke that — we speak on the phone more often than we speak to anyone else,” Testin said.

“This is what’s sort of unique, as opposed to previous cycles, where we have historically sort of operated in our own silos,” Testin said. “We are working hand in hand to ensure that there is no daylight between us,” he said, including “coordinating as best that we can with their candidates in the key seats that overlap ours.” 

Senate Democrats’ recently filed a lawsuit against  Skinner, who is running in Eau Claire, over questions related to her residency, attempting to get her removed from the ballot in November.

The effort was blocked by a Dane County judge this week. State Senate Democratic Committee Executive Director Andrew Whitley said in a statement that questions still remained, but the issue would be left up to voters. 

Testin said ahead of the hearing that the effort smelled of “desperation.”

“You would think if they would spend more time propping up their own candidate and his record and track record, that they’d be able to highlight that. But they haven’t been able to,” Testin said. “From our standpoint, we are in the driver’s seat between now and Nov. 3.”

The Wisconsin governor’s race is expected to have some influence on downballot races. Testin said Republicans were “salivating” at the prospect of running against State Rep. Francesca Hong, a democratic socialist, who narrowly lost the primary to Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley. Her loss, Testin said, makes the job of Republicans a little bit harder.

Crowley faces Republican U.S. Rep. Tom Tiffany in November.

“Full disclosure, I mean, I consider David Crowley a friend of mine,” Testin said, adding that they were freshmen in the state Legislature at the same time. “Obviously, I don’t agree with him politically.” 

Testin said Crowley will have to grapple with controversies during his tenure as Milwaukee county executive, including a lapse in an employee health insurance contract and projected future budget deficits. He also mentioned comments that Crowley made minimizing his differences from Hong. 

“I think that’s going to be a real problem for them because the Democrats in these key seats are going to have to answer for some of those policy positions,” Testin said, citing “some of these radical policies that have been pushed by the DSA.”

Testin said a potential Crowley governorship is part of the reason it’s crucial that Republicans hang onto the state Senate. 

“It’s so crucial and important that, at the very least, if Tom Tiffany were to fall short in his bid for governor — which I don’t think he will — that at the very least, that we have a backstop in the state Senate as well as the state Assembly, to have a counterbalance to any of the proposals that would come out that administration,” Testin said.

A Dane County judge denied Wisconsin Senate Democrats’ request Thursday that Michele Magadance Skinner, a Republican state Senate candidate and Eau Claire County Board member, be tossed off the November ballot.

Skinner, who currently serves as an Eau Claire County Board member, is running against Sen. Jeff Smith (D-Brunswick) for Senate District 31, a key seat that will help determine control of the Senate next year. 

The lawsuit was filed against Skinner this week by the Wisconsin State Senate Democratic Committee (SSDC), the campaign arm of the Senate Democratic caucus, based on questions about her residency. The Wisconsin Elections Commission, which had previously dismissed a complaint about Skinner, was also a defendant in the suit. 

Dane County Circuit Court Judge Jacob Frost said at the close of the hearing he would deny the temporary injunction as the plaintiffs had not provided sufficient evidence that Skinner is not a Wisconsin resident.

“This does appear likely to be her primary residence,” Frost said, “which would mean that… she is eligible to vote here and therefore eligible to run.” 

David Hollander, the attorney for the SSDC, and Matthew Fernholz, Skinner’s attorney, questioned the state Senate candidate on a number of issues, including tax records, homes in Georgia and Florida, and voting records.

Skinner defended her status as a Wisconsin resident, detailing her history in the state from birth through school and throughout her career. She said that she moved around while working as a TV reporter in Georgia and Minnesota before becoming a founder of a recruitment firm after moving back to Wisconsin. 

Skinner said she has lived primarily in Altoona since 2000 with one exception. She described her current residency across the year as “seven months in Wisconsin, in Altoona, and five months elsewhere.” The five months, she said, is split between Florida and Georgia. 

“It goes back and forth and is really dictated by events, weddings, family events, birthdays, holidays,” she said. 

The exception Skinner referred to was when she registered to vote on Nov. 18, 2021 in Georgia and voted on Jan. 5, 2021 in the Georgia U.S. Senate runoff elections. She said that the election was “in the news.”

“I’m a former journalist. People were talking about it,” she said. 

Skinner said she was considering changing her residency due to COVID-19 pandemic: “The home there is bigger, has a larger yard. It’s more rural and Dawson County afforded more ability to be outside and Wisconsin at that time had some pretty stringent COVID restrictions, so we went down to Georgia.”

Skinner said that she didn’t ultimately switch her residence from Wisconsin to Georgia because COVID restrictions were eased in 2022, and she said that she has voted in Wisconsin elections consistently since 2022. She was elected to the Eau Claire County Board in April 2024. She also ran a failed campaign in 2024 challenging state Rep. Jodi Emerson (D-Eau Claire) for her seat in the Wisconsin Assembly.

“Georgia was my COVID home. Wisconsin has always been and will be my other home,” Skinner said.

Skinner also denied that she is the owner of a home in Dawsonville, Georgia or in Florida. She said both are owned by her husband. 

“My name is not on the deed. His name is on the deed only,” Skinner said. “I’m his wife… I have access to it and I keep some of my stuff there. It’s my husband’s home and I do have a key.” 

Skinner was also questioned on tax credit claims. She claimed a Wisconsin lottery and gaming tax credit in 2020, right before registering to vote in Georgia. Her husband claimed a homestead property in Georgia in 2025, which Hollander argued could only be claimed if Georgia was the principal residence for both him and Skinner.

Hollander argued after the close of questioning that Skinner had not shown her Wisconsin residency. 

“There’s nothing before you, your honor, other than ‘I say I’m a Wisconsin resident, and so therefore, I’m a Wisconsin resident. It’s just her word,” Hollander said, adding that if he were defending his own residency he would provide a lease, mortgage, utility bills, public library card or other documents. “We live in this digital world where it’s really easy to find things that have your address on it.” 

Fernholz, Skinner’s attorney, noted that the lawsuit was aimed to “disenfranchise one of the two major political parties after the primary.” He noted that after the Wisconsin Elections Commission’s deadline to finalize the ballots has passed there is no opportunity for Republicans to put another candidate on the ballot. 

The Wisconsin Elections Commission is required to certify the list of candidates to appear on the general election ballot “no later than the 4th Tuesday in August,” which would be Aug. 25. In the lawsuit, the SSDC argued the Court could order Skinner be removed from the ballot as late as Sep. 2. 

Frost cut Fernholz off before he finished his arguments to say he’d be denying the request. 

“Skinner, not unlike many Wisconsin residents in their retirement years, is a multi-state person, meaning that she spends winters outside of the cold and the snow of Wisconsin,” Frost said. 

Frost said the evidence seems to show that “Skinner consistently has elected and has the intent that Wisconsin is her residence. That her husband has consistently said Georgia is his residence doesn’t change that,” Frost said.

“It might make her likely to have questions asked about her property taxes or her husband to have questions asked about his,” he said, adding that that was not the issue at hand. 

When it came to her voting records, Frost said he did “think it’s a little suspicious.”

“Perhaps she faked being a Georgia resident for purposes of voting in a unique election after having just voted in Wisconsin,” Frost said. “But there’s no evidence to contradict what she said, which is it was that period of COVID.”

Andrew Whitley, the executive director of the SSDC, said in a statement that the group disagreed with Frost’s decision and has questions about whether the couple completed their taxes properly,  but he said the decision whether Skinner should serve in the state Senate is now up to voters. 

“Now it’s up to the voters to decide – someone who carelessly maneuvers around the law or a lifelong public servant who has fought his entire career to lower costs, fight corruption, and prioritize working families. The choice is easy,” Whitley said.

Michele Magadance Skinner issued a statement after the ruling: “Today’s ruling in Dane County court was a testament to the important role the justice system plays in our democratic republic. I am thankful that the judge saw through the political games and blatantly false smear campaign conducted by Jeff Smith and his liberal allies. Tactics by Mr. Smith and SSDC have proven this adage to be true: ‘never wrestle with pigs – they have fun and you get dirty.’”

Wisconsin’s August primary election takes place Tuesday, with voters across the state heading to the polls to choose their preferred candidate for dozens of races on the ballot in November’s midterm elections. 

Polls open Tuesday morning at 7 a.m. and close at 8 p.m. If there is a line at a polling place at 8 p.m., voters should remain in line because they’ll still be allowed to vote. Election officials said Monday that because primary elections typically have lower turnout than general elections, long lines aren’t expected. 

In 2018, the last time Democrats had an open primary for governor, primary turnout was 23% of eligible voters. That year’s general election saw 59.7% turnout. In 2022, when Republicans had an open primary for governor and there was a Democratic primary for U.S. Senate, primary turnout was 26.3% and the general election turnout was 57.2%. 

“For voters that are interested in voting tomorrow during the election in person at the polling place … it seems like [polls are busiest] earlier in the morning when the polls open, and then after work, you know once people are kind of headed home and in the evening hours, and so voters may want to consider times that are off some of those peak times,” Wisconsin Elections Commission Administrator Meagan Wolfe said at a Monday news conference. “But again, I really don’t expect that tomorrow will be outside of the norm …  it’s typically 22 to 25 percent, which is a much much smaller turnout than you’d see in a general election. And so we typically don’t see waits and things like that in a partisan primary.”

With the lower turnout in a primary election, the counting of votes is usually faster than in a higher turnout general election. But, Wolfe said, results can still take time to be determined and she urged patience while election officials work to count ballots. 

“Election officials will always prioritize accuracy over speed,” she said.

As voters have increasingly turned to absentee voting since 2020, hundreds of thousands of people have already cast their votes in the election. WEC data from Monday morning shows that 368,000 people have requested absentee ballots and 268,000 have been returned. 

There were about 27,000 more absentee ballots returned ahead of the 2022 primary. 

It is too late  to put absentee ballots in the mail. But voters who requested absentee ballots and have not returned them yet can bring them to their  polling place, their local municipal clerk’s office or, in communities that use them, to an absentee ballot drop box. 

In Wisconsin, voters don’t need to register as a member of a party to vote in that party’s primary election. But, each voter must choose which primary they’re voting in at the polls and can only choose one. 

“If a voter does choose to not follow the directions and vote in more than one party’s primary, then their votes would not be counted for those contests,” Wolfe said.

Eligible voters who are not registered to vote can register at the polls on Election Day. To register, voters need to provide their name and place of residence to the poll worker. A valid Wisconsin ID can be used if it shows a voter’s current address but voters can also use a property tax bill, lease document, utility bill, a college identification card or bank statement. 

What’s on the ballot

State and national attention is focused  on the Democratic primary for governor in which four candidates are vying to be the party’s nominee — former Department of Administration Secretary Joel Brennan, Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley, state Rep. Francesca Hong (D-Madison) and state Sen. Kelda Roys (D-Madison). 

While those four are the candidates still actively running, the names of three Democrats who have dropped out of the race will also appear on the ballot: former Lt. Gov. Mandela Barnes, former WEDC CEO Missy Hughes and Lt. Gov. Sara Rodriguez. 

“All of the candidates that filed their paperwork and were granted ballot access appear on the ballot,” Wolfe said. “Every single voter in Wisconsin, whether you voted right when absentee ballots went out in June or you’re voting at the polls on Election Day, will see the same ballot. And so, when a candidate chooses to drop out of a race, that actually has no impact on the official ballot, and any votes for that candidate would still be counted.” 

Further down the ballot, voters will decide the nominees in statewide races for lieutenant governor, state treasurer and secretary of state. All but one of Wisconsin’s eight congressional seats have contested primaries. There are also legislative races in every corner of the state and primaries for local partisan offices such as county sheriff.

Crowley and Evers in final sprint

Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley and Gov. Tony Evers met with volunteers at Crowley’s campaign headquarters in Madison on Monday to thank them for their support.

Crowley and Evers have been racing cross the state over the last week to try to boost Crowley’s profile and win enough support to overtake state Rep. Francesca Hong, who has been leading the field in recent polls. 

Evers told reporters that people are “jazzed as hell” for Crowley. He had stayed out of the primary until July when the campaign of Lt. Gov. Sara Rodriguez collapsed. Crowley, at the time had suspended his campaign, but he was encouraged by Evers and others to get back into the race with Evers’ endorsement. 

Asked if he regretted waiting to endorse, Evers said he might have done it slightly earlier.

“No. Well, I wish I — yes and no,” Evers said. “It came to a point, and that point was really important…. Maybe in the return, I might have done it a week or two earlier, but this is kind of fun.”

Evers has said in recent days that he doesn’t think Hong can defeat likely Republican nominee U.S. Rep. Tom Tiffany. He told reporters Monday that he would campaign for Hong if she wins, saying the “alternative is not good.”

Crowley told reporters that he feels optimistic going into Tuesday. 

“This primary has been chaotic. It’s been messy, but so is our democracy, and at the end of the day, it’s about making sure that all of our voters across this state or wherever they are that they have great options,” Crowley said. “We’re going to continue to focus on the affordability crisis, making things more affordable for families across this state, but also that I’m the only one that’s going to be ready on day one. We have seen a lot of incredible momentum in the past few weeks.”

One of Crowley’s supporters is Lester Pines, a 76-year-old retired attorney who spent much of his career fighting for progressive causes including against former Gov. Scott Walker. Pines said he was “moderately optimistic” going into Tuesday. He and Kaleem Caire, the co-founder of One City Schools, hosted a meet-and-greet event for Crowley early in the campaign.

“I was very impressed with David’s story of his life and with the fact that he’s the Milwaukee county executive and understands what it takes to actually run a large unit of government, and he’s a great communicator,” Pines said, adding that his actions have been “consistent with the positions that I have had, and my friends have had for decades.” 

Pines said Crowley is the right person to go up against “Tom Trump Tiffany,” though he said that he’ll be 100% in for Hong if she becomes the nominee. 

“I’m more than willing to support her if she’s the nominee. The problem is that she has littered herself with a number of very negative things that are going to become what the campaign is about despite how hard she’s going to try to stick to the issues, and that is what worries me,” Pines said. 

Hong rallies canvassers

About two hours later, just a few miles further east in Madison, Hong greeted her supporters before they got started with a canvassing effort at her campaign office in the Willy Street neighborhood. Hong has been leading in polls since early in the primary, and her lead has grown significantly since March of this year.

Hong told her supporters that “now it’s time to level up.”

“It’s not just about winning tomorrow, but it’s about uniting our coalition. It’s about bringing in new builders. It’s about making sure everyone in Wisconsin sees themselves in our vision for a better Wisconsin for everyone,” Hong said. 

Many Democrats, including Evers, have expressed doubts about Hong’s ability to win the general election as a democratic socialist with a history of making controversial social media posts in a swing state that voted for President Donald Trump twice. 

“We’ve been winning in the polls. We’ve been winning over voters because we’re the campaign that actually listens to what they want and what they care about, and we’re going up against a Republican, who will never care about Wisconsinites, who will sell out our natural resources to the highest bidder. Tom Tiffany is an election denier and a traitor. He supports a national abortion ban. A vote for Tiffany is a vote for Trump, not for the people,” Hong told her supporters, adding that the campaign is about the people and “not just my opponents, not about the rhetoric and certainly not about the tweets.” 

Answering questions from reporters, Hong said she looks forward to building unity after the primary and that she is “very confident that we’ll be able to show folks that Democrats are coming together to make sure that Democrats win down and up the ballot this November.”

Throughout her campaign, Hong has held over 320 events and leveraged thousands of volunteers to build support. She said she knew she’d have to “out hustle” the other candidates as the “wildcard” in the race. 

Even the day before Election Day, a handful of new canvassers were given a quick training and instructed to keep things positive when talking about other Democratic candidates and speaking to voters who like Hong “but they’re worried about her electability.” 

One volunteer said they supported Hong because she doesn’t take corporate PAC money, adding, “there’s only one other candidate who does that and she has no motion,” a reference to state Sen. Kelda Roys. Another volunteer mentioned Hong’s position on AI data centers — she supports a one-year moratorium, while other candidates have said they want to impose new regulations. 

— Baylor Spears

Roys sees path forward down to the wire

State Sen. Kelda Roys campaigned through the weekend, with stops scheduled in De Pere and Green Bay on Friday, Ojibwa and Hudson on Saturday, Eau Claire and Mauston on Sunday and online events Sunday afternoon and evening.

On Monday she began her day at the Wisconsin State Fair, followed by a brew pub meet-and-greet in Wauwatosa, a town hall event in Whitewater and wrapping up with a rally at a Madison restaurant two blocks from the Capitol.

“There is such a hunger for change,” Roys told the group of about 90 who gathered under a tent in the back yard of Naples 15. “People are furious about what this Republican authoritarian regime is doing to our country, and they want a leader who is willing to stand up and fight for it. And people are ready to finally put the nail in the coffin of the Walker years.”

Surrounded by enthusiastic supporters, although polls have put her behind Hong and Crowley, Roys said she saw  signs that she takes as a message not to count her out.

“Even now this weekend, as I traveled around and I said, ‘Who’s undecided?’, a good chunk of people still raise their hands,” she said. “We know that when folks see all the candidates side by side, when they hear us, when they have the opportunity to actually clue in and pay attention, they do gravitate towards me and my progressive policies.”

She mentioned a poll after the one Democratic gubernatorial debate that showed her gaining support from swing voters.

“I am just overwhelmed by the outpouring of support that I have received all over the state, and I have to tell you, it has accelerated wildly in the last several weeks since the debate,” Roys said.

After her pep talk, which lasted a little more than 15 minutes, Roys spent another half-hour taking questions and comments from the crowd.

Bryna Caves, who is running in the Democratic primary for the 50th Assembly District that includes Green County, told Roys that she had originally supported Hong’s campaign.

But hearing Roys at a rally Caves held in February to launch her own campaign, “it was really obvious to me that Kelda had equally as progressive values as Fran but was wildly more qualified. She had way more experience. Her policies were much more thought out, and I just was much more in touch with her in person,” Caves said.“I flipped because it was obvious to me that she is — If we really want to achieve the goals that we want, like universal healthcare, childcare, if we want to make these things actually happen, the one that’s going to be able to get it done with no drama is Kelda.”

— Erik Gunn

Brennan looks forward to next phase

Joel Brennan met with a small group of supporters in a quiet and scenic Mequon neighborhood on Monday. Brennan aimed to canvas the area, filled with huge houses, scenic nature views, and quiet courts, and cul de sacs to gain support ahead of the Tuesday Democratic primary election. 

Pointing to his experience serving as Secretary of Administration under Gov. Tony Evers, as well as in the private sector and running the state’s largest science museum, Discovery World, Brennan told reporters that he’s a prime candidate. Brennan said that the more he talks to voters, the more he hears people express frustration “with the government doing nothing, and government standing in place when we have real problems to address around healthcare, around childcare, or education.” Brennan added, “I’m somebody who’s always been about getting things done.” 

Brennan said he’s looking forward to what comes after the election Tuesday. “The field will change, the conversation will change after tomorrow,” he said. Despite all the twists and turns during the primary race, Brennan said voters remain focused on how to improve their lives, and how candidates can help them achieve that. 

Looking back at whether he has any regrets in his campaign, Brennan said that the disappearance of local media in small towns was a challenge. “I’m the son of two journalists,” said Brennan, “the world has changed. But I think we’re worse off if we don’t get local eyes, and local coverage, and local conversation about what’s going on. If there was something that I wish I had more of in this campaign, it’s sitting across the table from a grizzled local media veteran talking about local issues, forcing me to know more about that community, forcing me to answer for the issues in that community. And we don’t have that.” Brennan said that he believes “that we’d be a better-informed electorate if we had more of a chance to have those local conversations.”

Asked what he thinks will be the key to beating Republican Tom Tiffany in the race for governor, Brennan went after Tiffany’s ads. “Everybody has seen commercials to this point of Tom Tiffany looking over his shoulder and looking at his mother,” said Brennan. “I think the fall campaign’s going to have to be Tom Tiffany looking over his shoulder and seeing Donald Trump. Because he has spent more time with Donald Trump than his mother is my guess, and he’s been more closely aligned with him in his voting record than almost anybody else in America, and he has to answer to that.” 

Brennan said that Democrats also need to “offer up a positive vision” including how to help farmers and how to open up educational opportunities, “stop pitting property tax payers against kids,” and how to ensure healthcare is more affordable for people. “We better be offering up an alternative and a vision that solves problems for people and gives them a pathway to understanding that things are going to be better and things are going to be different if we get elected,” he said.

— Isiah Holmes

Democratic candidates for governor largely avoided direct attacks on one another during their only televised primary debate Tuesday night, with two weeks remaining before the Aug. 11 primary, instead laying out differences on issues including school vouchers and data centers.

This year’s election is the first open race for governor in Wisconsin since 2010, and the five candidates left in a field that used to include seven are former Lt. Gov. Mandela Barnes, Joel Brennan, former state Department of Administration chief, Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley, state Rep. Francesca Hong and state Sen. Kelda Roys.

More than 40% of Wisconsin voters have not made up their minds about which candidate to support. 

Recent polls show Hong leading the race. 

The debate was hosted by WISN 12 on the Marquette University campus and moderated by Gerron Jordan and Matt Smith, WISN 12 journalists and hosts of “Upfront,” on the first day of in-person early voting. The candidates were told at the beginning that they were allowed to speak to one another at the start of the debate, but direct back and forth and criticism was minimal throughout the hour-long debate. 

The winner of the primary will likely face U.S. Rep. Tom Tiffany, the presumptive Republican nominee in November.

Addressing criticisms 

The debate started with each candidate addressing a critique of their candidacy. 

Crowley, who recently reentered the race for governor with the endorsement of Gov. Tony Evers, was asked about his decision to drop out and then restart his campaign and whether he is a “prop” of the Democratic establishment.

“I was never born into the establishment. I was actually born into struggle… I’m not here to protect the establishment. I’m here to deliver real results for Wisconsinites all over our state,” Crowley said, adding that the “stakes are too high and that’s why I got back into this race.”

Barnes, who served as lieutenant governor in Evers’ first term, was asked about entering the race after losing his 2022 U.S. Senate race against Sen. Ron Johnson, his failure to garner Evers’ endorsement, and why voters should trust him to win in November when he previously lost. 

Barnes said that his narrow loss to Johnson taught him about the influence of money on elections as well as “how low Republicans can go.” He said that he thinks his campaign will have the resources and support to win, and he appeared to take a poke at Crowley.

“I have zero interest in upholding the status quo. I have zero interest in being the establishment candidate,” Barnes said. “That is the difference right here on the stage because I am pushing the envelope to make sure that we are as bold as we can possibly be in the Donald Trump era, because that’s what people have been calling for Democrats to be all along.” 

Hong, who identifies as a democratic socialist, was asked whether she supports the full platform of the Democratic Socialists of America, which includes abolishing the U.S. Senate. Tiffany has been criticizing her for a tweet from 2021, in which she said “Abolish the Senate.” She said no. 

“I do not support the full platform of the national DSA and I am not endorsed by DSA National,” Hong said. She then focused on defining democratic socialism, saying it is a “form of government that puts working class people first.” 

Brennan and Roys, who are both polling in the single digits, were asked about whether voters were “wasting” their vote by voting for them.

“The challenge that I have had from day one is not that anybody thinks I’m unqualified for the office,” Brennan said, noting his experience as a cabinet member under Evers. “The challenge I have had is that people don’t know me as well as they know some other candidates around the state.” 

Brennan said the recent upheaval in the race  — as well as the perception of insiders “putting their thumb on the scale” — has gotten people more engaged and that will help his candidacy. 

Roys responded to the same question by saying, “If you want the best public schools in the nation for your children, if you want to open up the state’s healthcare plan so that everyone can buy in and we can lower costs for all Wisconsinites, if you want a candidate who is going to stand up and fight Donald Trump and bring an end to this authoritarian regime, then you should vote for me.” 

Public safety funding

Each candidate said he or she would not sign a budget that cut funding to law enforcement and all said that they would sign a bill requiring police across the state of Wisconsin to wear body cameras. 

Candidates were asked about the killing of Corey Ruiz, a Black man, by Madison police. Hong was asked about her public speech on the site of the killing in which she called it an example of state-sanctioned violence and an “execution.” Hong said during the debate that she would not have made the comments before an investigation as governor, since the office has “the largest microphone in the state” and there is “deep responsibility” with that.

“It was clearly the type of violence where no one’s life should have been taken,” Hong said. 

Asked about previous comments she made supporting defunding the police, Hong said she would not cut funding for public safety, but wants to invest in local governments and communities to help reduce crime including by investing in schools, addressing the opioid epidemic and ensuring people coming out of incarceration have proper resources.

“The governor cannot defund police, and I am not here to govern by slogan,” Hong said. “I am here to make sure I am the governor that’s most serious about public safety.”

Barnes faced criticism during his 2022 Senate campaign over comments supporting reducing police funding. He said during the debate he would not sign a budget that decreased police  funding in part because he said police departments must be able to afford body cameras, which Madison police do not have. 

Roys said that she wouldn’t cut police funding and added that the state also needs to invest in local governments, so they can invest in evidence-based programs that reduce and prevent crime. 

“We have to invest in proven strategies that actually do that, unlike what Republicans like Tom Tiffany have done, which is cut funding to local governments and take away local control,” Roys said. 

“We cannot defund the police. We should be investing in public safety,” Crowley said, adding that that includes investing in wraparound services.

Brennan said there needs to be robust funding for local governments, and that the state should look to Minnesota as a model for how to reduce crime, spend less and reduce the prison population while investing in early childhood and K-12 education.

Voucher program

When it comes to the state’s school voucher system, candidates took different positions. 

Barnes said he would reduce the voucher programs in the state, including in Milwaukee where nearly half of students in the city use publicly funded private school vouchers. 

Roys laid out her three-step plan to sunset the voucher programs including implementing transparency and accountability measures to close schools that don’t adhere to higher standards, end the statewide program in the first state budget and wind down the programs while allowing current participating students and their siblings to continue attending private schools with vouchers.

Hong said she would not put a “firm” number on when the voucher programs would need to end, but she supports strengthening public schools and would wind down the voucher program through a “responsible program and process where we work directly with the families and the different schools.” 

Crowley said he would not sign a bill reducing the programs, though he added that he doesn’t want to see them expand either. 

“I don’t think the question is whether or not we should have vouchers,” Crowley said. “The question should be, how do we continue to invest in our public schools to make sure that they’re the school of choice.”

Brennan offered the strongest argument for not signing a bill to reduce or close the programs. He said he wants to cap enrollment and disclose costs of private voucher schools on taxpayers’ property tax bills, but he said reducing the program is not politically feasible. 

“There is not going to be a bill passed in the Legislature that is put on the governor’s desk right now to end vouchers in Milwaukee. There are representatives in Milwaukee… for whom more than half the people who live there are sending their kids to private schools. We have to live in the real world. This is dividing Democrats,” Brennan said. “I wouldn’t put legislators in a position where they’re going to have to tell parents that they can’t send their kids to their schools of their choice.” 

Brennan added that he wants to make Wisconsin’s public schools better than any private school.

Data centers 

Data center construction has become a key issue in the race for governor with polling suggesting that 76% of Wisconsinites say they believe the costs of data centers outweigh the benefits. Candidates provided different solutions for regulating data centers. 

Hong touted the fact that she is the only candidate to call for a moratorium on data centers and said she would call a special session on the issue to have lawmakers take action on a bill that would impose regulations on data center construction in the state. 

“This moratorium is necessary so that we can responsibly put in enforcement mechanisms to protect communities,” Hong said, noting that some local governments have already imposed  moratoriums. “We also want to make sure that there are the guard rails, the legal resources, and that if data centers are going to come here in our state that they pay their own way and actually pay up front.” 

Crowley said that he did not think a moratorium would address the long-term concerns, and said he would rather focus on ensuring that data centers have to pay for their energy use, grid upgrades and use clean energy.

Brennan said he has not called for a moratorium, but would put a 100-day pause on construction. He said he would also ensure that Wisconsinites are not paying for the construction, ensure there are regulations with “teeth” and that companies are using renewable energy, ensure that union workers are employed on the projects and ban non-disclosure agreements between companies and local governments.

“If we can do that in the first 100 days, it’s not going to make everybody happy, but it’s going to set the bar and take away that uncertainty and take away another reason why people distrust government and why they’re so angry,” Brennan said. 

Barnes said that he wanted no new data center construction without guardrails being put in place to ensure the state’s natural resources and air quality are protected and that residents’ energy bills are not climbing. 

“If a community rejects a data center proposal, then there should be no new data center constructed,” Barnes said. 

Roys said she doubted a moratorium bill could pass, but a bill focused on strong regulations could be successful. 

“I will not stop there,” Roys said. “I will also establish a public negotiating team so that any community that decides it would like to engage with a data center has the opportunity to have expert negotiators. I will increase shared revenue so that communities don’t feel desperate … I will also end the subsidies for data centers because they should be paying us and not the other way around.”

In 30-second closing statements, as each candidate made a pitch for voters’ support, Barnes made some of the most pointed remarks of the night taking shots at Crowley and Hong.

“I want you to know that the establishment is trying to rig this election. They want you to choose between their preferred candidate and also Republican billionaires are lining up to the tune of three and a half million dollars to choose a democratic nominee in this race,” Barnes said, referring to the money the Republican party has invested in ads widely seen as aimed at boosting Hong. “I’m here to say, that’s BS. I’ve been a progressive fighter who’s taken on the tough fights.”

Brennan suggested he is the only one who could win the general election, Roys and Crowley each emphasized their experience and Hong said she was already beating Tiffany by garnering statewide support and would be a fighter for working class voters.

The five Democratic candidates for governor of Wisconsin will face off in the only televised debate ahead of the Aug. 11 primary Tuesday evening at 7 p.m.

The candidates are former Lt. Gov. Mandela Barnes, Joel Brennan, former state Department of Administration chief, Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley, state Rep. Francesca Hong and state Sen. Kelda Roys.

The meeting of the candidates comes on the first day of in-person early voting with two weeks to go before Election Day. Candidates are still seeking ways to gain an advantage in the race as over 40% of Wisconsin likely voters have not made up their minds about which candidate to support. Recent polls show Hong leading the race. 

The winner of the primary will likely face U.S. Rep. Tom Tiffany, the presumptive Republican nominee in November. 

The debate, which will run until 8 p.m., will be hosted by WISN 12 on the Marquette University campus and moderated by Gerron Jordan and Matt Smith, WISN 12 journalists and hosts of “Upfront.” There will not be an in-person audience. 

According to WISN, the debate will air on WISN 12 along with local ABC affiliates across the state including WBAY in Green Bay, WKOW 27.2 in Madison, WXOW 19.2 in La Crosse, WQOW 18.2 in Eau Claire and WAOW 9.2 in Wausau. It will also be livestreamed on the WISN-12 app as well as the station’s Facebook page and YouTube page. 

Three Democratic candidates for governor told a citizens’ group that communities most affected by state policy decisions should have a greater role in shaping them during a Monday night forum in Madison focused on affordability.

The forum was hosted by Kaleidoscope Wisconsin, a coalition of organizations that are “rooted” in marginalized communities in the state, at the Center for Black Excellence in Madison. Angela Russell, founder of the Undercurrent, a consulting and advisory practice for organizations that care about social impact, moderated the event. It took place with just three weeks to go before  the primary election and following a massive shakeup in the race last week, when Lt. Gov. Sara Rodriguez dropped out because of a financial scandal and Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley, who had previously dropped out, got back into the race with the endorsement of Gov. Tony Evers.

State Rep. Francesca Hong, state Sen. Kelda Roys and former Lt. Gov. Mandela Barnes participated. Crowley and Joel Brennan, former head of the Department of Administration, did not attend.

Throughout the evening, the candidates stated that Wisconsin’s affordability challenges stem from systemic failures in housing, healthcare, education and taxation, and agreed on the need for more progressive taxation and greater investment in public services.

Roys said she wants to end the state’s private school voucher program, restore collective bargaining rights for public employees and open the state employee health insurance plan to more residents. She criticized state subsidies for data center developers. 

Barnes talked about reforming the manufacturing and agriculture tax credit, expanding BadgerCare through a public option and increasing taxes on wealthy individuals and corporations.

Hong highlighted her plans to tax millionaires and billionaires, expand Medicaid, increase shared revenue for local governments, raise the minimum wage and establish guaranteed paid leave.

While candidates articulated their policy ideas, they also repeatedly turned to a broader question: Who has influence over state government and whose voices are included in decision-making?

Hong said people in local communities know what they need and don’t need to be told what they need. She said politicians should be public servants who ensure people have access to programs, adding that she doesn’t see food, housing, education and healthcare as benefits but instead sees them as rights and “things that are needed in order to build economic security and freedom.”

Hong said an effective governor must listen to communities and that “the people” should be the ones government answers to, rather than “lobbyists” or those with the most access to the governor’s office.

“We need not only a new type of politics, but somebody right now who isn’t answering to industry and who isn’t being pressured by the status quo,” Hong said. 

Barnes said he still sees himself as the community organizer he once was, adding that elected officials need to remain connected to the communities they represent and that it can be easy for politicians to “get into office and lose touch.”

“It’s impossible to lose touch if you’re still going home to the same place every night,” Barnes said, adding that he learned as lieutenant governor how important it was for him to “bring people who are  representative of communities that have been left behind” as well as “people who challenge me” into his circle.

Roys said the solutions to the problem facing Wisconsin are not unknown, but that the “political will” to make change has not been there. She said that Republicans have broken the “positive feedback loop” that should exist between people and lawmakers. She described a cycle in which voters give power to policymakers, who then are expected to deliver results and return to communities to understand what more needs to be done.

“It is up to us to demand change,” Roys said, adding that people should hold her accountable as well.

The candidates were asked what they have learned from each other. 

Hong said she was inspired by remarks Barnes made over the weekend about the dramatic twists and turns in the governor’s race. She recalled a speech he gave in which he commented on Evers’ decision to endorse Crowley, and his reversal of his decision to drop out of the race, saying it showed why “so many people are frustrated and want nothing to do with the Democratic establishment.” Some supporters of Barnes and Hong have complained that Crowley  is being elevated by “establishment” Democrats to stop more progressive Democrats from getting through the primary.

“There’s been a lot of news in the governor’s race,” Hong said. “It’s been a little bit chaotic…I think Mandela gave his strongest remarks at a forum that I’d heard in a while.”

Hong called it “very empowering.”

“He was speaking to a community that I think still feels very much like the elections are just being decided for them,” Hong said. “And to use the time that you’re supposed to talk about yourself, to share remarks with the community… this election belongs to the voters. It should always be about the voters.”

Hong also said she has learned how to explain policy in clearer ways from Roys.

Roys said she has learned how to be more active and authentic on social media from Hong, and agreed with Hong about Barnes’ comments over the weekend, saying he “really distilled out what this is about.”

Barnes, who noted that the candidates have known each other for a long time, said Hong has brought “newness” to the forefront.

“If you want to build a real democracy, it is about not just working with the basic folks that you’ve known forever, of course, that’s the foundation of the work, but we’re in the business of addition,” Barnes said. “For so long, people hadn’t wanted to be a part of our politics… Over the last week, the people are fired up. People are ready for change, and I think it would be unwise for some people to seek to dismiss that.”

Barnes said he appreciated that Roys has sharp “elbows” and is willing to be critical and fight, including with members of her own party. He noted the primary has been very long, but said that it is good for democracy.

“These long primaries suck,” Barnes said, but he added, “it is good for people to be able to push each other, to challenge each other, to be able to generate ideas from one another, to have a moment to see what works, what doesn’t work, and ultimately to give people a choice. The more that choice is taken away the more we do to undo all the good work that has happened.”

All three Democratic candidates, along with Brennan and Crowley, are competing for a spot on the November ballot to take on U.S. Rep. Tom Tiffany, the presumptive Republican nominee. In-person absentee voting starts on July 28. The primary is Aug. 11.

Democratic candidates vying for the chance to flip Wisconsin’s 7th Congressional seat for the first time in 16 years made their case during a debate Tuesday night. 

The three candidates competing for the Democratic nomination are Chris Armstrong, a New Richmond resident and IT small business owner; Fred Clark, former Democratic state legislator, former executive director of Wisconsin’s Green Fire and owner of Clark Forestry, Inc.; and Ginger Murray, a small business owner and lawyer from the Northwoods. The debate was hosted by WJFW Newswatch 12.

The winner of the Democratic primary will face the winner of the Republican primary in November. The GOP  candidates participated in a debate last week. They include Michael Alfonso, whose father-in-law, Department of Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy, formerly held the seat and has been campaigning on his behalf. The other Republican contenders are Niina Baum, a lifelong Northwoods resident and dog musher; Jessi Ebben, a public relations professional; and Kevin Hermening, a financial advisor and former U.S. Marine. 

The seat is currently held by Republican U.S. Rep. Tom Tiffany, who is running for governor. The general election will be an uphill battle for the Democratic nominee in a district that has been represented by Republicans since 2011. In his 2024 reelection campaign, Tiffany defeated his Democratic challenger by 63.6% to 36.4% of the vote.

Dems describe how they’ll compete in Trump Country 

Prior to Tiffany and Duffy, Wisconsin’s 7th Congressional District was represented by Democrat Dave Obey, the longest serving U.S. House member in Wisconsin history, from 1969 until 2011. The Democratic candidates all laid out their reasons why they believe they can flip the district back from Republican control. 

Ginger noted the success of progressive women in recent state Supreme Court elections, saying it is a sign that a candidate like her could win in the district.

“The lady lawyer leaders have been killer, crushing it and getting the support of this community. Most notably, Susan Crawford pushed this district over the 50% mark and showed that counties that haven’t voted blue in the longest time are absolutely looking for someone to take the reins. There are 96 other women in the Democratic caucus who are waiting for more women to join them to hold people accountable in Washington, DC, and I fit that bill.”

Armstrong said that his appeal is being a “normal guy.”

“I grew up here. I went to school here, raised my family here, started my company here. I think what people are looking for is just normal people going to get up there and advocate for them and really hold this administration accountable and start advocating for policies that are really going to make a difference in people’s lives. It’s not just Democrats, but it’s also independents and Republicans that are really sick of the status quo.”

Armstrong announced his campaign for the seat in April 2025. He said that he got “activated” by Trump’s second inauguration as he watched a “flurry of illegal, un-American, unconstitutional executive orders and Elon Musk taking a sledgehammer to the federal government.”

“I couldn’t believe that nobody was doing anything about it, so I took to the streets in my hometown in Richmond and started protesting by myself at the busiest intersection in town at rush hour.”

Clark highlighted his experience as a state lawmaker who represented a rural part of the state. He served in the state Assembly representing parts of Sauk, Columbia and Marquette counties between 2009 and 2014 before moving north to Bayfield County to retire.

Clark said he learned as a legislator “in order to be effective in your job as a representative in a district that’s very mixed politically, you have to commit to working with everybody, and you have to commit to engaging every person you represent with respect and with listening and with the willingness to find solutions.”

“I used to tell the people that I worked with, I don’t care whether you voted for me or not. It’s my job to represent you, and I’m going to do that to the best of my ability,” Clark said. “In this campaign, I’m reaching out to voters with the same proposition that this election is more about character than it is about party.”

The candidates were all critical of President Donald Trump, a distinct difference from the Republican debate where the candidates focused on their support for the president. 

Armstrong said the Trump administration needs to be held accountable. “It breaks the law and does not follow the Constitution every single day, and the fact is that, you know, Trump admits it publicly.”

Clark said he would support investigations into potential violations of the law and corrupt activities.

Democratic members of the House have introduced articles of impeachment this year that call for removing Trump from office accusing him of circumventing congressional war powers, engaging in unconstitutional detentions and deportations and usurping Congressional power of the purse.

Murray noted the two previous articles of impeachment levied against Trump and said she would “absolutely” support articles of impeachment if enough lawmakers thought it was right. 

“It won’t take very long, considering all the information that we already have,” Murray said. “I also think the fastest way to remove the current administration is to get to the bottom of the Epstein files.” 

The  candidates focused much of their criticism on the campaign of mass deportation and detentions being carried out by the Trump administration.

“What this administration has done is to create a reign of terror in American communities… It’s not only immoral, but it’s unconstitutional,” Clark said, adding that Congress should work towards visa reform. “That would be the single, simplest, most impactful solution, and we could… allow law-abiding people to work in this country legally and fill American jobs that employers need.”

Trump’s mass deportation campaign is “just inhumane, cruel and, fundamentally, anti-American,” Armstrong said. He added that immigrants are essential to the Wisconsin economy and many will never see the benefits of the taxes they pay. He also said he recently got outreach from a Trump voter in Eagle River, who asked him about immigration enforcement. 

“I said, well, not a big fan of Trump’s leadership, and when ICE and CBP are regularly violating people’s First, Second, Fourth, Fifth, Eighth, Tenth and Fourteenth Amendment rights, these people need to be held accountable for their crimes against the American people,” Armstrong said. “He said ‘You know, I voted for Trump, and I’m voting for you because I need someone who’s going to stand up for the rule of law in the Constitution.’”

Addressing millionaires and helping average Wisconsinites

Asked about the rise of Democratic Socialists in the Democratic party, including the momentum behind state Rep. Francesca Hong’s campaign in the gubernatorial primary race, the candidates said the focus should be less on labels and more on helping the average Wisconsinite.

Armstrong said he was a “fan” of Hong.

“I just don’t really think it makes a lot of sense to get caught up on all the trappings of different labels,” he said. “I mean, if we’re talking about policies that are good for normal people, you know the policies of many administrations, not just the Trump administration, have favored the well-connected, the super rich. We need to be getting back to the work of the people. I really don’t care what label you put on it.” 

Clark said he hadn’t heard of the label until a few months ago, but that it gets back to asking how to ensure people can afford housing, healthcare and to live in their communities.

“There’s a role for government in helping make sure that those things can happen,” Clark said, adding, “If you want to go back to look at the Republican presidents like Dwight D. Eisenhower, a lot of the things that his administration was talking about are things that people on the other side of the aisle would call socialist or communist today, so I don’t think the labels are doing us any good.”

Murray said the conversation should be about the “have and have nots,” saying that the government is “set up to support billionaires.”

On healthcare, the candidates appeared to have differences on how far the federal government and Congress should go to help with coverage.

Armstrong said the U.S. should be able to figure out how to ensure healthcare access for everyone, even in an area like the 7th CD with low population density.

“I don’t admit to be a healthcare policy expert, but Medicare For All sure seems to be something that is viable,” Armstrong said. “We’re the richest country in the world in the history of this planet, and there’s just no excuse that can’t deliver high quality healthcare for everybody.”

Clark said cuts to the Affordable Care Act tax credits have “precipitated a crisis that is going to affect everyone.” He noted that many rural hospitals, including in Wisconsin, get more than 50% of their revenue from Medicaid, meaning that cuts could lead to closures in rural areas. He said the first action by Congress should be to reverse those cuts and restore Medicaid funding.

“Then, we need to look forward to how we find healthcare that works for everybody,” Clark said. “I support strengthening Medicare support, lowering Medicare enrollment age, and I support creating a public option that will make affordable healthcare run by the Medicare program available to everyone at any age for a fair price.”

Murray said she would support any of those options because they are an improvement from where the country is now, but she said that she would want to ensure the solution is possible.

“I am for universal healthcare. I do not want to over-estimate my impact or influence,” Murray said. “I will be one of 435 people who would be voting on this issue in the House of Representatives… I’m in favor of it as long as we get results. It’s not empty promises to our people. They need real results, and they need them really quick.”

UPDATE: After suspending his campaign Wednesday, Crowley endorsed Lt. Gov. Sara Rodriguez Thursday morning, saying she is the candidate who will best unite Democrats. 

Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley announced Wednesday that he is dropping his bid to be governor, a decision that narrows the Democratic primary field for the second time in recent weeks. 

Crowley, a former state lawmaker who has served as the top executive of Milwaukee County executive since 2020, launched his campaign in September, saying his executive experience  would serve him well in the governor’s office and that he wanted to work to address the state’s affordability crisis. He pitched himself to voters as someone who could build bridges among communities across the state.

“It has become clear that I will not be the Democratic nominee for Governor, so today I am stepping out of this race, but I am not stepping away from the work. Politics should not be about who talks the loudest. It’s about showing up, working with anyone who wants to solve the problem, and delivering results people can see in their own communities,” Crowley said in a statement.

The news of Crowley’s exit, first reported by WisPolitics, is the second in recent weeks as former Wisconsin Economic Development Corporations CEO Missy Hughes dropped out at the end of June. It leaves the Democratic primary a five-way race between Lt. Gov. Sara Rodriguez, former Lt. Gov. Mandela Barnes, state Rep. Francesca Hong (D-Madison), state Sen. Kelda Roys and Joel Brennan, the former head of the Department of Administration under Gov. Tony Evers. 

While Crowley appeared to be building some momentum at the beginning of the campaign, including leading the Democratic field in early finance reports, he was also unable to break into the top tier in the polls. In a February Marquette Law School poll, he had the support of 3% of voters. In a straw poll conducted by WisPolitics at the Democratic Party of Wisconsin convention last month, he came in fourth behind Rodriguez, Hong and Roys.

Unlike Hughes, who endorsed Rodriguez, Cowley did not issue an endorsement in his announcement.

Crowley said the most important thing for Democrats to do is to unite behind whoever wins in August and defeat U.S. Rep. Tom Tiffany, the presumptive Republican candidate who has the endorsement of President Donald Trump. 

“Tiffany’s record in Washington does not reflect Wisconsin’s values, and the people of this state deserve a governor who will fight for working families, protect our natural resources, invest in our communities, and be beholden to the people of our state, not Donald Trump,” Cowley said. “While I will not be the candidate, I will still do everything in my power to ensure that we win in November.” 

Crowley said that the state’s next governor needs to focus on the basics including “making this state affordable, making sure care shows up for families before a crisis instead of after and building real opportunity from the classroom to a good-paying job.”