There’s no bigger issue in the Wisconsin governor’s race than data centers. Republican candidate Tom Tiffany, who was hoping to run on not canceling Thanksgiving, quickly pivoted after democratic socialist candidate Francesca Hong lost the primary, moving to capture the issue that galvanized Hong’s supporters: opposing data center development. Tiffany spent the first week of the general election campaign attacking his Democratic rival by labeling him “Data Center David Crowley,” warning that Crowley’s pro-data-center policies would mean “our lakes run dry, family farms paved over.” 

Crowley, meanwhile, has not come up with a message that satisfies the Hong supporters who embraced her call for a statewide moratorium on data center construction. Neither he nor Tiffany favors a moratorium. In fact, as Baylor Spears reports, despite Tiffany’s attacks, the two candidates don’t appear to be very far apart on data center regulation. Both say they will protect communities’ right to reject new data center construction; both say the state must ensure that ratepayers aren’t stuck with higher utility bills; both promise to protect Wisconsin’s land and water and insist on transparency in data center contracts. Both have also taken money from data center supporters — Crowley from the building trade unions that want to construct the new facilities, and Tiffany from the lobbyist for the Wisconsin Data Center Coalition, which supports nondisclosure agreements and data center tax exemptions.

Crowley, as the county executive of an industrial hub that has suffered from the loss of manufacturing jobs, has a more optimistic view of the job-creation and economic development potential of new technology than many voters in Wisconsin, a majority of whom see proposed hyperscale data centers as eyesores and energy hogs. But Tiffany, as Spears reports, is not that different. He voted for a bill in Congress that would have banned states from regulating AI and has called data centers “exciting new technology.”

What specific policies should Wisconsinites demand from their political leaders on data centers?

“There’s a simple answer,” says Joel Rogers, a University of Wisconsin professor who created a center for the study of “high-road” development based on shared prosperity, environmental sustainability and democracy. “First, inspect everything that has already been approved and make sure it conforms to labor, environmental and design standards,” Rogers says. “Second, no public money for people who are richer than Mammon. We are spending hundreds of millions on tax breaks we can’t afford on these data centers. That should stop immediately.”

Rogers is not against data centers in general. “Water and noise are the big issues,” he says. He wants to see strict regulation that compels companies to design structures that dampen noise pollution. Water use, he says, is not a big concern inside data centers with closed-loop, water recycling systems. Rather, it’s the massive generation of electricity that, without intelligent planning, will tax Wisconsin’s water supply. “If you produce energy in an inefficient way, it creates lots of excess heat,” he explains. “The way to cool it is with water. That’s catastrophic.” Discharging warm water into lakes and streams causes thermal shock, fish kills and algal blooms. 

But creating a more efficient and sustainable electric grid is, in Rogers’ view, a big potential upside of data center development. His hope is that data centers could spur serious investments in renewable energy and reduce the tremendous waste involved in our current electricity-generation system. That could mean more plentiful, cheaper power for ratepayers and a more rational, environmentally friendly energy grid.

“If you increase power production investment, that should be good for ratepayers, not bad,” Rogers says. “A bigger base means lower rates.”

The problems with data center development currently is “intermediate,” in Rogers’ view. “States are trying to attract data centers, there’s inappropriate siting, like in dry areas. It messes up farming and ordinary water usage.” 

“But if we are serious about climate we should be for heat pumps for all … electrify everything,” he adds.

Rogers’ position is similar to that of a candidate who didn’t get a lot of traction in the Democratic gubernatorial primary — state Sen. Kelda Roys. 

Roys’ plan to stop unregulated data center development includes passing a bill that gained 49 cosponsors in the Legislature, laying out sturdy environmental, labor and transparency regulations. In addition, Roys called for repealing tax subsidies and incentives for data center developers (something Crowley has declined to endorse), creating a statewide public negotiation team to help local communities drive a harder bargain with Big Tech firms, and demanding big upfront payments from those firms to fund a clean energy infrastructure bank. 

“Wisconsin has no fossil fuels, so every dollar we spend on hydrocarbons leaves our state,” Roys points out. Investing in clean energy is good for the state economy as well as the climate. Her plan leverages data center development to make a faster transition to a green economy. 

That’s a step further than Crowley has gone, although he is campaigning on a pledge to make data center developers “bring your own clean energy.” Tiffany has been attacking Crowley precisely for his clean energy pledge, warning that it will disfigure the landscape by blanketing Wisconsin with solar panels. A recent Tiffany campaign press release declared that “using solar to generate the equivalent annual electricity needed for just the Mount Pleasant and Port Washington data centers would consume roughly 100,000 acres of Wisconsin land.”

But just saying no to both renewable energy and data centers does not amount to a plan. For one thing, there are already 47 existing data centers in Wisconsin. Local communities are struggling over how to regulate them separately all over the state. Melissa Scanlan, the director of UW-Milwaukee’s Center for Water Policy, told the Examiner’s Henry Redman that Wisconsin’s failure to address data centers comprehensively will soon put a big strain on the state’s utilities.

“Doing it in a piecemeal way, where you’ve got local governments deciding about hosting, but then utilities that are committed to supplying the electricity and water, is going to very quickly bump up against the realities of our ability to generate electricity in a responsible way,” Scanlan told Redman. 

Rogers remains optimistic. “Data centers are coming, whether they are in Wisconsin or nearby it doesn’t matter,” he says. He doesn’t favor a moratorium in one state that drives massive hyperscale data center development over the border, when everyone in the region relies on the same water resources. “I’m not for rivalry and scarcity,” he says.

Instead, he maintains, thoughtful policymakers could address worries about data centers by creating policies that address the larger, existential environmental issues that confront us all. 

Imagine that.

A vote that U.S. Rep. Tom Tiffany cast in June 2025 has become a centerpiece of healthcare advocates’ criticism of the Republican candidate for governor.

Tiffany, along with all Republican members of Congress and no Democrats, joined in the passage of the 2025 HR 1 — the legislation that President Donald Trump and U.S. House Republican leaders dubbed “The One Big Beautiful Bill Act.”

The measure made cuts to Medicaid and federal nutrition benefits over the next 10 years, along with a range of other changes to federal programs. The Medicaid changes alone have been projected to cut $900 billion to $1 trillion from the health insurance plan for people with low incomes.

The legislation also extended a series of tax cuts that were passed in Trump’s first term — cuts that primarily benefit wealthy Americans, according to the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities in Washington.

After the bill’s final passage in July 2025, Tiffany issued a statement praising the outcome for “providing tax cuts for seniors, parents, workers and small businesses” as well as for funding federal immigration agencies that have been deployed across the country.

Tiffany also said he would “remain committed to protecting Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid for our seniors and the most vulnerable, while rooting out waste and curbing the reckless spending that threatens future generations.”

But in press conferences last week and Tuesday, healthcare advocates said that bill was central to their opposition to Tiffany’s healthcare record.

“When he voted for the one big beautiful bill, he essentially voted for a $1.1 trillion cut in healthcare,” U.S. Rep. Mark Pocan (D-Black Earth) said at a press conference Tuesday organized by the groups Main Street Action and Protect Our Care. “And that’s the biggest cut we’ve ever seen in this country.”

In addition to benefit cuts, advocates have focused on what HR 1 lacked. U.S. House Democrats tried to persuade the Republican majority to extend enhanced health insurance subsidies for people buying their health coverage on the Affordable Care Act marketplace.

The enhanced subsidies were enacted in 2021 and expired at the end of 2025. Democrats’ repeated attempts to extend them were rejected, not only during debate on HR 1 but several times later in 2025 as well as early in 2026.

Pocan said he’s spoken with small business owners across his South Central Wisconsin district who have been affected by the ACA premium increases that resulted.

“We’ve seen small business owners in Baraboo on the Affordable Care Act say that their monthly portion they pay in has doubled or even tripled,” Pocan said. One constituent he spoke with “just got out of the [insurance] system altogether,” setting aside the cash that would have gone to an insurance premium in hopes that it would be enough to cover a healthcare emergency.

“That’s not a healthcare plan,” Pocan said. “That’s not about making health insurance more affordable. That’s about taking insurance away from people.”

According to a July 28 report from KFF, a nonprofit healthcare policy analysis and news organization, coverage through the ACA fell nationwide by 2.6 million in 2026 from 2025 after seven years of steady increases. In Wisconsin, coverage fell 16%, by 45,000 people.

Gov. Tony Evers issued a statement Tuesday blasting Wisconsin’s Republican congressional delegation for letting the enhanced subsidies expire. 

“Congressional Republicans’ refusal to extend the tax credits caused healthcare coverage costs to skyrocket, pricing families in Wisconsin and across the country out of having coverage at all,” Evers said.

Macy Buhler, a De Forest childcare provider and Main Street Action member who joined the press conference with Pocan, said that without those additional subsidies, the cost of insurance for some of her employees rose to unsustainable levels.

Buhler said she can’t cover healthcare for her childcare teachers directly, but has been providing them a stipend to help teachers who need health insurance purchase it on the federal ACA marketplace, HealthCare.gov. She doubled that stipend for 2026, she said — a $40,000 increase in just that expense.

“Early childhood teachers deserve real access to healthcare and medication, not a Congress who makes it impossible for them to afford both,” Buhler told reporters. “Tom Tiffany voted for this bill. We cannot trust him with our healthcare.”

Buhler told the Wisconsin Examiner that she’s “lost some staff and closed a classroom because they can no longer afford to be an early childhood educator, a teacher.”

Nancy Higgs, a self-employed interior designer specializing in affordable approaches for her customers, has been in business since 2023. The ACA coverage made it possible to get health coverage, she told the Wisconsin Examiner.

After a good first year, the business struggled following the 2024 election. Because her net income was too low, she switched to enroll in Medicaid — called BadgerCare in Wisconsin — for her healthcare.

Higgs said she isn’t sure what will happen to that coverage under the HR 1 changes, which don’t take effect until January 2027.

During a virtual news conference on Thursday, Aug. 13, Dr. Sophie Kramer, a Madison internal medicine physician, said the loss of insurance coverage, whether from Medicaid or an ACA policy, will lead to poorer health. The news conference was sponsored by the Committee to Protect Health Care.

“So much of what we do depends on patients having consistent access to healthcare. I treat patients with chronic diseases like diabetes, cancer, heart disease, hypertension — and those don’t disappear when someone loses insurance, they just become harder to manage,” said Kramer. “I’ve seen too many patients suffer from treatable conditions simply because they didn’t have access to affordable care.”

Dr. Kristen Dall-Winther, another participant in that news conference, owns her own practice in Wisconsin’s 7th Congressional District. Tiffany has been her U.S. representative since 2019.

“I see first hand what happens when patients struggle to afford care, when rural hospitals are under financial pressure, and when people put off seeing a doctor because they are worried about what it will cost,” Dall-Winther said. “Tom Tiffany has repeatedly voted for policies that make those problems worse.”

Dall-Winther cited forecasts that HR 1 could eventually cost more than 250,000 Wisconsin residents their healthcare coverage.

Kramer also cited Tiffany’s vote against a federal bill that would have codified a right to abortion in September 2021. The measure passed the House on a party-line vote but stalled in the U.S. Senate.  

Nine months later, in June 2022, the U.S. Supreme Court overturned the nearly 50-year-old decision in Roe v. Wade that had legalized abortion nationwide. An 1849 Wisconsin statute that was interpreted as an abortion ban went into effect as a result.

“Tom Tiffany could have voted to protect that federal right to abortion in law, but he voted against it, allowing state bans like ours to interfere in personal medical decisions,” Kramer said.

The Wisconsin Supreme Court subsequently ruled that the Wisconsin law didn’t apply to elective abortion.

Republican gubernatorial candidate U.S. Rep. Tom Tiffany began his general election campaign against Democratic nominee Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley by seeking to paint his opponent as a fan of data centers. Data centers have become a source of great concern for Wisconsin voters. Crowley’s Democratic primary opponent Francesca Hong made the issue central to her campaign before narrowly losing to Crowley last week. Neither Tiffany nor Crowley supports a moratorium on the construction of new data centers, as Hong did. Both Tiffany and Crowley support new guardrails for data centers. 

Crowley has cited the issue when contrasting himself with the candidacy of Hong, who was the only candidate in the Democratic primary to support a one-year moratorium on the construction of new AI data centers. Crowley says a moratorium would do nothing to regulate the data centers that already exist in Wisconsin, and says that his own strategy includes stringent regulation of both existing and prospective data centers.

In a July Marquette Law School poll, 73% of Wisconsinites said the costs of data centers outweigh the benefits and 27% said the benefits are greater than the costs.

Crowley and Tiffany have expressed support for some of the same policies when it comes to data centers, including prohibiting nondisclosure agreements between the companies that build them and local governments, allowing local communities to have final say on whether a data center is built and protecting consumers’ utility rates. 

“Data centers should pay the full cost of the infrastructure, energy demand and public services they require,” Crowley has said. 

Tiffany has highlighted protecting the state’s farmland and Crowley has highlighted protecting the state’s natural resources, including by encouraging companies that seek to build in the state to “bring your own clean energy,” which Crowley refers to as his “Beyonce” plan. Crowley also proposes that the state require contributions to Wisconsin’s Focus on Energy fund, an energy efficiency and renewable energy program, and that only union labor be allowed for the construction of data centers. 

One area of difference — Tiffany supports repealing a tax credit that was passed by the Republican-led state Legislature and signed into law under Gov. Tony Evers, while Crowley has not committed to doing so. 

“I do not believe Wisconsin should automatically roll back all data center tax incentives, but I do believe we need a more rigorous review of whether taxpayers are receiving sufficient value for the incentives being provided,” Crowley told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel in July.

In a recent statewide ad, Tiffany’s campaign introduced the Milwaukee County executive as “Data Center David Crowley.

The ad follows days of his campaign highlighting the issue, including releasing a clip of Crowley being interviewed on NBC news in which he says he does not support a moratorium on data centers and circulating a video of Crowley saying at a forum early in the Democratic primary that Wisconsin had the “opportunity” to become the “AI and data hub not only for the entire country, but for the entire globe.”

“And he wants you to pay for it. Data Center David Crowley won’t roll back tax incentives. Our lakes run dry. Family farms paved over. Why? Because Crowley’s campaign is funded by the people building them. Big Tech wins. Wisconsin pays,” the ad states.

The ad is referring to contributions that Crowley has received from unions including the Wisconsin Pipe Trades Association PAC Fund and the International Union of Operating Engineers Local 139 PAC. 

Tiffany told reporters the day after the primary election that it sounds like David Crowley will give “a blank check to data centers” and that data centers “do not need to be subsidized by us, the taxpayers.”

However, Tiffany has not been a big critic of data centers until recently. He called data centers “exciting new technology” in an interview in January. While in Congress, he voted for a bill that would have banned states from being able to regulate AI developers for 10 years.

Tiffany also recently received a $5,000 contribution from Robert Marchant, the lobbyist for the Wisconsin Data Center Coalition, which lobbied against a bill that would ban data center nondisclosure agreements and lobbied for sales tax exemptions for data centers. 

The Crowley campaign has responded to Tiffany’s attacks by sharing videos of Crowley explaining his positions on data centers, including highlighting his support for allowing local communities to decide whether they want a data center. 

“Communities should be able to make a decision whether or not they want a data center. It shouldn’t be steamrolled; it should be brought to the table. If they don’t want a data center, they shouldn’t be forced to have one. There are no ifs, ands or buts about that,” Crowley said in a video posted to social media over the weekend. “If they decide to make their own decision, they need to be transparent. They need to protect taxpayers. They need to increase the level of renewable energy production and protect our water. They need to do all of that while providing family-sustaining opportunities for Wisconsinites, rather than bringing people into Wisconsin. If they make a decision not to do it, we need to honor that decision. We need to make sure that we are holding these folks accountable because, right now, they’re getting all these tax breaks and steamrolling local communities.” 

Wisconsin’s crazy rollercoaster of a Democratic primary is finally over. After staying up all night waiting to see David Crowley declared the winner by one-half of one percentage point at 2:30 Wednesday morning, a lot of voters are feeling dizzy and seasick. 

Many Francesca Hong supporters are angry. Their grassroots campaign, the best organized, most energized, with the boldest vision throughout the race, was big-footed by Gov. Tony Evers’ last-minute endorsement of Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley. Adding insult to injury, Crowley had already dropped out when Evers urged him to jump back in with a big boost from late campaign cash, apparently for the sole purpose of thwarting Hong. 

Crowley supporters are relieved. They saw Hong as an inexperienced candidate who would lose a winnable general election to Republican Tom Tiffany, a Donald Trump enabler and election denier who has plans to sell off public lands and bring back a total abortion ban. 

National media viewed the Wisconsin primary as a test of the left which, according to the New York Times, the left clearly failed with Hong’s “stunning” loss. 

But feverish punditry about the significance of Wisconsin’s primary has distorted the real meaning of the results. Polls showing Hong was on track to win by double digits were less accurate than the anecdotal experience of voters who knew their friends and neighbors were fretting about how to vote and hadn’t made up their minds right up until Election Day. Those voters moved to Crowley in big numbers at the very end of the race, as he came to seem like the safe alternative. But Hong’s near-miss is hardly a stunning defeat. On the contrary, it showed real strength for a candidate who, when she started, was counted out.  

If your main exposure to Hong was the video of her appearance on Fox News, where she talked in circles about an old tweet in which she recommended canceling Thanksgiving, refusing to either disavow or endorse the idea, the worry made sense. 

It wasn’t just old, establishment types who felt it. “A lot of our members had to be talked down off the fence, they were so worried about electability,” says Robert Kraig, executive director of Citizen Action of Wisconsin, which endorsed Hong. 

For those voters, the big struggle in the primary was a contest between hope and fear. Kraig sees this as a natural phenomenon. “People are hard-wired to be risk-averse,” he says. Especially when the stakes are high, people’s fears, and the sense that they have to protect what they have, overcome their aspirations for something better. Kraig spent time trying to persuade people that they needed to be more imaginative, to consider that many candidates who once seemed improbable, including President Barack Obama and Sen. Tammy Baldwin, changed people’s views of “electability.” 

Hong’s priorities — free childcare, a massive expansion of healthcare, a big minimum wage hike, fully funded schools paid for with a tax increase on the rich — and her assertive, take-it-to-the-hoop attacks on Tiffany, whom she called a “traitor,” resonated with a lot of Wisconsin Democrats. It was the fear that she was not ready for prime time, that she would lose regular voters by speaking the lingo of the academic left, more than her socialist policy positions, that caused them to jump ship. That doesn’t mean the Hong movement failed, or that Democrats can afford to ignore it now that Crowley pulled off his narrow win.

As Kraig points out, voters are not particularly attached to “moderate” policy positions. Progressive ideas can generate big support among a cross-section of voters. Hong’s campaign demonstrated that. 

It makes sense that people who were the most fed up, who felt they had the least to lose, supported Hong. Some were young DSA members. But also, Kraig says, some of his group’s organizers who are “standard liberals” — doctors who are deeply concerned about the systemic failures of healthcare — pushed hard for the group to endorse Hong because of her recognition of the need for radical change in the healthcare system.

The night before the election, I watched Hong fire up canvassers at her campaign office on the east side of Madison. A young, excited group of volunteers clearly felt like they were part of something historic. That movement energy has not been lost. It’s up to Crowley to tap it and to Democrats to recognize its significance. It would be a huge mistake for the Crowley campaign, having pulled off its narrow victory, not to try to connect seriously with the grassroots energy that animated Hong’s supporters. 

Kraig and Christine Neumann-Ortiz, the executive director of the immigrant rights group Voces de la Frontera, which also endorsed Hong, both hold out hope that Crowley, a former community organizer, will not just talk about “unity” with Hong voters, but will listen seriously to them and adopt some of their positions. 

Kraig suggests that Crowley take a page from President Joe Biden, who invited the Bernie Sanders/Elizabeth Warren wing of the Democratic party to help him shape policy after he won in 2020. “It would be good to be credible. To take some positions. Not just call for unity. He could do events with Fran on some issues he wants to lean in on,” Kraig says.

Crowley could make inroads with an energized voting base by taking a stronger position against rapacious AI data centers — one of the issues that animated the Hong campaign. That could be complicated for him with his trade union endorsers. But Hong was the first to recognize what others now see: Voters are demanding a stronger stance.

“It’s going to be really important to connect to those organizer roots and to be bold, not to be timid and move to the center or the right,” says Neumann-Ortiz. 

Voces embraced Hong because she was deeply engaged in defending immigrant rights, including through the Statewide Community Defense Network. “People are coming together to support immigrant families being persecuted by ICE,” Neumann-Ortiz says. Crowley could do more to connect to that, taking a clear stand in support of measures that protect immigrant families.

 “We are in a period of growing authoritarianism — people see that, and growing economic inequality — people feel that,” says Neumann-Ortiz. “We need a movement that brings working people together and challenges the divisions of the right and Tom Tiffany. That’s what’s needed; not to lose that fighting spirit.” 

People are fed up with the lesser-evil argument that “you have no choice,” she adds. And they aren’t putting up with it. “We have seen the emergence of candidates that are much more progressive,” she says. “They come out of a community organizing culture and are willing to demand more.”

More progressives are going to continue to run for office, Neumann-Ortiz predicts. Real political power, she says, “comes from that organized community. They are doing the real democracy work, not just in elections, but the ongoing work of people coming together.” 

Crowley won with a boost from Evers, although he dismisses the idea that he is a creature of the “establishment.” Kraig thinks that’s silly – of course he got a big establishment hand up. But that doesn’t have to be how he governs. 

“Progressive Era champions put into office by the political machines turned against them and became reformers,” Kraig points out. He holds out hope that Crowley, connecting with his organizer roots, might follow in that great Wisconsin tradition. 

In a show of unity following a divisive and chaotic primary, Democratic gubernatorial nominee David Crowley met for breakfast with the losing candidates in the primary along with lieutenant governor nominee Sarah Godlewski and top Wisconsin Democrats.

Democrats are competing to hold onto the governor’s office against Republicans U.S. Rep. Tom Tiffany and David Varnam and hope to flip control of the state Senate and Assembly in November.

U.S. Sen. Tammy Baldwin, U.S. Rep. Mark Pocan, Democratic Party of Wisconsin Chair Devin Remiker, Joel Brennan, state Sen. Kelda Roys and state Rep. Francesca Hong gathered with the nominees at a cafe in Middleton. Crowley sat at the head of the table next to Godlewski and Senate Minority Leader Dianne Hesselbein (D-Middleton).

The elected officials and losing primary candidates departed the breakfast while Crowley and Godlewski addressed reporters. 

Crowley, who in July restarted his campaign 10 days after he dropped out, said Gov. Tony Evers, who endorsed him, was his campaign’s “secret weapon.”

“He has a lot of trust and he’s done a lot of work. He’s one of the very few governors that we know has continued to deliver year after year,” Crowley said, adding that Evers’ message and experience helped as well. “We’re not going to win this race focusing on ideology alone. It’s about focusing on Wisconsin values. We cannot allow Washington politics to creep up into our own backyard.”

Godlewski, who won the nomination in an uncontested primary and introduced Crowley, said national politics are a “clear distinction from that guy, Tom Tiffany, who is an election denier, career politician who only cares about the wealthy and corporations.”

“That’s not who Wisconsin is, and that’s not who we are going to elect this November,” Godlewski said

Hong did not speak to reporters, but released a statement congratulating Crowley around the time of the breakfast.

“This campaign was not about getting one person into office. It is about building a movement for permanent affordability and a government that puts working people first. Our movement is strong, and the work isn’t done,” Hong said. “I fully support [Crowley] and look forward to working with him to defeat Congressman Tiffany in November.” 

Crowley also criticized Tiffany and promised to ensure that northern communities, many of which are represented by Tiffany, are not forgotten.

“We’re going to make sure they’re a part of this process and we can lend their voices to the solutions. We know no one has been listening to them across this state,” Crowley said, adding that Tiffany has not been hearing the concerns of his constituents and is only loyal to President Donald Trump. 

Tom Tiffany in Deforest

Tiffany, who has Trump’s endorsement, met with supporters in the afternoon at a bar in Deforest alongside lieutenant governor nominee David Varnam and attorney general nominee Eric Toney.

“Well, it appears that Thanksgiving may be safe this year,” Tiffany said, referring to the late-in-the-race controversy over a post made by Hong about canceling the holiday. The joke got  laughs in the bar. 

Ahead of the election, Republicans spent millions on ads to help boost Hong’s campaign, hoping she would become the Democratic nominee. 

In his remarks Wednesday, Tiffany tried to tie Crowley to Hong.

“There is not a dime’s worth of difference between the candidates that ran for the Democrat,” he said. “David Crowley will do the same stuff that Francesca Hong would have. He just didn’t say it.”

Tiffany also criticized Crowley for his leadership of the state’s largest county, including a lapse in health insurance coverage for Milwaukee County employees and the projected future budget deficits that the county faces, despite  Crowley’s talking point that he has only signed balanced budgets as county executive. 

Tiffany was also asked whether Crowley’s nomination changes his approach to the race. 

“It’ll be the same stuff, the same socialism, whether it’s David Crowley or anyone else,” Tiffany said. “You know, he was in the race, then he was out of the race, and then he was asked to get back in the race. He didn’t know whether he wanted to be governor or not. I want to be the governor of the state of Wisconsin, and we’ve had a plan from the very beginning that we’ve been sharing.” 

The Republican ticket will include Jay Schroeder, who won the GOP primary for secretary of state. Schroeder wants to eliminate the Wisconsin Elections Commission and put it back under the control of the secretary of state. 

Tiffany did not disavow the idea of eliminating the Wisconsin Elections Commission, which was created under former Gov. Scott Walker. 

“We’ll assess that after I am elected,” he said. “It should be easy to vote but hard to cheat, right, and we’re counting on that happening here with this election here in November.” 

Republican Party of Wisconsin Chair Brian Schimming told reporters that it is a new race and that he wouldn’t put much stock in polling or primary results. 

“Democrats spent the last several months fighting with each other. It took them three candidates to finally get to one that they could push through the primary, and the fact is that the last four or five months has been all about stopping Francesca,” Schimming said. “So it’s a new race.” 

Schimming added that “a primary winner will get a bump, you know, so I’m not going to be surprised by anything I see in the polls in the next week or two.”

Data centers and young voters 

In the Democratic primary for governor, Hong built much of her campaign on motivating young voters and leveraging her stance on AI data centers. She supported a one-year moratorium. Both Crowley and Tiffany addressed how they would approach the issue Wednesday. 

Asked about winning over Hong voters, Crowley said young people should have a seat at the table. 

“They need to be a part of creating the strategy and making sure that you know they have opportunities as well,” Crowley said. “Young people don’t feel that they can look into their future right now. When the average home-buying age is 40 years old, when right now they’re looking at data centers and artificial intelligence taking the jobs in the future, and so we have to focus on making sure that we’re lifting up their voices and protecting what they believe needs to be protected.”

Tiffany said that his message to young voters is “we’re going to make life more affordable for you.” He said he would do that by cutting property taxes by eliminating Evers’ 400-year veto that gives school districts authority to bring in more revenue by raising taxes, and by cutting regulations on homebuilding to make it more affordable to build a home. 

“I understand the frustration. I mean, I have three daughters in their twenties, and it’s not easy to make ends meet at this point,” Tiffany said. 

Crowley, who has said he supports banning nondisclosure agreements for data center projects, did not offer his support for a moratorium on AI data centers when asked by a reporter.

“We have to focus on making sure that we have accountability with these data centers,” Crowley said. “They have to pay their own way, they need to pay for their own infrastructure and they need to bring their own new clean energy. I am committed to working with the state Legislature to make sure we have as many guardrails as possible.”

Tiffany said he would end subsidies for data centers that were signed into Wisconsin law under Evers, work to ensure that utility rates don’t go up and would ban nondisclosure agreements. 

“Well it sounds like David Crowley will give a blank check to data centers,” Tiffany said. “They do not need to be subsidized by us, the taxpayers, and we’re gonna make sure that people’s electricity rates do not go up. We’re going to make sure that we have full transparency.”

Democratic gubernatorial nominee David Crowley called on Democrats to unite as he accepted the nomination Wednesday. 

The race was called in the early morning hours Wednesday  as Crowley defeated state Rep. Francesca Hong by a razor-thin margin. Hong  called Crowley to concede shortly after 2 a.m. . If elected in November, Crowley would be the first Black person to serve as governor of Wisconsin. Crowley was elected as Milwaukee’s first Black county executive in 2020 after serving two terms in the state Assembly.

“The job is not done. The job is not finished,” Crowley said. “My job is not to become the first, and if I do become the first, my job is to make sure that I’m not the last and provide more opportunities for young men and women all across this state.” 

Democrats have their work cut out for them as they compete against Republican  U.S. Rep. Tom Tiffany, a three-term congressman endorsed by President Donald Trump who currently represents the state’s largest congressional district in the northern half of the state.

Crowley started that work as he accepted the nomination at 9 a.m. Wednesday in Milwaukee. 

“Over the past few months, you’ve heard a lot of people try to define this election as a battle between the left and the center, between progressives and the establishment, between insiders and outsiders, that narrative misses the entire point of what we’re doing,” Crowley said.

Crowley’s comeback in the race was powered by an endorsement from Gov. Tony Evers, the popular, departing two-term governor. Evers and Crowley spent the last two weeks traveling around the state in a last-ditch campaign. Crowley had previously dropped out of the race  on July 8 and endorsed Lt. Gov. Sara Rodriguez. When Rodriguez’s campaign imploded due to a financial scandal on July 17, Evers encouraged Crowley to restart his campaign. He reintroduced himself on July 18. 

After getting back into the race, Crowley faced accusations of being the “establishment” candidate who was chosen to defeat the democratic socialist candidate, Francesca Hong. He called that accusation a “slur.”

As he accepted the nomination, Crowley thanked Evers “for his friendship, his leadership and his belief that Wisconsin works best when working people come together to solve problems.” He also sought to put to bed the narrative that had surrounded the race as he thanked his primary opponents. He said that Hong’s campaign “reminded people across Wisconsin that there are no long shots when it comes to believing in a better future and fighting to expand opportunities to every family” and said he  looks forward to earning the support of Hong voters. The narrative that the primary was ​​”a battle between the left and the center, between progressive and the establishment, between insiders and outsiders” was inaccurate, Crowley said.

“When I traveled across Wisconsin, I didn’t meet people who introduced themselves that way. I met parents wondering how they afford childcare. I met workers who want wages that keep up with the costs of living. I met farmers trying to preserve family traditions. I met small business owners trying to keep their doors open, and I met seniors who deserve security and dignity after a lifetime of work. We may not agree on every policy, we may not use the same labels, but we all want safe communities, strong schools, affordable health care, good-paying jobs, and a brighter future for all of our children.” 

Crowley said Democrats must  now unite around keeping “MAGA extremism” out of Wisconsin and called Tiffany the “real threat.”

“Tiffany stood with those who tried to overturn a free and fair presidential election instead of defending our democracy,” Crowley said. “He’s worked in lockstep with Donald Trump to slash programs that Wisconsin families depend on, including SNAP and healthcare for our children, our seniors and veterans and working families. He backed harmful, costly policies like the war in Iran, while too many families right here, right at home, are struggling to make ends meet. He spends his time fueling culture wars because sowing division is much easier than delivering results.” 

“Wisconsin, we deserve better than politicians who divide us for their own political gain,” Crowley said.

Tiffany said in a statement about Crowley’s victory that there is “not a dime’s worth of difference between these Democrat candidates.” 

“David Crowley proved my point when he admitted there aren’t many policy differences between him and a socialist,” Tiffany said. “His record in Milwaukee County shows exactly what Wisconsin would get: mismanage the government, run up the bill and raise your taxes to pay for it. Wisconsin doesn’t need more of the same failed policies.”

Democrats are meeting for a unity breakfast that will bring together Crowley, Hong, state Sen. Kelda Roys, another of the candidates in the Democratic primary, Lt. Gov. candidate Sarah Godlewski, U.S. Sen. Tammy Baldwin and U.S. Rep. Mark Pocan around 11 a.m. in Middleton, as they , seek to move past the divisiveness of the primary with less than three months until the general election. 

Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley secured the Democratic nomination for governor in the early hours of Wednesday morning as state Rep. Francesca Hong conceded the race, ending the uncertainty of a primary characterized by unprecedented chaos over the last two months. 

An error in uploading absentee ballot data in Milwaukee caused a delay in reporting that pushed the final results off and both Hong and Crowley ended their election watch parties after midnight with no winner declared. The Associated Press called the race at 2:34 a.m. Wednesday after Hong conceded, with 98% of the ballots counted as Crowley maintained a lead of just over 3,200 votes.

Crowley will face U.S. Rep Tom Tiffany, the GOP nominee for governor, who easily defeated his Republican challenger, and his running mate David Varnam. Varnam defeated Will Martin, who had the endorsement of the state GOP and had been campaigning with Tiffany.

The Democratic primary, which started with seven candidates, all of whose names appeared on the ballot even after three dropped out, dwindled to four candidates competing for the nomination. When the race concluded, AP reported that Crowley had 39.8% of the vote and Hong had 39.4%. State Sen. Kelda Roys and former Department of Administration Secretary Joel Brennan trailed the two leaders with 7.5% and 4.7% of the vote respectively.

In a statement, Crowley campaign manager Garren Randolph thanked voters and volunteers as well as the three other Democrats who had remained in the primary contest.

“They challenged all of us to think bigger about what our state can become,” Randolph said. “From day one, this campaign has been about what comes next for Wisconsin: making life more affordable, strengthening our schools, creating good-paying jobs, and making sure opportunity reaches every corner of our state. Now, David is focused on bringing people together, earning the support of Democrats, Republicans, Independents, and anyone who believes Wisconsin is at its best when we work together and deliver results.”

Crowley launched his campaign in September 2025, dropped out in July and endorsed Lt. Gov. Sara Rodriguez, then reentered the race when Rodriguez dropped out. Gov. Tony Evers, who had declined to express a preference in the race before the final days, encouraged Crowley to rejoin the field and campaigned for him up until Election Day.

Worried that Hong, a democratic socialist, state lawmaker and chef, could not win the general election, undecided Democratic primary voters flocked to Crowley’s resurrected campaign. Hong ran a campaign based on a cadre of grassroots volunteers and a strong  social media strategy. Polls showed her dominating the field with a double-digit lead toward the end of the campaign, a result that was not matched by vote tallies on Election Night.

Victory parties with the outcome hanging

The crowd gathered at Atwood Music Hall in Madison for Hong’s victory party started the night in a hopeful mood, singing to Pink Pony Club by Chappell Roan, Stateside by PinkPantheress and Wannabe by the Spice Girls. Supporters made signs at a table and took photos together. Loud boos rang out when President Donald Trump and Tiffany, the Republican candidate, appeared on the large screens showing CNN’s election night coverage.

In the two weeks leading up to the election, Crowley and Evers raced across the state to reintroduce Crowley to voters with Evers telling people he thought Hong would not be able to beat Tiffany. 

April Brown, a Madison resident, said the issues she is most concerned about this election year are affordability, data centers and queer and trans issues. She and her wife, who came out as trans three years ago, moved to Dane County about a year ago from Georgia. 

“The South was increasingly becoming hostile towards people like us, like her,” Brown said. “When I found out about Fran being, not only my district representative in the state Assembly, but also she was running for governor and found how passionate she was about LGBTQ rights, I knew I had to throw my support behind her.” 

Brown said she would get behind Crowley if he won, but she felt hope voting for Hong. 

“I think she really resonates with people because she gets people and she wants to help people,” Brown said. 

Crowley’s supporters gathered at the Regency Ballroom in the Hyatt Regency hotel in downtown Milwaukee Tuesday night.

Darryl Morin, national president and board chairman of Forward Latino, Milwaukee Mayor Cavalier Johnson, and other local elected officials joined the crowd.

Throughout the evening, Crowley maintained a slight lead over Hong as vote totals were reported across the state. Updates on the large TV screens in the ballroom were greeted with cheering from the crowd. 

Talk of a possible recount began as Crowley maintained his razor-thin advantage. Hong’s after-hours concession forestalled the possibility of a recount. 

Calls for unity

Just before 11:30 p.m., Hong addressed her supporters, thanking them and telling them that they have “built something that will change politics forever.”

“In 11 weeks, no matter who’s on this ballot, we are going to fight to win for one another,” Hong said. “We will win together, united. Because everyone who’s running in this race, they know that we can make better possible and we must make better possible.”

After Hong left the stage her campaign staff wished everyone a good night and the lights in Atwood Music Hall were turned up. 

Hannah Ecay, a 25-year-old who wore a Madison Area DSA shirt, said she doesn’t have kids, but wants to one day and that’s part of why she supports Hong and her affordability agenda. 

“I don’t have kids yet, but when I do childcare and public education are very important to me, and I’d like to see those things be set up now, before I have children,” Ecay said. 

Ecay said she would vote for Crowley in the general election if he wins.

“Anyone’s better than Tom Tiffany, but I won’t be as excited about it as I would be for Francesca,” she said. 

As votes were being tallied in Milwaukee, election workers announced that a mistake had been made where some of the flash drives used to record the election results were downloaded with audit data instead of information from 15,000 absentee ballots. The mistake was expected to take over an hour to fix. Congresswoman Gwen Moore addressed Crowley’s supporters, saying that she believes that “the red bird will fly,” referring to a story from Crowley’s wife of having seen a red cardinal — a significant religious symbol to her — which she interpreted as a sign that Crowley should re-enter the race. 

Jarrett English, a community organizer in Milwaukee, said that he respects both Hong and Crowley. “I’ve known David since he was an organizer, and so I know that he works hard,” English told the Examiner. “He was always going to do well in Milwaukee because he’s been an incredible county executive, arguably the most successful county executive in a generation, at least in terms of the amount of things that have gotten accomplished with housing, with mental health, with not necessarily shared revenue but getting more revenue for the metro area. All those things show that he is more than ready to be at a higher level.” 

English said he believes either Hong or Crowley would make fantastic governors. “I personally will be happy with whoever wins,” said English, saying that while he doesn’t always agree with Crowley, he’s “a bridgebuilder” and Hong “is the same.”

Donna Davis, managing partner for Vox Pop Solutions and a Crowley supporter who traveled from Florida, said that “Crowley’s candidacy, who Crowley is and what he believes in, is an idea and a moment whose time has come.” Observing Crowley’s  unexpected surge which kept him in the lead most of the night, Davis said, “I think people want something different. I think they’re unsure about the unknown. I mean this is the Midwest, and people like what they know. And he fits Wisconsin.” 

Davis said that Crowley’s performance Tuesday night is a sign that “Milwaukee is ready to move into the 21st century, Wisconsin is ready for the 21st century.” If she were asked  just three years ago whether his success would have been possible, “I would’ve told you ‘absolutely not.’ I wasn’t even really sure that this was the moment because we’re in the middle of a very divisive era in American history. But this is a democracy, and the voters have the final say.”

Moving into the general election

Crowley will be joined on the ticket by Secretary of State Sarah Godlewski, who is running in November for lieutenant governor and faced no primary opponent. She previously served as state treasurer from January 2019 to January 2023. Evers appointed her to her current position. 

Democrats have their work cut out for them as they seek to beat Tiffany, a three-term congressman who currently represents the state’s largest congressional district in the northern half of the state. Wisconsin’s statewide races are typically decided by close margins, including in 2018 when Evers defeated Gov. Scott Walker by about 30,000 votes. 

Ahead of Election Day, Democratic candidates had been discussing uniting following the primary to defeat Tiffany.

Crowley was scheduled to accept the nomination at 9 a.m. Wednesday in Milwaukee. Godlewski, U.S. Sen. Tammy Baldwin, U.S. Rep. Mark Pocan and Crowley are scheduled to meet for a unity breakfast later Wednesday morning in the Madison area, seeking to move past the divisiveness of the primary with less than three months until the general election.

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

Peggy Hedberg, a Madison resident, recently switched her support in the Democratic primary for governor from state Sen. Kelda Roys (D-Madison) to Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley — a decision she said she has made because “pragmatically” she wants to vote for someone to win. Roys has been polling in the single digits.

Hedberg said it was Crowley’s energy that won her over.

“I felt like he had the strength to carry us,” she said, noting that it was hard for her to switch. She said she cares about electing women, especially as abortion access is one of the most important issues to her, but she also cares about having a candidate who can work with the Legislature to get things done. “I had to make a decision, and that was hard, but I felt that with Evers’ backing and other factors that this would be a better way for us to move forward.” 

Hedberg was at a meet and greet with Crowley on Wednesday afternoon in downtown Madison. Crowley is looking to win over voters like Hedberg with just five days until Election Day. 

Crowley told reporters that he is focusing on consolidating votes from people who are undecided. According to the last Marquette Law School poll, 34% of likely Democratic primary voters had not yet made up their minds. 

Crowley’s campaign ended in July, then restarted at the end of the month following the implosion of Lt. Gov. Sara Rodriguez’s campaign. In his second launch, Crowley entered with the endorsement of Gov. Tony Evers, triggering accusations that he is the candidate of the Democratic “establishment.” He said Wednesday that “when people try to call me the establishment, I look at that as a slur, particularly as an African American candidate.” Describing his background as a child of parents who struggled with addiction, mental illness and serial evictions, he said he has always represented the people, not the powerful.

When Crowley entered his campaign’s new office on East Washington Avenue in Madison at mid-day on Wednesday, he made a circuit of the room, greeting attendees individually with a huge grin and firm handshakes. Crowley told reporters that six days is “absolutely” enough time to get voters acquainted with him. 

The stop is one of several Crowley is making this week as he crisscrosses the state in an attempt to introduce himself to voters and win enough support to overcome state Rep. Francesca Hong’s substantial lead in recent polls. Election Day is Tuesday.

Crowley told one group of attendees that “there are Democrats everywhere,” describing his campaign stops in Wausau, Rhinelander, Hudson, Superior and Green Bay. At a recent stop in Baraboo he took pictures at the Clown Museum.

Crowley said he was trying “to see if we could find Tom Tiffany.”

This week, Crowley campaigned in Appleton with Gov. Evers and won the endorsement of U.S. Rep. Gwen Moore, the Congressional Black Caucus PAC and state legislators including Legislative Black Caucus Chair Sen. Dora Drake and Rep. Lisa Subeck, who spoke at the Madison event.

“There is something magnetic about him. I think about some of the things that I have loved about Gov. Tony Evers — he is a good guy, he is a good person who leads with his head and with his heart — and I think David holds many of those same qualities,” Subeck told the crowd.

Crowley and Subeck served in the Legislature while Democrats were in the minority. Subeck said Crowley had a “particular talent for not only standing up for our core values, but for also working across the aisle without compromising our values” when he served in the Legislature.

Crowley told attendees that the biggest problem facing Democrats is that “all we’ve been doing is responding and reacting to Donald Trump and Republicans.”

“As long as we do that, guess who’s defining us for us? They are,” Crowley said. “So, it’s time for us to get off the sidelines and stop playing defense and get on the offense. This is the time where we not only need a Democratic governor, but we need to make sure that we’re flipping the state Senate, flipping the state Assembly, because none of these policies that I’m about to rattle off becomes a reality unless we’re in charge.” 

Crowley spoke about capping the cost of childcare at 7%, fixing the school funding formula and boosting the state’s share of special education costs to 90% as well as supporting unions by repealing the union-busting law Act 10.

At one point, Crowley took issue with a proposed moratorium on AI data centers, which Hong has made a key point in her campaign. He said that he is frustrated that the Republican-led Legislature finished its work this year without establishing any regulation on the constructions of them. 

“People may talk about a moratorium, but what is that moratorium going to do about the data centers that are currently being built or are operating right now? It’s short-term thinking but it doesn’t address the long-term concerns we all have in this state,” Crowley said, adding that data centers need to “pay their own way.”

Crowley said that implementing a ban on non-disclosure agreements between local governments and big tech companies building data centers, requiring union labor and having companies pay for their own clean energy is essential. 

Crowley also challenged predictions based on polling ahead of Election Day, especially after the results of Michigan’s U.S. Senate race. Abdul El-Sayed, a progressive, defeated U.S. Rep. Haley Stevens by about 1 point, after polls showed him leading the race by more than 10 points. 

Hong has been polling 20 points or more ahead of Crowley. 

The Crowley campaign released a memo on Wednesday that said “results in Michigan Tuesday night showed polling that failed to appropriately capture and reflect the primary electorate and well overstated the position of the race frontrunner. Democrats are in the driver’s seat in Wisconsin to choose David Crowley and have the best fighting chance against Tom Tiffany in November.”

The memo found that in the four-person primary for governor, Hong led Crowley 42% to 24% while Roys and former Department of Administration Secretary Joel Brennan were still polling in the single digits. 

Asked about whether he thinks the other candidates could cut into his margins and propel Hong to the nomination, Crowley told reporters that his job is to “convince as many voters as possible why we’re the winning candidate.” 

“With it being almost a clear race between two particular candidates, those voters and those candidates, they’re going to have to make their own decisions,” Crowley said. He also said that he would never tell a candidate to drop out.

The Crowley campaign’s internal poll found Hong up 53% to 33% against Crowley in a head-to-head race. Once those being polled were informed of both candidates’ positions, Hong led Crowley 47% to 38%

Young people make up a large share of Hong’s base, but Evan Natzke, an 18-year-old who recently graduated from Milton High School south of Madison, enthusiastically greeted Crowley at the event. He told the Examiner that he met Crowley before and he appreciated that he seems like a “super genuine person.”

“I just love his energy. I feel like he’s just so charismatic,” Natzke said. 

Natzke said Hong has good ideas, but he is concerned about how she’ll do in the general election, saying that Republicans “are going to be able to paint this picture of her being this super crazy radical person.”

“I just don’t think that a normal voter is going to really like that image that is painted of her,” Natzke said. “And along with that, I’m also unsure if her policies will be able to work at the state level.”

UPDATE: This story has been updated with additional details.

Former Lt. Gov. Mandela Barnes announced he is suspending his campaign for governor Thursday in a video posted to social media, narrowing the field to four as state Rep. Francesca Hong has expanded her lead in polls. 

“We’re incredibly proud of all the things that we’ve accomplished and all the resources that we have raised to spread our message, but it’s become very clear who our nominee is going to be,” Barnes said in the video without naming a candidate. 

Mainstream Democrats in recent weeks have been seeking a candidate to consolidate behind to stop Hong, a democratic socialist many fear cannot win the general election against Republican U.S. Rep. Tom Tiffany, but her lead has only grown in the last week. 

Barnes had faced doubts since he launched his campaign last Dec., in part due to his failed U.S. campaign against U.S. Sen. Ron Johnson in 2022, but he has largely been considered to be among the  frontrunners in the race. The latest Marquette University Law School poll showed him with 16% support among likely primary voters, second to Hong’s 38%, but way ahead of the rest of the field, with Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley placing third at 7%. In recent weeks, Barnes has been competing most directly with Crowley, who exited the race a few weeks ago, but restarted his campaign with the endorsement of Gov. Tony Evers after Lt. Gov. Sara Rodriguez dropped her bid.

According to a Politico report, Barnes’ announcement comes as damaging media reports about him were expected to hit in coming hours. His exit leaves it a four-way race between Hong, Crowley, former Department of Administration Secretary Joel Brennan and state Sen. Kelda Roys. 

The winner of the Aug. 11 Democratic primary will likely face U.S. Rep. Tom Tiffany, the presumptive GOP candidate in November. 

“Now, we have to do everything we possibly can to defeat Tom Tiffany, and that’s exactly what I’m committed to do for the next 96 days,” Barnes said.

According to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Barnes’ decision also comes amid reporting by the outlet on allegations that Barnes took advantage of his role in the party to have sexual encounters with young adult women. He has not been accused of any crimes. According to the Journal Sentinel report, in 2025, the Democratic Party of Wisconsin hired a law firm to look into similar claims but the allegations they received were anonymous and unspecific and nothing actionable was found.

Reactions from Evers, candidates

Evers told reporters, in reaction to the news, that he was surprised by Barnes’ dropping out. Barnes served as lieutenant governor during Evers’ first term in office and was the first Black person to hold the position in the state’s history.

“But he needs to do what he needs to do,” Evers said. “I don’t know why he’s getting out. I have to believe it’s something relatively important.”

Evers also reiterated his support for Crowley.

“He’s the best candidate running even if Mandela was in,” Evers said.

Other candidates in the race sought to encourage Barnes supporters to join their campaign.

“The Barnes campaign helped grow the progressive movement,” Hong said in a statement. “To everyone who supported Mandela because you believe working people deserve a government that fights for them, I welcome you to our movement.”

“To everyone who backed Mandela: there’s a place for you in what we’re building,” Crowley said in a social media post. “It’s going to take all of us to beat Tom Tiffany.”

Brennan said it is “unfortunate for voters that this primary has gotten more attention for chaos than the stakes of this election.” He said that he is “going to continue to focus on reaching voters to talk about what I’ll do to win and lead our state to a stronger future.”

In a statement, the Roys campaign also focused on moving forward with sharing her message across the state.

“She has the most endorsements, the most cash on hand, the most experience, and the most likelihood of beating Tom Tiffany in November,” Jalen Knuteson, spokesperson for the Roys campaign, said in a statement. “No drama, no baggage, just a lifetime of fighting bullies and billionaires and turning progressive ideas into law.”

 

Thank you, Wisconsin. pic.twitter.com/FKDjCaPdJZ

— Mandela Barnes (@TheOtherMandela) July 30, 2026

State Rep. Francesca Hong received a significant bump following the shakeup in the Democratic primary for governor, according to a Marquette Law School poll released Wednesday.

With in-person early voting underway and Election Day less than two weeks away, it is the latest poll to be released that seeks to understand how Democratic primary voters are responding to recent events. Once again it shows Hong leading. It is also the last Marquette Law School poll that will be released ahead of the primary. 

A Marquette Law School poll released last week showed that 26% of likely Democratic primary voters would vote for Hong. Former Lt. Gov. Mandela Barnes followed with 15% of likely Democratic voters in that poll. However, that poll was taken before Lt. Gov. Sara Rodriguez dropped out of the race due to a campaign finance disaster and before Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley got back into the race. 

“I’m pleased to say we managed to do an entire week of polling and no candidates changed,” Charles Franklin, director of the poll, joked at the start of the release of the results. 

The latest poll was conducted between July 22 and July 27. Just after Crowley rejoined the race on July 18 with the endorsement of Gov. Tony Evers. The poll included responses from 407 registered voters, including 254 respondents who were also interviewed for the previous poll and 153 new respondents.

The poll showed that Hong received support from 38% of likely Democratic primary voters — a 12-point jump. She was followed by Barnes with 16% and Crowley with 7%. Former Department of Administration Secretary Joel Brennan and state Sen. Kelda Roys were each supported by 2% of those polled. 

About 34% of likely voters said they were still undecided — down from 45% the week prior. Franklin said this isn’t a trivial number. 

The poll also asked undecided voters who they were leaning towards. The choice of Democratic primary voters, including those with a lean, was 46% Hong, 21% Barnes, 11% Crowley and 4% each for Brennan and Roys.

“This is the lay of the land and what you see is very obvious and that is Francesca Hong has opened up her lead, expanded it beyond where it was a week or so ago,” Franklin said, adding that it looks similar to Evers’ position in 2018 polling during that Democratic primary. “Took people a long time make up their minds and get to know the candidates, and Evers moved up into a significant lead at the end.” 

The poll also sought to understand the impact of Evers’ endorsement. About 62% of those polled said they had heard of the endorsement. Among primary voters, 36% said the Evers endorsement makes them more likely to support Crowley, 9% said less likely and 56% said the endorsement doesn’t make any difference.

Franklin said the numbers reflect “the fact that endorsements don’t matter the way they did 30 years ago, even with a guy with an 89% approval rating.”

“People make up their own minds. The machine is not what it used to be,” Franklin said. “I think there’s a wide open debate, and I guess we’ll really know the answer on the 11th or the morning of the 12th… He does still have two weeks to go in this campaign to convert that into votes.” 

Of Crowley, Franklin said, “He’s certainly in a better position than he was in March when we asked about him way, way, long ago. But these fundamental results say he’s in third place.” 

“Things could shift, I guess, but the Evers endorsement and the reentry did not boost him into second place. He’s in third place.”

Small wonder nearly half of voters haven’t decided who to back in the Democratic primary for Wisconsin’s next governor. If you sent in your ballot early, you might have voted for the candidate who won the straw poll at the Democratic party convention only to flail her way through a dramatic public scandal, run out of money and quit. The latest Marquette Law School poll, released this week, still had her name as a candidate, but didn’t include the candidate who dropped out two weeks ago before getting back in the race with Gov. Tony Evers’ endorsement. 

Meanwhile, the frontrunner in poll after poll, as Baylor Spears reports, is Francesca Hong. 

Some Democrats are so sure Hong, as a democratic socialist, will lose in a general-election matchup with Republican Tom Tiffany they’re desperately hopping from horse to horse, searching for an alternative. One of those horses, Lt. Gov. Sara Rodriguez, stumbled badly and collapsed. Now we’ve got Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley, whose late endorsement by Evers generated a backlash against the “Democratic establishment.”

Whoever’s running the “establishment’ might be overbearing, but they sure don’t seem to be adept at picking winners. Days after his reentry, Crowley is struggling with negative stories about crude posts to an old Twitter account.

The problem Democrats in Wisconsin face is less about party bosses behind the scenes calling the shots than it is lack of any organization. A little leadership from Evers earlier in the process might have staved off disaster.

At a minimum, he could have made up his mind to back Crowley before Crowley dropped out. He could have had painful but necessary conversations with Joel Brennan, Sara Rodriguez and Missy Hughes, the other members of his administration who campaigned at least partly on their association with him. “Look, I see a bright future for you in politics, but I’ve decided to go with Crowley in this race,” he might have said. Then Crowley (or whoever Evers decided to support) could have built some strength over the course of the campaign.

Instead, we have the current mess.

Wisconsin’s messy primary is also a symptom of Democrats’ general disarray. Unable to come up with a plan to effectively counter the frightening power of a violent, kleptocratic regime in Washington, they are waffling between trying not to alienate swing voters by sounding too radical versus tapping into the energy and outrage of the anti-Trump electorate.

Looking over their shoulders at the Republicans, several Democratic campaigns point to the millions of dollars in TV ads the Republican Governors Association bought featuring light criticism of Hong. The ads appear to be a transparent effort to boost Hong in the primary, since Republicans think they can beat her in the general election. So what? Hong appears to be winning the primary anyway, with or without the RGA boost, through her straight talk, superb social media strategy, grassroots ground game and the enthusiasm she’s generating, especially from young voters who don’t trust normal politicians and institutional Democratic party politics. 

That doesn’t mean she’s the best candidate to beat Tiffany. But instead of buying into the Republican political analysis, or as one Democrat did, running an ominous attack ad trumpeting that Hong is a “proud socialist!” (the horror!), Democrats should be trying to steal a page from Hong. That ugly ad, featuring photos of the three candidates of color, labeling them all unelectable, and then toggling to Joel Brennan, the only white guy in the race, is a good example of what Democratic primary voters want to reject.

It’s no surprise Hong is catching fire. People like candidates who say what they mean and aren’t afraid to be themselves, as opposed to candidates who seem to be trying to tell them what they want to hear or pretending to be just like them. They want to see courage and conviction in the face of bullying and corruption. They do not particularly like seeing Democrats tearing each other apart — especially not by drawing on the kinds of smug, bigoted attacks made by the other side. 

Imagine a Democratic party that includes democratic socialists and more middle-of-the-road candidates, promoting an uplifting message about protecting a decent society, functional government and human rights. 

That’s the vision people are hungry for. Wisconsin Democrats should not be afraid to serve it up. 

State Rep. Francesca Hong (D-Madison) is leading the four other Democrats in the primary campaign for governor in a new Marquette Law School poll, a sign of her continued momentum, while more than 40% of primary voters remain undecided.

The poll was conducted July 8 through 16 — around the same time that the Democratic primary field changed dramatically — failing to capture Lt. Gov. Sara Rodriguez’s exit from the race and the reentry of Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley with the endorsement of Gov. Tony Evers.

Charles Franklin, the poll’s director, said upon it’s release that there is  “plenty of room for change” in the race.

Hong led her primary opponents, excluding Crowley, with 26% support among Democratic primary voters, with 45% undecided. The poll included Rodiguez, who dropped out after it was completed, but not Crowley, who had not reentered the race.

Hong has led the Democratic field in each Marquette Law School poll released this campaign cycle so far. 

“Consistency counts for something,” Franklin said. “And we see that consistency over this entire time.” 

Former Lt. Gov. Mandela Barnes had 15%, Rodriguez had 11%, Joel Brennan garnered 2% and 1% supported state Sen. Kelda Roys.

Some Democrats are skeptical of how Hong, a democratic socialist, will perform in November against presumptive GOP nominee U.S. Rep. Tom Tiffany.

The new Marquette poll also showed that Lt. Gov. Mandela Barnes was the only candidate who polled ahead of Republican candidate Tom Tiffany. Barnes had 44%, while Tiffany had 40%. 

Hong in a matchup against Tiffany polled at 40% to Tiffany’s 43%.

The Hong campaign pointed out  that among likely voters the poll showed Hong and Tiffany tied at 44%.

“This poll puts to rest the claim that our campaign cannot compete statewide,” Hong said. “We are building the multiracial, multigenerational and working-class coalition it will take to defeat Tom Tiffany and deliver universal childcare, fairer and cheaper health care, fully funded public schools and permanent affordability for Wisconsin families.”

Franklin said the takeaway from the poll is that the race is close. Another poll will be released next Wednesday, the day after the candidates are scheduled to debate.

Barnes and Crowley both released internal polls seeking to highlight their advantages, though each poll also showed Hong leading. 

The internal poll from the Crowley campaign showed Hong with 35% of the vote, Barnes with 15% of the vote and Crowley at 14%. His campaign highlighted that after people were provided with information about the candidates he jumped to 22% of support — 11 percentage points behind Hong. 

The internal poll from the Barnes campaign showed Hong at 39%, Barnes at 26% and Crowley at 11%. 

A poll conducted by the Roys campaign found that Hong polled at 29% followed by Barnes at 21%, Crowley at 11% and Roys at 7%. According to the poll when voters were provided with information about Roys, their support shifted to 25% Hong, 21% Roys and 16% Barnes.

“We are proud of our momentum, but as they say: Polls do not decide elections – people do,” Hong said. “Over the next 20 days, we will keep traveling, organizing and working to earn every vote in every corner of Wisconsin.”

Hong’s opponents target her in new TV ads

Hong’s Democratic primary opponents have begun to target her in campaign ads. 

Crowley does not mention Hong by name in his first ad released since getting back into the race, but highlights a Milwaukee Journal Sentinel article about Republican groups investing more than $2 million in ads that seeming aimed at boosting Hong’s campaign.

“The Republicans have made their choice,” Crowley says in the ad, “spending millions of dollars on candidates they know they can beat. It’s time for Democrats to make our choice.” He also highlighted Evers’ endorsement.

The Barnes campaign also focused on the Hong ads purchased by the Republican Governors’ Association.

“There’s nothing more important than beating Trump’s handpicked candidate Tom Tiffany, and polls show I’m the only candidate in this race who can,” Barnes said in a statement. “That’s exactly why we are seeing the Republicans meddle in our primary with over $3 million to boost my opponent who Tom Tiffany beats in every poll.” 

Joel Brennan, the former head of the Department of Administration, who has consistently polled behind his opponents in the primary, released an ad Tuesday that flashed photos of  the three frontrunners, all of whom are people of color. 

“She’s a proud socialist,” Brennan says as Hong’s photo is displayed on screen. “He lost statewide before,” he says over an image of Barnes. “A couple weeks ago, he dropped out,” he says over an image of Crowley.

The ad does not mention Roys, who, like Brennan, is white. 

“They’ll all lose to Republicans in November,” Brennan says in the ad, before talking about himself. 

His campaign has received pushback for targeting the candidates of color in the race. 

According to the Milwaukee Courier, the Democratic Party of Wisconsin Black Caucus Executive Board responded to the ad by saying it is “extremely disappointing that Joel Brennan released an ad saying none of the candidates of color running for governor could win in November following previous comments in May on this issue.”

Brennan’s campaign said in a statement that the ad was meant to highlight that there are other candidates running apart from the three promoted by “Madison insiders”.

“Each candidate has to make their own case, and the ad points to the facts about others running, why Joel is the strongest candidate to beat Tom Tiffany and what he’ll do for Wisconsin as governor,” the Brennan campaign said in a statement. 

Hong released her own ad this week that goes after Tiffany, not her Democratic opponents. She called him an “anti-abortion,” an “election denier” and an “Epstein pedophile protector” and said he “sides with the powerful, not the people.”

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.

UPDATE: This story has been updated to include reactions. 

Lt. Gov. Sara Rodriguez is suspending her campaign for governor after a week of trying to navigate the fallout of a financial disaster. 

“As we have continued to dig into our financial reports, it has become clear that there are issues that would be an ongoing distraction —  not just for this campaign, but for the primary and for Wisconsin,” Rodriguez said in a statement and a video posted to X. “This race is too important to Wisconsin to let that happen.” 

Rodriguez’s troubles emerged when she announced she fired her campaign manager, Kara Spencer, on Sunday due to “serious mismanagement and inaccuracies in campaign finance filings she prepared.” Rodriguez’s January finance reports showed hundreds of duplicate contributions, and during a Monday press conference, Rodriguez said she had hundreds of thousands of dollars less than she expected, but was determined to push ahead, calling it a “bump in the road.”

While she sought to continue on, additional mistakes arose when she submitted her campaign finance reports Wednesday. Her initial report showed she had less than $35,000 in the bank and over $150,000 in debts to sort through. 

However, her campaign put out a statement saying that she had raised $219,000 since July 1 and would be launching a new campaign ad. Her campaign also said that it was still “actively working to ensure our financial records are accurate and complete.” 

The initial report showed a payment to WI Federation of Republican Women, which was a mistake that was fixed in the amended report. However, the amended report also dramatically increased the tally of her campaign dollars to show she ended the period with $643,206. 

The campaign later said that report was a mistake, and the campaign did end the period with only $34,991 in cash-on-hand after all. 

Rodriguez in her statement on suspending the campaign said that she “cannot in good conscience allow these questions to become a cloud over an election that Democrats need to win.”

“I am deeply hurt and betrayed by what happened,” Rodriguez said. “As I said on Monday, part of being a leader is taking swift action, doing the right thing, and being as honest as possible when there’s a problem.” 

“This was never just about any one race or any one candidate,” Rodriguez continued. “This is about protecting Wisconsin from a legislature hell-bent on putting corporations over schools and insurance companies over patients. It’s about showing the rest of the country that we can win here, govern here, and fight for the middle class — and that Wisconsin will lead the way.”

Her exit from the race is the third in recent weeks, narrowing the field to four candidates: former Lt. Gov. Mandela Barnes, state Rep. Francesca Hong, state Sen. Kelda Roys and Joel Brennan, former head of the Department of Administration.

There are just 25 days until Wisconsin’s primary election.

Rodriguez’s campaign appeared to be growing momentum ahead of the financial scandal partially due to the endorsements of her former Democratic opponents, Missy Hughes, the former CEO of the Wisconsin Economic Development Corp., and Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley. Crowley dropped out last Wednesday and endorsed Rodriguez on Thursday, around the same time that Rodriguez said she realized something was amiss with her financials. 

According to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, there is a push to get Crowley to re-enter the race, and two Democratic sources told the newspaper that Gov. Tony Evers is “very seriously considering” backing that effort. Late Friday, Crowley released a statement from “Democratic candidate for governor David Crowley” calling a press conference in Milwaukee at which he will make an announcement at 11 a.m. Saturday.

Evers has so far stayed out of the race. When the two-term governor announced his retirement, however, he left open the door for endorsing in the primary saying “never say never” and “if there’s somebody who really needs support, and I want them to win, I might get in.”

Hughes also called on Crowley to get back into the race in a post on X.

While some Democrats sought to pull Crowley back into the race, candidates still in the race highlighted their campaigns  and hoped to pull supporters over to their campaign. 

Brennan, the only other current or former member of Evers’ administration still in the governor’s race, was the first to issue a statement Friday.

“I deeply respect Lieutenant Governor Rodriguez and the ideas and energy she brought to this race,” said Brennan. “This is no doubt disappointing for her and people who supported her campaign, and I am committed to joining her in the fight to protect the Wisconsin we love.”

Brennan has been among the most vocal critics of how the Rodriguez campaign had managed its finance and compliance operation. He emphasized when he submitted his own report this week that her difficulties had weakened her as a candidate in the general election against the likely Republican nominee, U.S. Rep. Tom Tiffany.

“While a lot has changed in the Democratic primary, one thing has not: we need a governor who can win and who will fight for Wisconsin to get things done,” said Brennan, adding that he was “the candidate who will get big things done.”  

Sen. Kelda Roys followed shortly after with a call Friday “to unite the party so that we can defeat Tom Tiffany and deliver a Democratic trifecta.”

Both Brennan and Roys have finished further back in polls on the race to date. Until this week Rodriguez, Barnes and Hong have been the top candidates in polling.

The Republican Party of Wisconsin Chair Brian Schimming said in a statement that Democrats are “in full meltdown mode.” 

“With zero clear candidate and lackluster fundraising, any hope Democrats had has turned into a dumpster fire,” Schimming said. “As Democrats fight among themselves in primaries and scramble for resources, Republicans are organized, well-funded, and laser-focused on victory in November.”

Wisconsin Lt. Gov. Sara Rodriguez, one of the leading candidates in the Democratic primary for governor, fired her campaign manager over the weekend due to mismanagement of financial reports. She told reporters Monday that her campaign will continue, calling it a “bump in the road,” although the error means she has hundreds of thousands of dollars less than she thought.

On Sunday at 9:30 p.m., the Rodriguez campaign released a statement saying that the candidate had fired her campaign manager, Kara Spencer, “after discovering serious mismanagement and inaccuracies in campaign finance filings she prepared.”

Rodriguez said at the press conference at her campaign office in Madison that she became aware something was wrong when a statewide ad did not start to run on TV last Tuesday. The campaign had put out press release announcing it was making a $1 million ad buy. 

Rodriguez said she became concerned and started asking questions when the ad did not run. She said that on Wednesday she was notified by her media team of an unpaid invoice. 

“I was given excuses by my campaign manager that did not make sense. By Thursday afternoon, I saw that the total cash was far lower than I had expected,” she said, adding that she wouldn’t be able to give a specific number because her books were still being reconciled.

Rodriguez said she brought in a team of political communications, legal and compliance experts to analyze her reports. They found “double counting of contributions that inflated how much money we had raised” and “a significant failure to report certain expenses that had been paid.” 

According to Wisconsin’s campaign finance website, Rodriguez’s January report was submitted at 2:13 a.m. — after the Jan. 15 deadline. It was then amended at 3:23 a.m. and then again at 5:01 a.m.

Rodiguez’s final campaign finance report uploaded that evening included a number of duplicate payments. According to a review of the campaign finance reports by WisPolitics, there are  at least $275,000 in duplicate donations.

In January, Rodriguez reported raising $618,284.

Rodriguez said her campaign manager had worked with her for several years and in compliance for her whole career.

“As we are trying to make sure we have a lean campaign, it made sense for her to do the compliance report since that was her expertise, and that was one thing I had full trust in,” Rodriguez said, adding that Spencer had given her reports on a regular basis about the finances and everything looked fine until last week. 

“I cannot tell you what was in her mind about why she did what she did. I will tell you that when you work with somebody for as long as I have, it was an enormous shock that this happened,” Rodriguez said. “It took me a little while to believe that these reports were erroneous, but once I was able to look within the system to look within the bank accounts, to look at the reports that were filed, it was clear that these were egregiously in error, and that she needed to be let go.” 

Rodriguez said she had had a conversation with Spencer, but did not provide details on her reaction. She said Spencer’s termination notice was addressed by a lawyer.

“I am hurt, angry and deeply disappointed by someone I trusted to run my campaign,” Rodriguez said, adding it was a breach of her trust as well as her supporters’ trust. 

Rodriguez argued that her press conference and willingness to answer questions was a show of her commitment to accountability and transparency, which makes her a good candidate for governor.

In recent weeks, momentum appeared to be building behind Rodriguez’s campaign after she finished first in a straw poll conducted at the Democratic Party of Wisconsin Convention. Last week, Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley dropped out of the race and endorsed her, as did  former Wisconsin Economic Development CEO Missy Hughes, who dropped out and endorsed her in June.

“I think we still have that momentum. I think we’re still moving forward. This is a bump in the road for the campaign, but we are going to be as honest and transparent as we can be,” Rodriguez said at the press conference inside her Madison, Wisconsin, campaign headquarters Monday. “That is why I am standing here in front of all of you in front of all of these cameras in front of all of these microphones and telling you when I see something that is an error.” 

Rodriguez said the analysis of the report is still underway, but they are working to see whether there are any additional discrepancies. Her campaign has also contacted the Wisconsin Ethics Commission, which administers and enforces Wisconsin law pertaining to ethics and lobbying, to report the discrepancies and make a plan to correct the mistakes. 

The firing and revelation about her January report comes just ahead of the next campaign finance report deadline on July 15. 

Rodriguez said she will report having about $200,000 cash-on-hand and that she has raised nearly $1 million over the course of the campaign. She said she plans to continue her campaign and that her ad will go up on TV next week. During the press conference, Rodriguez surrounded herself with supporters holding signs and cheering.

“I know who gets hurt when people like me decide it’s not worth the fight. I intend to put my heart and soul into this race over the next month, and until November, every single day of it. There are people who get knocked down, and don’t get back up. I’m not one of them,” Rodriguez said. 

Democratic opponents critical

The rest of the Democratic primary candidates in the race were highly critical of Rodriguez Monday afternoon. Joel Brennan, a former head of the Wisconsin Department of Administration, was one of the first to speak out, saying in a statement ahead of the press conference that she needed to answer several questions to be transparent with Wisconsinites. 

“How is this not disqualifying?” Brennan asked.

Brennan told the Wisconsin Examiner in a phone interview Monday afternoon that the issue is one of competence and accountability and the “buck stops” with the candidate when it comes to campaign finance. 

“We are ultimately accountable for everything that’s got our name on it, and there is nothing more important in that than managing the resources we have because those resources come from voters in the state of Wisconsin, they come from family, they come from close friends, they come from networks, they come from allies and advocates and people who we need to represent,” Brennan said. “If you can’t manage several hundred thousand in a campaign account, how are you going to be able to demonstrate to people that they should trust a $110 billion budget for the state of Wisconsin?”

Brennan questioned why Rodriguez did not have the infrastructure to ensure there were checks in her finances. He said that he knows on a “day-to-day” basis how much money there is in his campaign.

Brennan said Rodriguez did not provide direct answers to key questions, but instead provided “some self congratulations for standing up in front of a bank of cameras” to address problems that were “created under her watch” and she was “expecting to be congratulated for doing that — like that somehow is courageous.”

Brennan stopped short of calling for Rodriguez to end her campaign, saying he doesn’t make that decision for anyone. However, he said Democrats should be spending time talking about issues that matter to people.

“If we are spending our time talking about missed deadlines when it comes to campaign, being unable to track down hundreds of thousands of dollars of campaign contributions, we will never get to the point where we can talk about Donald Trump, about Rep. Tom Tiffany, about the harm they’ve done to Wisconsin, and what we’re going to do for people to make their lives better in our state,” Brennan said. “The stakes are high when it comes to healthcare that people can’t afford. The stakes are high related to utility costs that are out of control and housing challenges that people face, whether they’re renters or homeowners, and where we are in public education.”

The firing is not the first controversy to disrupt Rodriguez’s campaign for governor. She also faced criticism from her opponents for saying she would negotiate the state’s budget “behind closed curtains” and recently for taking corporate PAC money from WE Energies after voting for a Republican-authored tax break for the company. 

Jalen Knuteson, spokesperson for state Sen. Kelda Roys’ campaign, highlighted those instances in a statement, saying that the “public is getting far too familiar with hearing Sara Rodriguez apologize.” 

“This recurring pattern shows that Rodriguez is unprepared for the rigors of a general election or governing,” Roys said. 

Darby O’Connor, spokesperson for former Lt. Gov. Mandela Barnes, said in a statement that Rodriguez “only noticed hundreds of thousands of dollars missing when she didn’t see her face on TV.” 

“This level of gross mismanagement of finances and staff is unheard of in professional politics,” Barnes said.

State Rep. Francesca Hong said she was “staying focused on our campaign,” but that her campaign has “shown we’re a campaign focused on transparency and accountability.”

“Especially with the next finance reports coming out this week, I think it’s vital that everyone running for this position is creating a standard of trust, honesty and accountability,” she added.

The gubernatorial primary is scheduled for Aug. 11 — less than a month away. The winner will face U.S. Rep. Tom Tiffany, the presumptive Republican nominee, in November.

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.”