{"id":64665,"date":"2026-08-12T23:22:21","date_gmt":"2026-08-12T23:22:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/news\/64665\/"},"modified":"2026-08-12T23:22:21","modified_gmt":"2026-08-12T23:22:21","slug":"david-crowleys-win-sets-up-wisconsin-race-with-trump-backed-tom-tiffany","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/news\/64665\/","title":{"rendered":"David Crowley\u2019s win sets up Wisconsin race with Trump-backed Tom Tiffany"},"content":{"rendered":"

MADISON, Wis. (AP) \u2014 David Crowley\u2019s razor-thin<\/a> primary win over a democratic socialist sets up a Wisconsin governor\u2019s race against a Republican congressman who has voted with President Donald Trump 100% of the time, potentially giving moderate Democrats an ideal matchup<\/a> as Trump\u2019s approval ratings<\/a> sag in the swing state. <\/p>\n

Crowley overcame Francesca Hong in dramatic fashion<\/a> in Tuesday\u2019s primary, stunning pundits and pollsters who had long placed Hong as the front-runner. That means Crowley\u2019s challenger, U.S. Rep. Tom Tiffany, must pivot to face a Democrat known for working across the aisle with Republicans as the county executive in Milwaukee, the state\u2019s largest source of Democratic voters.<\/p>\n

Crowley immediately leans into Tiffany\u2019s ties to Trump<\/p>\n

After a unity event with Hong and others on Wednesday, Crowley pledged to build a broad coalition \u2014 including Hong\u2019s progressive backers \u2014 to take on Tiffany by zeroing in on the Republican\u2019s support for the Make America Great Again movement.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis isn\u2019t establishment versus progressive. This isn\u2019t insider versus outsider,\u201d Crowley said. \u201cThis is Democrats defeating a MAGA extremist in Congressman Tom Tiffany and that\u2019s what we should be focusing on moving forward.\u201d<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\"Protestors<\/p>\n

<\/a><\/p>\n

It will be easier for Tiffany to pivot away from his ties with Trump and unpopular federal policies because he\u2019s running for governor and not Congress, said former Republican Gov. Scott Walker, a Trump supporter. <\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s got to be on point, on message every time that comes up, and say, \u2018That\u2019s not what\u2019s on the ballot,\u2019\u201d Walker told The Associated Press. \u201cWhat\u2019s on the ballot is who\u2019s going to be governor the next four years.\u201d<\/p>\n

But former Republican state Senate Majority Leader Dale Schultz, who opposes Trump, said Crowley makes the path \u201cway harder for Tiffany.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s going to force the campaign back to the issues that people care about like affordability, the war in Iran and the cost of healthcare,\u201d Schultz said.<\/p>\n

Tiffany represents a broad swath of Wisconsin\u2019s rural, conservative north woods. Trump won the state in 2024 and 2016, but lost in 2020. All three elections were decided by less than a percentage point. Crowley\u2019s win on Tuesday was even more narrow \u2014 about half a point, further cementing Wisconsin\u2019s reputation for close elections.<\/p>\n

Democrats look for a trifecta in Wisconsin<\/p>\n

Democrats savored the shift in focus from their chaotic primary<\/a> to the general election against Tiffany, an opponent they\u2019ve long seen as vulnerable. They hope to capitalize on Trump\u2019s low approval ratings to retain control of the governor\u2019s office and flip both chambers of the Legislature to earn full control of Wisconsin state government<\/a> for the first time since 2010.<\/p>\n

Just as Crowley highlighted his Republican opponent\u2019s ties to Trump, Tiffany began the general election campaign with a message connecting Crowley to Hong.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve said all along that there\u2019s not a dime\u2019s worth of difference between these Democrat candidates,\u201d Tiffany said in a statement Wednesday. \u201cHis 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.\u201d<\/p>\n

And it may be tough for Crowley to connect with the young people who were among the nearly 40% of primary voters who supported Hong, Republican strategist Rusty Schultz predicted. <\/p>\n

\u201cMaking sure they come out in November will be no small feat,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Crowley\u2019s surprise win came after he had dropped out of the race<\/p>\n

Crowley, 40, often notes on the campaign trail that he grew up in poverty in the poorest ZIP code in Wisconsin on Milwaukee\u2019s north side, his parents struggled with drug abuse and mental health issues, and his family was evicted multiple times.<\/p>\n

Elected to the state Assembly in 2016 at the age of 30, Crowley served just over three years before being elected as Milwaukee County executive. In 2023, Crowley worked closely with the Republican-controlled Legislature to pass a bipartisan deal<\/a> that sent more state aid to Milwaukee and local communities. <\/p>\n

Crowley launched his bid for governor 11 months ago. But he dropped out of the race on July 8, saying he didn\u2019t see a path to victory. He rejoined it<\/a> on July 18, less than a month before Tuesday\u2019s primary. With the backing of Democratic Gov. Tony Evers, a fellow moderate who crisscrossed the state with him in the final week, Crowley made a case that he was the better matchup against Tiffany.<\/p>\n

\u201cObviously Hong was the never-ending gift in terms of one gaffe after another<\/a>, wasn\u2019t really ready for primetime,\u201d Walker said. \u201cBut Crowley didn\u2019t get any real scrutiny either.\u201d<\/p>\n

Crowley shared a meal with Hong, U.S. Sen. Tammy Baldwin, U.S. Rep. Mark Pocan and others at a unity event outside Madison before embarking on a statewide tour. Evers, who is not seeking a third term as governor, had another commitment and did not attend.<\/p>\n

Crowley became the first Black person to win a major party nomination for Wisconsin governor. Now he\u2019s vying to become the first Black governor of the state and just the fourth Black governor elected in the country\u2019s history.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis historic moment is not lost on me. But I\u2019m not even thinking about that because we\u2019ve still got work to do,\u201d Crowley said. \u201cThe job is not done. The job is not finished. My job is not to become the first, and if I do become the first, my job is to make sure I\u2019m not the last.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"MADISON, Wis. (AP) \u2014 David Crowley\u2019s razor-thin primary win over a democratic socialist sets up a Wisconsin governor\u2019s…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":64666,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[4],"tags":[362,4586,33753,9972,38,286,29122,50,8,96,33755,9,67,33754,33752,10933,23332,9971,4141,7,363,54,365,924,923],"class_list":["post-64665","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-top-stories","tag-2026-elections","tag-black-experience","tag-dale-schultz","tag-david-crowley","tag-donald-trump","tag-elections","tag-francesca-hong","tag-general-news","tag-headlines","tag-iran-war","tag-mark-pocan","tag-news","tag-politics","tag-rusty-schultz","tag-scott-walker","tag-socialism","tag-tammy-baldwin","tag-tom-tiffany","tag-tony-evers","tag-top-stories","tag-u-s-democratic-party","tag-u-s-news","tag-u-s-republican-party","tag-wi-state-wire","tag-wisconsin"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@news\/117085113127869998","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/64665","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=64665"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/64665\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/64666"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=64665"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=64665"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=64665"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}