Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley narrowly defeated democratic socialist Francesca Hong in Wisconsin’s Democratic gubernatorial primary Tuesday, putting an end to progressives’ hopes of scoring another major victory in a crucial battleground state.
Crowley emerged victorious from the exceptionally tight race by roughly 3,000 votes, securing the Democratic nomination and advancing to a November matchup against Trump-backed Republican Rep. Tom Tiffany of Wisconsin.
The moderate Democrat is seeking to make history as Wisconsin’s first Black governor. During the primary campaign, Crowley argued that he represented Democrats’ strongest opportunity to win the purple state in November.
President Donald Trump carried Wisconsin in the 2024 election.
Crowley’s victory came just one week after progressive Abdul El-Sayed won the Democratic Senate primary in neighboring Michigan, a result that energized the Democratic Party’s far-left wing and fueled hopes among progressives that Hong could pull off another major victory in the Midwest.
But Wisconsin Democrats ultimately went in a different direction, although just barely.
Crowley defeated Hong by less than one percentage point in a race separated by only thousands of votes.
The narrow margin meant Hong was eligible to request a recount. However, because the difference between the candidates exceeded 0.25 percentage points, Hong’s campaign would have been responsible for paying the cost of conducting it.
Rather than pursue a recount, Hong chose to concede the Democratic primary.
Hong entered the race without the backing of two of the progressive movement’s most prominent national figures.
Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., did not endorse Hong’s campaign despite her effort to win the Democratic nomination as a democratic socialist.
The final stages of Hong’s campaign were also marked by increased attention on some of her previous controversial statements.
Those past remarks generated headlines as voters prepared to cast their ballots, including Hong’s calls to abolish the police and prisons.
Hong had also previously called for abolishing Thanksgiving.
Her defeat brought an end to hopes that Wisconsin progressives could immediately follow El-Sayed’s Michigan victory with another major primary win in a neighboring battleground state.
Instead, Crowley walked away with the Democratic nomination following one of the closest contests of the primary.
The Milwaukee County executive will now turn his attention toward the November general election, where he will face Tiffany.
Tiffany enters the general election with Trump’s backing, setting up a contest between the Republican congressman and Crowley in a state Trump won in 2024.
For Hong, the razor-thin result offered the possibility of a recount, but the democratic socialist candidate ultimately decided against challenging the outcome and conceded the race to Crowley.
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