Democratic socialist Francesca Hong fell just short as David Crowley strives for unity for the general election<\/p>\n
Francesca Hong, a democratic socialist, was on course to win the party\u2019s nomination for Wisconsin governor on Wednesday by a clear margin, according to the polls \u2013 presaging the latest in an extraordinary wave of leftwing victories across the country, challenging the party\u2019s establishment.<\/p>\n
It was not to be. In a photo finish after a messy campaign, David Crowley eked out a win by a few thousand votes over Hong, raising questions over the limits of the progressive movement that has swept through Democratic contests in recent months.<\/p>\n
Crowley, the Milwaukee county executive, had exited the race in early July, only to re-enter late in the month, with the backing of the outgoing Democratic governor, Tony Evers. The two barnstormed the state, consolidating support from a more moderate chunk of undecided voters, many of whom believed Crowley would more easily win November\u2019s general election over Tom Tiffany, the Republican.<\/p>\n
The stakes for the governor\u2019s race are high, both locally and nationally. Tiffany voted against certifying the 2020 election, and Wisconsin is a key part of the presidential electoral map. And Democrats want a governing trifecta after years of a split government so they can enact a more expansive agenda.<\/p>\n
Those high stakes resonated with voters in a place where statewide elections are frequently decided by decimal points. Hong was seen as more of a gamble \u2013 and it didn\u2019t help that when some voters just started paying attention, they found headlines focused on old tweets about canceling Thanksgiving or defunding the police, putting Hong on the defensive.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo those were the first things some people learned about her, while the first thing they learned about Crowley was that Governor Evers endorsed him,\u201d said Michael Wagner, the director of the University of Wisconsin-Madison\u2019s journalism school, who researches political communication. \u201cI don\u2019t think it was a huge effect, but it didn\u2019t need to be.\u201d<\/p>\n
Crowley, 40, became the first Black person to hold the role of Milwaukee county executive in 2020, just a decade after conservative Scott Walker, who would go on to become governor and dismantle workers\u2019 rights, held the same role.<\/p>\n
\u201cNow that this primary has come to a close, allow me to reintroduce myself,\u201d Crowley told a cheering crowd after his win on Wednesday morning. \u201cMy name is David Crowley. I am a son of Milwaukee. I\u2019m a community organizer by heart who has just happened to find themselves in the halls of the state capitol building, at the head of Milwaukee county government for the last six years.\u201d<\/p>\n
While the results of a single race should not be overread, Hong\u2019s loss is not an outright rebuke of a growing progressive movement, but more a sign that a democratic socialist can mount a serious race \u2013 even in a midwestern swing state. In prior years, she might have finished in third or fourth place, rather than become the clear frontrunner.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf folks overlook the growing power of people like Hong supporters, they will be doing a disservice to themselves and to the work ahead,\u201d said Joe Zepecki, the Wisconsin Democratic consultant. \u201cAnd we have to take these people seriously. We have to find space for them in the pro-democracy movement and in Democratic campaigns. It is the only way to build an enduring majority.\u201d<\/p>\n
Hong threw her support behind Crowley on Wednesday morning. She had previously vowed to use the grassroots movement she grew statewide to help whoever won the Democratic nomination. The Democratic gubernatorial candidates had brunch together, in a show of unity. Their work now shifts to November, and defeating Tiffany, who quickly tried to tie Crowley to Hong and her \u201csocialist agenda\u201d.<\/p>\n
There were strong paths to victory in a general for both Hong and Crowley, Zepecki said. For Hong, it was turning out younger voters or those disaffected by the Democratic party. For Crowley, it\u2019s more about reaching independents and moderate Republicans, while bringing in Hong\u2019s enthusiastic primary voters. But the headwinds against Republicans are strong, and Tiffany\u2019s lockstep alignment with the Trump administration will probably haunt him on the campaign trail.<\/p>\n
Crowley, although backed by figures in the Democratic establishment, has bristled at the suggestion that he is an establishment candidate. \u201cHe\u2019s just somebody who\u2019s going to win people over once you meet him in the room,\u201d said Dan Shafer, a Wisconsin journalist who runs the local publication the Recombobulation Area. \u201cAnd I think once he was actually able to get out and do that a little bit more, he found some real success with it.\u201d<\/p>\n
Polls of the race showed Hong with a runaway lead. They failed to detect Crowley\u2019s surge back into the race.<\/p>\n