According to a call by the Associated Press, Democrat David Crowley has won the Wisconsin Democratic primary for governor. He beat three other Democratic rivals, most notably, state representative and democratic socialist Francesca Hong, who was the frontrunner according to polls.
Hong had amassed a significant amount of buzz this election season. The race received national attention, as Democratic voters around the country decide between progressive and more moderate candidates to represent them.
At 40, Crowley is currently the youngest Milwaukee County executive in history, and he would be Wisconsin’s first Black governor, if elected. He was endorsed by outgoing Democratic Gov. Tony Evers after some shake-ups in the Democratic field.
He will now face Congressman Tom Tiffany, who easily won the Republican primary on Tuesday.
Candidate watch parties across Wisconsin fizzle without clear winner
A human error in transferring the results of 28,000 absentee ballots counted in Milwaukee County caused a major delay in reporting the election results. That error was reported around midnight by City of Milwaukee Election Commission Executive Director Paulina Gutierrez. Gutierrez explained that five of the nine flash drives with election results only contained audit logs of the ballots cast and not actual results. She described it as a human error that forced the election commission to return to the central vote counting facility and re-downloading the results.
This impacted celebrations at the Democratic front-runners' watch parties.
The mood at Milwaukee Country Executive David Crowley's watch party at the Hyatt Regency in downtown Milwaukee shifted after the announcement after the delay. U.S. Rep. Gwen Moore took the stage to thank Crowley's supporters and suggest that they head home and continue to follow the results on television. Crowley did not address the crowd. Supporters filtered out over the next hour until the event concluded after 1 a.m.
Meanwhile, supporters of Francesca Hong remained energized even as results slowly rolled in at her watch party at the Atwood Music Hall on Madison's east side. They listened to 90’s dance hits, soul and pop music, cheering whenever the large TV screen in the middle of the room showed progressive candidates doing well around the country in Tuesday’s primaries.
But the margin between her and Democratic centrist rival David Crowley remained neck-and-neck, fluctuating from dead even to a tenth of a point difference to four tenths of a point.
Addressing the crowd before the results were finalized, Hong re-emphasized her mission, which she said was "fighting to become once more what Wisconsin has always been."
She said that's a place where the future isn't determined by corporations and billionaires but "by the working class people who live here." She said they fought through this primary "because Wisconsinites have rejected the politics of fear, of apathy, and division."
"We are here tonight because thousands and thousands of Wisconsinites across this great state came together in living rooms, in backyards, in bars, in church basements, in community centers, and we came together to demand something new and something better."
"We have built something that will change politics forever. The work we have done will be remembered forever, " she told the crowd from a stage. "We are fighting for each other. And in 11 weeks, no matter who's on this ballot, y'all, we are going to fight to win for one another."
A dramatic Democratic primary
The Democratic primary this year had many twists and turns. First, former Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation secretary Missy Hughes dropped out, endorsing Lieutenant Governor Sara Rodriguez. Crowley dropped out on July 8 and endorsed Rodriguez, citing a need to consolidate moderate voters. Then, news broke of financial mismanagement by Rodriguez’s campaign. When Rodriguez dropped out, Crowley got back in, bolstered by the endorsement of Evers late in the campaign. Then, former lieutenant governor and U.S. Senate candidate Mandela Barnes dropped out after reports surfaced of concerning behavior towards women.
Meanwhile, voters who had already cast ballots were locked into their choices.
Despite this, and despite a strong grassroots campaign by Francesca Hong, Crowley positioned himself as a “bridge builder,” a moderate Democrat who could work across the aisle and appeal to general election voters after the primary.
He’s focused on affordable housing, racial equity, and reducing opioid overdose deaths. Crowley helped secure a bipartisan shared revenue deal from the Republican-controlled state Legislature, which brought more money to local governments and brought some property tax relief, even though some criticized the bill as having too many strings attached. But he’s also had to deal with the lapse of a healthcare contract that provided insurance for thousands of county employees. And he’s been executive at a time when Milwaukee County is projected to face a $168 million budget deficit by 2031.
Looking forward to November
Crowley will face Wisconsin GOP Congressman Tom Tiffany in the general election. He handily won the Republican primary on Tuesday, earning 95% of the vote against his lesser-known opponent Andy Manske.
Supporters at Tiffany's election watch party in Hartland, Wis. on Tuesday evening chanted "Tom" and reacted in unison to his call and response "You Betcha!" campaign slogan. Tiffany addressed supporters, saying the race for governor is “bigger than one party.”
"This isn't a typical election about red versus blue," he said. "This is an election about the very soul of the state of Wisconsin."
He currently represents the state’s 7th congressional district, which covers most of northern and western Wisconsin. He was endorsed by President Donald Trump. Tiffany has raised more than $13 million since January 2026, with more than $10 million of that coming through transfers from the Wisconsin Republican Party.
Tiffany supports many of Trump’s policies, including tariffs and his immigration crackdown, and he voted against a resolution that would have directed Trump to stop attacking Iran. He voted against certifying the 2020 election results when Trump falsely claimed that he won the election over then-Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden.
On abortion, after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in 2022, Tiffany co-sponsored a federal bill that would ban abortions nationwide after six weeks of pregnancy. But once he started running for governor in 2025, he noted that, as a legislator, he voted for the 20-week ban that’s now law in the state.
Tiffany promised that if elected "I will make Wisconsin great again by lowering utility rates and property taxes, cutting burdensome red tape, rooting out waste and fraud, and restoring common-sense leadership to Madison."
Tiffany won Tuesday’s GOP primary earning 95% of the vote against his lesser-known opponent Andy Manske. Supporters at his election watch party in Hartland chanted "Tom" and reacted in unison to his call and response "You Betcha!" campaign slogan. Tiffany addressed supporters, saying the race for governor is “bigger than one party.”
"This isn't a typical election about red versus blue," he said. "This is an election about the very soul of the state of Wisconsin."
Editor's note: WUWM's Akira Quinn, Katherine Kokal, Eddie Morales, Ann-Elise Henzl, Maureen McCollum and Cherita Booker contributed to this report.
