Former Vice President Kamala Harris visited Milwaukee on Monday to campaign for Democratic gubernatorial candidate David Crowley.
If elected, Crowley would be Wisconsin’s first Black governor. He has been Milwaukee County’s executive since 2020.
"The measure of the strength of a leader is based on who you lift up, not who you put down," Harris said Monday night. "You all know David better than most. He is someone who, unlike some other people who are constantly looking in the mirror, David is looking at the people. That’s the kind of leader we want.”
Harris appeared at the Pfister Hotel in downtown Milwaukee alongside Crowley's wife, Erika. The two specifically encouraged women to get out to the polls on Nov. 3.
"I know this is a 'Women for Crowley' event," she said. "Having been the first woman in every position I've had except once when I was the second woman ... all these really smart reporters would come up to me and they'd say 'So, talk to us about women's issues.' And I'd look at them and I would say 'I'm so glad you want to talk about the economy.'"
Harris highlighted Crowley's stances on reproductive rights, childcare costs and Medicare funding. Her visit came as polls show Crowley neck-and-neck with Republican candidate and Congressman Tom Tiffany.
In a written statement, Tiffany responded to Harris’ support for Crowley by saying “Wisconsin rejected Kamala Harris once, and now it’s time to reject David Crowley and his tax-hiking, spending spree, and toll road agenda.”
Harris lost the presidential election to Donald Trump in 2024. In Wisconsin, she lost by less than a percentage point.
Harris and former President Barack Obama have been campaigning across the country for Democratic candidates for governor and Congress.
As Americans remain concerned with the cost of living and ongoing war in Iran, both hope to encourage disenchanted Republicans to vote for blue candidates.
