Two weeks after shuttering his bid for Wisconsin governor, David Crowley reentered the state’s Democratic primary on Saturday, with the Milwaukee County executive boasting a last-minute backing from outgoing Gov. Tony Evers in a seeming move to best position the party for success in November.
Evers had initially declined to endorse in the race, but threw his weight behind Crowley and resuscitated his bid to lead the swing state known for razor-thin election margins, where appealing to moderate and independent voters is crucial. It was the latest turn in a chaotic Democratic primary that has jeopardized the party’s chances this fall and comes after Lt. Gov. Sara Rodriguez said she was abandoning her campaign for the state’s top office after a campaign finance scandal,
Democrats are looking to November to secure full control of Wisconsin state government for the first time since 2010, and hope it will send a signal about where the country’s politics are headed by shaping a key political battleground that helps decide presidential campaigns.
In an event in Milwaukee Saturday relaunching his campaign, Crowley referenced the stakes, saying that “winning this election will require building the broadest possible coalition,” and touting his ability to forge relationships across partisan divides. And Evers’ endorsement, he went on, “reflects his confidence that I have the experience” to lead and to win.
Evers was on a trade visit to Africa and not in attendance at Crowley’s Saturday event but acknowledged in a social media post that he was now “all in” for Crowley, touting his executive leadership on issues including job creation and balancing budgets.
“He’s not just a candidate who can win in November, but he’s the kind of person who cares about doing the job right,” Evers wrote.
Crowley, 40, is reemerging into a competitive primary for Wisconsin’s open governor’s race that was turned on its head Friday with the departure of Rodriguez, who earlier in the week fired her campaign manager after discovering her campaign had hundreds of thousands of dollars less on hand than expected.
Now, as they approach Wisconsin’s primary election on Aug. 11, Democrats are hoping to hold onto the governor’s office as they also eye flipping majority control of the state Legislature, which Republicans have held since 2011.
The primary also comes following Democratic socialists’ earlier victories in the liberal strongholds of New York City, Washington, D.C., and Denver. Francesca Hong, a single mother who has worked as a dishwasher and line cook, is trying to do the same with her campaign for Wisconsin governor, with her candidacy turning the Democratic contest into a test of just how far left voters are willing to go in the November midterms.
Crowley, who would be the state’s first Black governor if elected, had shuttered his own bid two weeks ago to back Rodriguez. Now, he’s returning to a contest against Hong, former Lt. Gov. Mandela Barnes, state Sen. Kelda Roys and Joel Brennan, a former top aide to Evers.
Democrats have been struggling to overcome disarray in other messy primaries across this year’s midterm calendar. In California, the race to replace outgoing Gov. Gavin Newsom devolved into a chaotic free-for-all, with dozens of names on the ballot, and one of the leading contenders, Democratic Rep. Eric Swalwell, abruptly quit both his campaign and Congress following sexual assault allegations. Democrat Xavier Becerra and Republican Steve Hilton ultimately advanced from a “ jungle primary.”
In the first iteration of his campaign, Crowley leaned into his background, highlighting how his family was once homeless in Milwaukee but he rose to become a community organizer and was elected to the state Assembly in 2016 at age 30. He served until the middle of 2020, when he was elected as executive of Milwaukee County, the state’s largest county. He was the first Black person to hold that job and also the youngest at age 33.
The winner of the Democratic primary will advance to the general election against Republican Rep. Tom Tiffany, who faces only token primary opposition.
Tiffany’s campaign didn’t immediately return a message seeking comment on Crowley’s reemergence. In an email statement, the Republican Governors Association said that “watching Wisconsin Democrats is like watching a clown car crash into a parked semitruck.”
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Associated Press reporter Scott Bauer in Madison, Wisconsin contributed to this report.
