Democratic socialist Francesca Hong and moderate David Crowley were locked in a tighter-than-expected battle for Wisconsin's closely watched Democratic gubernatorial primary election on Tuesday (Aug 12), in a key test for the appeal of progressive candidates in the battleground state. With more than 90 per cent of the votes counted, the race between Hong and Crowley was too close to call. According to US media projections, Milwaukee County Executive Crowley carried a lead of just a few hundred votes over Hong, who is looking to become the first democratic socialist governor of Wisconsin.The nominee will face the Republican's pick, US Representative Tom Tiffany, in the November general election. The evening's primary results in the Upper Midwest also raised questions about the power of an endorsement by US President Donald Trump. In Minnesota, former MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell lost the Republican nomination for governor to Speaker of the Minnesota House of Representatives Lisa Demuth, despite the vocal backing of Trump.
Lindell is an enduring Trump ally and proponent of the false idea that the 2020 presidential election was stolen. Lindell received Trump's endorsement in May, when the president wrote on Truth Social, “Mike will be SPECTACULAR!!! He truly loves Minnesota, as do I, and wants to bring it back from oblivion and embarrassment. He can do it!”
