Crowly pulls off last-minute victory in tight race after polls had shown his progressive opponent as a clear frontrunner
David Crowley, the Milwaukee county executive, pulled off a last-minute victory after re-entering the Wisconsin governor’s race and snagging an endorsement from Tony Evers, the outgoing governor.
The race came down to the wire, with Francesca Hong and Crowley running close to each other as each batch of results came in. Polls had shown Hong as a clear frontrunner in the race but with large chunks of voters still undecided and an ever-changing field of candidates, polling was difficult. Polls in Michigan similarly showed progressive Abdul El-Sayed with a more sizeable lead than he ended up with in his victory in the Democratic primary for US senate.
Hong, a chef and former restaurant owner from Madison, ran on a platform that included childcare for all, free school meals and a one-year moratorium on new datacenter construction. The datacenter piece, in particular, differentiated her from her Democratic colleagues in the governor’s race.
Tony Evers, a Democrat who has served as governor since 2019, did not seek re-election. He endorsed Crowley, who re-entered the race after leaving it earlier in the cycle.
