Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley has won the Democratic nomination for governor of Wisconsin, according to a race call by the Associated Press. He narrowly defeated state Rep. Francesca Hong, a democratic socialist whose campaign had challenged the party establishment.

Crowley had at one point actually suspended his foundering campaign, facing low poll ratings and scarce campaign funds. But he relaunched it days later with the backing of outgoing Democratic Gov. Tony Evers in an effort to turn back the momentum by Hong.

The Hong loss comes after progressives saw a series of wins in recent primaries around the country. But the narrow margin of the loss still signals Democratic voters seeking change.

Archived at https://web.archive.org/web/20260812111514/https://www.npr.org/2026/08/12/nx-s1-5927119/2026-minnesota-governor-primary-election-crowley-hong

  • njm1314
    3·
    3 hours ago

    .5% is beyond razor thin. That is a skin of your teeth type victory. Surprised there isn’t some kind of automatic recount with that margin actually.

  • givesomefucksEnglish
    321·
    9 hours ago

    Sucks it wasn’t Hong, she was only down ~200 votes when I stopped watching last night, ended up losing by only 3,200

    Silver lining tho, is were already at the point where the “moderate” isn’t really that moderate:

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Crowley_(Wisconsin_politician)

    Although I’m sure people are going to claim the guy who sued Milwaukee police with the ACLU, is pro-cop in an attempt to depress dem turnout:

    https://www.aclu.org/press-releases/state-legislator-joins-aclu-lawsuit-against-stop-and-frisk-program-milwaukee-police

    He might not be as progressive as Hong, but him being “the moderate” in a race in 2026 is a good sign the Overton window is returning to normal.

    If Hong wasn’t in the race, Crowley would have been portrayed as a radical extremist by the media. Because they’ll always treat the left most option like that.

    • Oarel
      43·
      5 hours ago

      Americans love economic populism. They want another New Deal.

      But they are completely turned off by college campus culture warrior performative activism. They love cops. And they are terrified of the word socialism. And many voters don’t accept the slightest mistake from female candidates.

      The ideal candidate to win a presidential election is a white christian cop who is a former military veteran. And who is economically populist. Just don’t use the word socialism. This dude would win every single state in a landslide.

      • UnderpantsWeevilEnglish
        6·
        5 hours ago

        But they are completely turned off by college campus culture warrior performative activism.

        Turnout in the Wisconsin Dem primary was head-and-shoulders above the GOP race. People are excited to vote for an anti-Trump candidate and they’re bickering on the margins over who the best person for the job will be.

        To say they’re “turned off”, you need to explain where the 310,230 people who voted for Hong came from. Nevermind the 32,237 that went to Barnes even after withdrawing. Clearly, culture warriors aren’t so unpopular that they can’t generate an enormous and enthusiastic base of support.

        Just don’t use the word socialism.

        The Republicans, the neoliberals, and the national media are going to call you a socialist whether you run as one or not.

        If you’ve got popular policies and a socialist outlook, might as well put them both on the ballot together. The crown jewel of American Capitalism, NYC, just put an out-and-proud Socialist Mayor. If you can win there, you can win anywhere.