Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley narrowly defeated Democratic Socialists of America member Francesca Hong in Wisconsin's gubernatorial primary, a result that dealt a blow to the progressive left in one of the nation's most competitive swing states.
Hong, a 37-year-old state legislator who campaigned on hiking taxes for the wealthy and once called for abolishing police departments, conceded the race early Wednesday after calling Crowley to acknowledge his lead of more than 3,200 votes out of more than 787,000 ballots cast. The margin stood at 0.41 percentage points as of 6 a.m. ET, the New York Post reported.
Crowley, 40, will now face Trump-endorsed GOP Rep. Tom Tiffany in November. If he wins, he would become Wisconsin's first Black governor.
The primary result capped a chaotic Democratic contest marked by multiple candidate dropouts, a late establishment scramble, and a fierce internal debate over whether a self-described socialist could survive a general election in a state that has decided its last several major races by razor-thin margins.
Crowley had initially dropped out of the governor's race and endorsed Lt. Gov. Sara Rodriguez. But after Rodriguez and her predecessor, Mandela Barnes, both exited the race in recent weeks, Crowley jumped back in, with one clear purpose. He told reporters Monday that Hong's ideology was driving real fear inside the party.
"There are a lot of people who are scared. She is a self-proclaimed socialist. There are a lot of people worried about not just this party, but this country moving in that direction."
Outgoing Gov. Tony Evers endorsed Crowley and made little effort to hide his concerns about Hong's electability. In a Politico interview Friday, Evers would not commit to backing Hong if she won the primary. "I want to have a chance to take a breath, and once that's in a position, we'll see," Evers said, before adding, "But I anticipate that David will win."
That anticipation proved correct, though barely. The Washington Examiner reported that Hong had held a 22-point polling lead just four days before the primary. Crowley won with 39.8% of the vote to Hong's 39.4%.
Under Wisconsin law, a candidate trailing by under one percentage point may request a recount, but if the deficit exceeds 0.25 percentage points, the requesting candidate must pay for it. Hong chose not to pursue that option, Just The News reported, and the Associated Press called the race for Crowley after her concession.
Hong, a former dishwasher, line cook, and chef who dropped out of the University of Wisconsin, ran as a working-class progressive. But her past social media posts gave opponents, and fellow Democrats, plenty of ammunition.
In October 2021, Hong posted on X: "Police exist to uphold white supremacy. Defund then abolish. Reform can't be an option." A year earlier, she had posted, and later deleted, a message reading: "Cancel Thanksgiving. Should have done this in 1621." She also faced backlash over that deleted post as the primary heated up.
Ahead of the primary, Hong tried to walk back the Thanksgiving remarks in a CBS News interview: "I've cooked many great Thanksgiving dinners, and I'm not going to cancel Thanksgiving." The article also noted she had railed against Valentine's Day, though no specific quote was provided.
Critics in both parties saw these statements as disqualifying in a general election. Even former Obama adviser David Axelrod weighed in on X last week, calling Hong "a font of zany liberal, faculty lounge exotica." Hong fired back, calling Axelrod's criticism "a perfect example of why the consultant class keeps losing elections" and adding, "I've spent more time in kitchens than faculty lounges."
But the consultant class wasn't the only corner of progressive politics that kept its distance from Hong. Sen. Bernie Sanders and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, who had campaigned hard for far-left Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed ahead of his primary win in Michigan last week, declined to rally behind Hong in Wisconsin.
Rep. Ocasio-Cortez, asked about Hong's past remarks, told ABC's This Week: "My understanding is that Francesca Hong has made clear her present stances to her electorate and moved away from her prior comments." That lukewarm defense was the closest thing to national progressive support Hong received, National Review reported.
One of the more revealing details of the primary: Republican-allied groups, including the Republican Governors Association, spent $3.5 million on pro-Hong advertising. The strategy was straightforward, they believed her record would make her an easier opponent in November.
That gamble failed. But the Cook Political Report still rates the Wisconsin governor's race as a toss-up, and noted that Republicans may have had a slightly better chance of defeating Crowley than Hong in the general election. The logic: Crowley's moderate positioning could appeal to swing voters, but it also deprives Republicans of the easy contrast a self-described socialist would have provided.
Hong's loss also breaks a string of recent DSA primary victories across Pennsylvania, New York, Colorado, and Michigan, including the earlier election of Zohran Mamdani as New York City mayor.
Crowley's campaign manager, Garren Randolph, struck a conciliatory tone after the win, thanking Hong and other primary rivals by name.
"To Francesca, Kelda, Joel and every candidate who shared their vision for Wisconsin, thank you. They challenged all of us to think bigger about what our state can become."
Randolph added that Crowley was "focused on bringing people together, earning the support of Democrats, Republicans, Independents, and anyone who believes Wisconsin is at its best when we work together and deliver results."
Gov. Evers wasted no time posting on X: "I am so proud of David, he's the future of our Party, and I can't wait for him to be our next governor. For now, we polka. Tomorrow, we're back at work to win." He added a direct message to the Republican nominee: "Tom Tiffany, we'll see you in November."
Hong, for her part, told supporters Tuesday night in Madison that she had "built something that will change politics forever." Her campaign manager, Becky Cooper, said the team "campaigned clean, our souls are intact and we really made meaningful change for the progressive movement."
Hong's controversial record, from her evasive responses about canceling Thanksgiving to her calls to abolish police, became the defining issue of the primary. Whether Crowley can now consolidate the progressive voters who backed her while holding the center against Tiffany will determine whether the Democratic establishment's last-minute intervention was worth the gamble.
Wisconsin was not the only state holding primaries Tuesday. In Minnesota, Sen. Amy Klobuchar won the Democratic gubernatorial primary and will face Republican state House Speaker Lisa DeMuth in November, a race that will produce Minnesota's first female governor. Progressive Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan defeated moderate Rep. Angie Craig for the Democratic U.S. Senate nomination and will face former Emmy-winning NFL sideline reporter Michele Tafoya, a Republican, in the general election.
In Connecticut, 78-year-old Democratic Rep. John Larson, first elected to the House in 1998, lost his primary to former Hartford Mayor Luke Bronin, 46. And in South Carolina, the late Sen. Lindsey Graham's sister, state Sen. Darline Graham Nordone, advanced to a special Aug. 25 Republican Senate runoff against Rep. Ralph Norman.
Newsmax noted that the chaotic Wisconsin primary, with its multiple dropouts and delayed Milwaukee vote count, reflected broader turbulence inside the Democratic Party as it tries to balance grassroots progressive energy against general-election math in swing states.
Hong's broader legislative record, including her controversial votes in the state legislature, had already drawn scrutiny well before the primary reached its final stretch.
Wisconsin Democrats got the nominee their party leaders wanted. Now the question is whether a candidate chosen mainly because the alternative was too radical can generate enough enthusiasm to win a toss-up race in November, or whether "not the socialist" is a platform, not a mandate.
