Crowley projected to defeat Hong in Wisconsin Democratic gubernatorial primary

Wisconsin’s gubernatorial primary is raising new questions over polling, turnout and how Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley managed to pull off the win over democratic socialist Francesca Hong. Meanwhile in Minnesota, Republicans avoided nominating businessman Mike Lindell despite President Trump’s endorsement in the GOP gubernatorial primary, and Democrats had a key Senate primary. Plus, South...

Representative Mark Pocan (D-WI) discusses the closely contested Democratic gubernatorial primary, where David Crowley narrowly edged out Francesca Hong by a margin of just a few thousand votes. Pocan addresses the implications of this tight race for the upcoming general election against Republican Tom Tiffany, emphasizing the challenges the Democratic Party may face in uniting its base around Crowley. He speaks with Kailey Leinz on the late edition of Bloomberg's “Balance of Power.” (Source: Bloomberg)

Francesca Hong's DSA ties and defunding the police comments fueled electability fears that drove Wisconsin Democratic primary voters to David Crowley.

State of the Union: The win is a major victory for establishment Democrats over the surging DSA-aligned left flank. The post Major Upset in WI Dem Governor Primary as Crowley Beats Hong appeared first on The American Conservative.

Democratic socialist Francesca Hong fell just short as David Crowley strives for unity for November’s general electionDemocratic socialist Francesca Hong was on course to win the party’s nomination for Wisconsin governor on Wednesday by a clear margin, according to the polls – presaging the latest in an extraordinary wave of leftwing victories across the country, challenging the party’s establishment.It was not to be. In a photo finish after a messy campaign, David Crowley eked out a win by a few thousand votes over Hong, raising questions over the limits of the progressive movement that has swept through Democratic contests in recent months. Continue reading...

After polling showed progressive Francesca Hong up by double digits, the establishment-backed David Crowley won the Democratic nomination for governor in Wisconsin.

Wisconsin Democrats chose David Crowley over DSA member Francesca Hong after Tony Evers rallied behind him, calling him "the future of the party."

A shifting race and a key endorsement helped the moderate Democrat overcome his progressive challenger, Francesca Hong, voters said.

In a surprise upset, Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley prevailed over Representative Francesca Hong, a democratic socialist favored by polling up until the final moments.

Following a chaotic race for Wisconsin governor, moderate Democrat David Crowley defeated progressive Francesca Hong on Tuesday night.  Although Hong held a convincing lead in many of Tuesday’s polls, she lost by about 4,000 votes—a narrow 0.5 percentage point. As someone presenting herself as a member of the Democratic Socialists of America and without endorsements […]

Establishment-backed Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley upset pollsters in Wisconsin's Democrat gubernatorial primary on Tuesday, narrowly defeating socialist Francesca Hong to win the Democrat nomination. The post Meet David Crowley, Surprise Winner over Francesca Hong in Wisconsin Democrat Gubernatorial Primary appeared first on Breitbart.

Moderate Democrat David Crowley won the Wisconsin primary for governor, defeating a democratic socialist who fell short while trying to deliver another win for progressives in a battleground state.Crowley, the Milwaukee county executive, is vying to become Wisconsin’s first Black governor and pitched himself as the candidate best positioned to win in November against Republican U.S. Rep. Tom Tiffany, who is endorsed by President Donald Trump.Crowley narrowly defeated democratic socialist Francesca Hong, who was hoping to ride the wave of recent victories by progressive candidates, including Abdul El-Sayed in neighboring Michigan’s U.S. Senate race last week.El-Sayed’s win was the movement’s first major success in a purple state. It also fed fears in the party’s leaders that such candidates, farther afield and often carrying political baggage of past stances such as defunding the police, would struggle to beat Republicans and imperil the party’s hopes of recapturing control of the U.S. Senate and U.S. House.Crowley didn’t address supporters Tuesday night but was expected at a unity event later Wednesday.“Now, David is 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,” Crowley’s campaign manager Garren Randolph said in a statement.Hong’s loss in Wisconsin may have doused the momentum, but it’s far from snuffing it out. A democratic socialist coming close to victory in a battleground state sends a clear message: There’s unignorable angst among the party’s voters.“We have built something that will change politics forever,” Hong told supporters as the outcome of the race hung in the balance late Tuesday. “The work we have done will be remembered forever. I know we don’t have the final results right now, but what I do know is we are ready to keep fighting.”Her campaign manager Becky Cooper said after Hong conceded that she was “proud of the race we ran.”“Our team campaigned clean, our souls are intact and we really made meaningful change for the progressive movement,” she said.The Associated Press declared Crowley the winner once Hong’s concession removed the possibility of a recount in the exceptionally close race.Hong could have requested a recount since Crowley’s margin of victory was less than 1 percentage point. But because it was wider than 0.25 points, Hong’s campaign would have had to pay for it. Sanders and other top progressives stayed out of the Wisconsin race Progressives had wanted to notch a clear win, but national progressive leaders, most notably Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders and U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, sat out the race and did not endorse.The movement is not entirely aligned. Not all candidates are democratic socialists or have endorsements from Sanders, but they are often tilling similar voter anger with politics and the party: over military aid to Israel, the amount of money wielded in campaigns, the Trump administration’s immigration raids and the high cost of daily life.In New York City in the June primary elections, two democratic socialist candidates and a progressive came out on top, booting two Democratic incumbents from Congress in the process. All three were backed by the city’s mayor, Zohran Mamdani, himself a democratic socialist who framed the upsets as a question of electing “better Democrats.”Democrats in Wisconsin are hoping to capitalize on low approval ratings for Trump in a state he won in 2016 and 2024 to retain control of the governor’s office and flip both chambers of the Legislature to earn full control of Wisconsin state government for the first time since 2010. Wisconsin Democrats are hoping to unite after tight primary battle Both Hong and Crowley said in the waning days of the race that they expected Democrats to come together and unite to defeat Tiffany, a congressman from conservative, rural northern Wisconsin.“Our ultimate goal is to make sure we don’t have a MAGA extremist occupying the governor’s office,” Crowley said Sunday.Democrat David Zimmerman, a 79-year-old retired industrial engineer professor in Madison, voted for Crowley on Tuesday. He said Hong’s chance of beating Tiffany in November “worries me a lot.”“I think she’s going to have trouble winning,” he said.The photo finish is just the latest twist in a chaotic primary that saw two major candidates drop out amid scandals. Crowley had also dropped out in early July, but he got back in 10 days later with Gov. Tony Evers’ endorsement.Both of them crisscrossed the state in the final week, making the case that Crowley was the better matchup against Tiffany in a swing state known for close elections where independent, moderate voters often decide the outcome. Democratic socialist shook up Wisconsin race, fueled by national movement Hong, a single mother and former line cook, tapped into Democratic anger with the party’s mainstream and Trump’s “Make America Great Again” movement. The 37-year-old known for sprinkling her comments with profanity and leaning into her edgy and sometimes humorous social media profile excited the liberal wing of the party. Hong called for free childcare and healthcare and a moratorium on artificial intelligence data center construction. But she also wrestled with her past support for defunding the police, saying at the race’s only debate that she would not support cutting law enforcement funding.She also drew criticism for past social media posts in which she called for canceling Thanksgiving because “we should stop celebrating colonialism” and disparaged Valentine’s Day as “another day capitalism tells you how to show love.”Hong has since downplayed the posts as her attempt at making jokes. Chaotic Democratic primary saw candidates drop, come back in Evers’ decision not to seek a third term created an open race for governor that initially had seven Democrats file to run.Lt. Gov. Sara Rodriguez appeared to be making a move to consolidate mainstream Democratic support in July, but she dropped out in the middle of the month amid a campaign finance scandal. That led Crowley, who had dropped out a week earlier and endorsed Rodriguez, to get back in the race, this time with Evers’ backing.Former Lt. Gov. Mandela Barnes, who was seen as an early front-runner after nearly beating Republican U.S. Sen. Ron Johnson in 2022, bowed out less than two weeks before the election amid questions about inappropriate behavior.In one more twist, reporting the results of about 28,000 absentee ballots from Milwaukee was delayed until early Wednesday morning after a human error related to uploading the data, the city’s election leader said shortly before midnight Tuesday. Associated Press reporter Jesse Bedayn contributed. —Scott Bauer, Associated Press

Crowley narrowly defeated democratic socialist Hong, who was hoping to ride the wave of recent victories by progressive candidates, including Abdul El-Sayed in neighboring Michigan's U.S. Senate race last week.

Sabato’s Crystal Ball shifted the Wisconsin governor’s race towards Democrats after a late night win for Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley over democratic socialist Francesca Hong. The election handicapper changed the race from a “toss up” to one that leans Democratic following Crowley’s victory.  His win bucked a series of polls that showed Crowley with...

David Crowley's win by less than a percentage point over state Rep. Francesca Hong, a democratic socialist, showed neither side of the party debate was winning the argument convincingly.

David Crowley spoke to supporters after pulling off a win in a close Democratic primary for Wisconsin governor against Francesca Hong.

Moderate Democrat David Crowley narrowly defeated Democratic Socialist Francesca Hong in Wisconsin’s primary for governor. But Progressives showed strength elsewhere in the Midwest, with Minnesota Lieutenant Governor Peggy Flanagan projected to beat US Representative Angie Craig in the Democratic primary for the state’s open US Senate seat. Bloomberg's Tyler Kendall reports. (Source: Bloomberg)

Moderate Democrat David Crowley won the Wisconsin primary for governor, defeating a democratic socialist who fell short while trying to deliver another win for progressives in a battleground state.

Democratic Socialist of America member and Wisconsin state legislator Francesca Hong has lost the Democratic nomination to be the state’s gubernatorial candidate. In Tuesday night’s Wisconsin Democratic gubernatorial primary, Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley was declared the victor by the Associated Press early Wednesday morning at 3:34 a.m. EDT, capturing 39.8% of the vote to...

Moderate David Crowley will beat Democratic socialist Francesca Hong in the Wisconsin Democratic gubernatorial primary, CBS News projects. Anthony Salvanto looks at the electoral map, and Fin Gómez has more analysis.

Despite a messy gubernatorial primary in which multiple candidates dropped out, polling front-runner and democratic socialist Francesca Hong was edged out by center-left candidate David Crowley.

Moderate David Crowley narrowly won Wisconsin's Democratic gubernatorial primary, upsetting democratic socialist Francesca Hong, CBS News projects. Ed O'Keefe explains how the race unfolded.

Francesca Hong’s defeat shows that she may have been too far left even for progressives, as a razor-thin margin in Midwest state pushes David Crowley to victory, writes John Bowden

The narrow victory for the Milwaukee County Executive over socialist Francesca Hong was a win for Dem Party 'establishment.'

Establishment-backed candidate David Crowley defeated Democratic socialist Francesca Hong in the primary race for Wisconsin governor. The Democratic ideological divide was on display in closely watched primaries across the country but Progressives still rode a winning wave in other key races. NBC’s Ryan Nobles reports for TODAY on the election results.

Crowley's victory was celebrated in Democratic Party HQ after Hong's astonishing rise sparked fears of surging nationwide progressive momentum.

Centrist David Crowley is projected to have beaten democratic socialist Francesca Hong, breaking a recent nationwide trend.

Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley on Wednesday eked out a stunningly narrow win against democratic socialist Francesca Hong in the Democratic party primary for the Wisconsin governor's race. Crowley's win by less than a percentage point comes as the party faces a divide between establishment candidates and an insurgent progressive movement ahead of the 2026 US midterm elections. 

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. Continue reading...

Moderates scored a win in Wisconsin’s Democratic gubernatorial primary as David Crowley bested democratic socialist Francesca Hong.

The upset victory by David Crowley, the Milwaukee County executive, over Francesca Hong, a democratic socialist, sets up a more traditional general election in November.

David Crowley unexpectedly beat a progressive candidate in the Democratic primary for Wisconsin governor, and will face Republican Rep. Tom Tiffany on the ballot in November.

David Crowley defeated DSA member Francesca Hong in Wisconsin's Democratic gubernatorial primary, setting up a general election against Rep. Tom Tiffany.

Democratic socialist Francesca Hong lost a tight race in the Wisconsin gubernatorial primary.

Democratic socialist Francesca Hong is locked in a tight race against David Crowley in Wisconsin’s primary for governor.

Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley has defeated democratic socialist Francesca Hong in the wide-open Wisconsin governor’s race, Decision Desk HQ projects. Crowley, with support from retiring Gov. Tony Evers (D), pulled off an upset and bested HOng in a blow to the party’s far-left flank amid concerns that such candidates could be a liability for...

Moderate Democrat David Crowley is projected to defeat Democratic Socialist Francesca Hong in Wisconsin’s primary for governor, according to Decision Desk HQ, an upset in a race that became a test of the party’s ideological direction.

Milwaukee County executive David Crowley emerged the victor in the hard-fought Democratic primary for Wisconsin governor against democratic socialist state Rep. Francesca Hong early Wednesday – giving the Democratic establishment a much-needed boost in light of recent progressive wins. Decision Desk HQ projected the race for Crowley, who enjoys Gov. Tony Evers’s (D) endorsement, at around 2:20 am EDT. Crowley was ahead of Hong...

Votes are still being counted in the Wisconsin Democratic primary for governor, with Rep. Francesca Hong and Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley separated by only a few hundred votes. NBC News’ Steve Kornacki looks at the numbers as well as races in South Carolina, Minnesota, and Connecticut.

The Democratic primary for Wisconsin governor, widely seen as a key test of the progressive wing’s strength, was too close to call late Tuesday, with Democratic Socialist Francesca Hong locked in a tight race against establishment-backed David Crowley.

Democratic voters will pick their nominee for governor in Wisconsin today. Democratic socialist Francesca Hong is facing off against moderate David Crowley in the primary. CBS News' Taurean Small reports.

The Democratic Party could take another decisive turn as Francesca Hong faces David Crowley for the gubernatorial nomination on Tuesday. Hong is a state legislator and member of the Democratic Socialists of America. Crowley is viewed as the establishment candidate, being endorsed by Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers. Tuesday’s open primary race is another instance of...