David Crowley wins Wisconsin governor’s race, keeping office in Democratic hands

Democrat David Crowley has won the Wisconsin governor’s race against Republican Rep. Tom Tiffany, NBC News projects, preserving Democratic control of the governor’s office in a crucial swing state. Crowley, the Milwaukee County executive, will succeed Tony Evers, a Democrat who served two terms and played a pivotal role in reviving Crowley’s campaign.

The result makes Crowley the first Black person elected governor of Wisconsin. At 40, he is also the youngest person elected to the position in almost 100 years. His victory came despite a substantial campaign funding disadvantage against Tiffany, whose congressional district covers a largely rural stretch of northern Wisconsin.

Crowley campaigned on reducing the financial pressure of everyday expenses, including childcare, healthcare and housing. His proposals relied primarily on increased state spending. He also emphasized his upbringing in one of Milwaukee’s poorest neighborhoods, where his family experienced poverty and homelessness while both parents struggled with drug addiction. Before becoming county executive in 2020, he served in the state Assembly and worked as a community organizer and political aide.

Tiffany faced a difficult national political environment for Republicans. Polling before Election Day showed Wisconsin voters becoming more negative toward President Donald Trump, and Crowley repeatedly used campaign advertising to portray Tiffany as closely aligned with the president. Tiffany had obtained Trump’s endorsement and avoided a competitive Republican primary.

Republicans sought to make Crowley’s record in Milwaukee County a liability, criticizing increases in property and sales taxes and his statements supporting undocumented immigrants. Three billionaire donors accounted for almost all of Tiffany’s fundraising advantage. As Republican advertising intensified, polls registered a sharp rise in unfavorable views of Crowley, reinforcing concerns among some Democrats about his limited time to establish himself statewide.

Crowley’s path to the nomination had been unusually uncertain. In July, with polling support in the low single digits, he suspended his primary campaign. Ten days later, he returned to the race with a major endorsement from Evers. State Rep. Francesca Hong, a democratic socialist, had held a clear polling lead ahead of the primary.

Moderate Democrats concerned that Hong’s politics would prevent her from winning a statewide general election rallied behind Crowley late in the contest. He secured the nomination by fewer than 4,000 votes. In the closing stages of the general election campaign, former President Barack Obama, former Vice President Kamala Harris and Maryland Gov. Wes Moore were among the prominent Democrats who supported him.

Crowley ultimately received a crucial boost from his Milwaukee County base and from Dane County. Those counties, Wisconsin’s two most populous and most strongly Democratic areas, helped carry him to victory after a campaign that had briefly appeared to be over during the summer.