The race was close, but in the end Milwaukee County executive David Crowley won the Democrat Gubernatorial primary defeating Francesca Hong, the far left socialist candidate and heavy favorite.
Crowley (shown in an AP photo right) is vying to become Wisconsin's first black governor and has pitched himself as the candidate best positioned to win in November against Republican U.S. Representative Tom Tiffany, who is endorsed by President Donald Trump, and won overwhelmingly in the GOP primary.
Crowley had actually dropped out of the race before re-entering in an effort to stop Hong. He then received the endorsement of outgoing Democratic Gov. Tony Evers, giving him a significant boost.
He was viewed as the more moderate candidate and attracted considerable outside spending —more than $3 million, according to People. Some polls had Hong leading by as many as 30 points going into the primary.
Hong's Democratic-Socialist label and some of her controversial past statements became issues during the campaign. Those controversies included past comments about abolishing police and Thanksgiving, which opponents used to question whether she could win a general election.
Although Hong received support from some prominent progressives, she did not receive endorsements from figures such as Bernie Sanders and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, endorsements that could have swung the election.
Daniel Degner is president of Wisconsin Family Action.
“What we learned in Wisconsin last night is that voters in swing states overwhelmingly reject a far left socialist agenda. I'm really glad to see that socialism is not taking over our state."
Real Clear Polling shows Crowley with a two-point advantage in general election polls against Tiffany.
Degner says when it comes to the issues there will be a clear choice between the two candidates in November.
“That is within the margin of error. So, what we are going to expect in Wisconsin is what we expect in Wisconsin, every election. And that's tight elections. Those are elections that come down to less than 30,000 votes statewide. If you look at 2016, 2020, 2024 … those races all came down to about a percentage point.
Voter turnout for the general will be extremely important.
“There's even more of an importance to vote now because in Wisconsin, every vote matters. And we saw that last night with this election coming down to less than 3000 votes statewide. It will be a very tight race as we look at November."
There's a clear contrast between the two candidates, Degner said.
"Tom Tiffany has been very strong on social issues, strong on saving women's sports, strong on the life issue, all these really important issues for Christians," he said.
Crowley, considered the moderate choice in the Democratic Primary, "campaigned openly on advancing the LBGTQ agenda. We have a Democrat who is campaigning on advancing the abortion agenda, on limiting school choice opportunities for families."
