Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley Reenters Wisconsin Governor Democratic Primary
Select a version of the text written from a presumed ideological perspective. This is not the original text, but a hypothetical version — how someone with that viewpoint might have phrased it. Tapping the current version again will return to the original or select cleaned version.
David Crowley announced his return to the Democratic gubernatorial primary in Wisconsin after Lt. Gov. Sara Rodriguez withdrew amid a campaign-finance controversy.
Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley said he will rejoin the Democratic primary for Wisconsin governor on Saturday, less than two weeks after he suspended his campaign and endorsed Lt. Gov. Sara Rodriguez. The decision follows Rodriguez’s abrupt exit on Friday, which she attributed to financial irregularities that could distract the party’s effort to retain the governor’s office.
Rodriguez posted on social media that ongoing issues in her campaign’s finances would be a “distraction” and that she could not, in good conscience, allow “these questions to become a cloud over an election Democrats need to win.”
Crowley, who grew up in Milwaukee’s 53206 ZIP code and previously highlighted his experience overcoming homelessness and serving in the state Assembly before becoming the county’s first Black executive, will face fellow Democrats Francesca Hong, a democratic socialist, and former Lt. Gov. Mandela Barnes in the August 11 primary.
Republican Rep. Tom Tiffany is the expected general-election opponent, with only nominal primary opposition on the GOP side. Democrats aim to keep the governor’s seat and potentially flip the state legislature, which has been under Republican control since 2011.
Barnes campaign manager Darby O’Connor criticized Crowley’s comeback, calling it a “Hail Mary” that could benefit the Republican candidate.
The primary will determine the Democratic nominee who will challenge Tiffany in the November election.