Moderate Beats Socialist in Wisconsin — But Is He Really Moderate?
Intra-Party Split Detected
Democrats are split between establishment/moderate forces who backed Crowley as more electable and progressives/socialists who backed Hong; some progressive voters and activists feel betrayed by Evers' last-minute intervention and Sanders/AOC's refusal to endorse Hong, while others argue her loss protects the movement from a damaging general-election defeat.
Left says
- •Crowley's win reflects a deliberate, successful effort by the party establishment, including Gov. Tony Evers, to consolidate support behind the candidate seen as most electable against Tiffany, prioritizing pragmatism over ideology.
- •Hong's loss stemmed largely from resurfaced controversial statements, like comments on Thanksgiving and defunding police, that made electability a central concern for voters, not necessarily a rejection of left-wing policy ideas themselves.
- •The lack of endorsement from Sanders and Ocasio-Cortez signals that even prominent progressive leaders had doubts about Hong's viability in a swing state general election, not that the broader progressive movement is doomed.
- •Crowley's personal story of overcoming homelessness and rising through community organizing mirrors the working-class narrative Hong also campaigned on, suggesting both candidates appealed to similar economic anxieties even if packaged differently.
Right says
- •Crowley's record as Milwaukee County Executive, including expansive DEI programs, a racial equity lens applied to county decision-making, and opposition to a constitutional amendment banning race-based government preferences, undermines the 'moderate' label being applied to him.
- •Crowley's own past statements, including support for defunding police, abolishing prisons, ending school choice, and raising taxes to among the highest in the nation, suggest his policy positions closely track Hong's despite the differing rhetoric.
- •Milwaukee's history of ballot-counting delays and 'human error' in this race raises fresh concerns about election administration in a pivotal swing-state county.
- •Hong's defeat is being spun by some on the left as good for the socialist movement long-term, which suggests strategic retreat rather than a genuine ideological loss, and Republicans view Tiffany as facing an opponent whose substantive positions aren't meaningfully different from the socialist who lost.
Common Take
High Consensus- Crowley defeated Hong by a razor-thin margin of roughly 3,000 votes, about half a percentage point.
- Hong's past social media posts and statements, including remarks about Thanksgiving and defunding police, became major liabilities in the campaign's final stretch.
- Bernie Sanders and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez both declined to endorse Hong, unlike their support for other left-wing candidates this cycle.
- Crowley will face Trump-endorsed Rep. Tom Tiffany in November, and Tiffany's role in efforts to contest the 2020 election results is a matter of public record.
The Arguments
Left argues
Crowley's win shows the party establishment successfully coalesced around the candidate seen as most electable, prioritizing pragmatic concerns about swing-state viability over ideological purity, which is a legitimate and even necessary strategic function for a party trying to win a governorship.
Right counters
Calling this a 'pragmatic' or 'moderate' choice is misleading when Crowley's actual record includes expansive DEI mandates, opposition to a ban on race-based government preferences, and past support for defunding police—positions that track closely with Hong's, suggesting the primary was won on packaging and electability optics rather than any real ideological distinction.
Right argues
Crowley's own record as county executive—racial equity lenses applied to budgeting and parks funding, DEI hiring practices, opposition to anti-discrimination amendments, and past statements on defunding police and abolishing prisons—shows he is not meaningfully more moderate than Hong, just more disciplined in his public messaging.
Left counters
Voters and the party establishment clearly judged electability based on concrete red flags—Hong's viral comments on Thanksgiving and defunding police—not on parsing county-level administrative programs; the fact that Crowley won despite trailing by 20 points in his own polling suggests real, perceived differences mattered to the electorate regardless of underlying policy overlap.
Left argues
The lack of Sanders and Ocasio-Cortez endorsements reflects targeted concern about Hong's specific general-election liabilities in a swing state, not a broader indictment of progressive policy, especially since progressive candidates like Peggy Flanagan and Abdul El-Sayed won their primaries the same cycle with national progressive backing.
Right counters
If progressive icons like Sanders and AOC—who have no hesitation backing socialists elsewhere—wouldn't touch Hong, that is itself a damning signal about her specific unelectability, and Democrats openly celebrating her loss as 'good for the movement' reveals a strategic retreat that undercuts the claim this was merely candidate-specific rather than a broader ideological problem.
Right argues
Milwaukee's recurring ballot-counting delays and 'human error' in a razor-thin, nationally-watched race raise legitimate concerns about election administration competence in a pivotal swing-state county that will be scrutinized again in November.
Left counters
A slow but ultimately accurate count with a clear, uncontested margin is a sign of process working under pressure, not evidence of fraud or dysfunction, and conflating administrative delay with election integrity risk unfairly casts doubt on a legitimate result decided by thousands of votes.
Left argues
Crowley's personal story of overcoming homelessness and rising through community organizing demonstrates authentic working-class credibility that overlaps substantially with the economic populism Hong also championed, suggesting the primary was less about competing visions and more about competing biographies and risk tolerance.
Right counters
Shared humble origins don't erase the substantive policy record Crowley actually implemented in office—doubling the sales tax, raising property taxes to among the nation's highest, and expanding DEI bureaucracy—which are concrete governing choices, not just biography, and directly contradict the 'moderate' label the media is applying to him.
Challenge Questions
These questions target genuine internal contradictions — meant to provoke honest reflection.
Right asks Left
“If Hong's defeat is genuinely just about 'electability' and not a rejection of her underlying policies, why did the party establishment, including Governor Evers, feel it necessary to actively intervene and consolidate support against her rather than trusting voters to weigh electability themselves?”
Left asks Right
“If Crowley's actual policy record on DEI, taxation, and policing is functionally indistinguishable from Hong's, as conservative outlets argue, why does the right treat his win as uniquely alarming or newsworthy rather than simply another data point that Democratic primary voters—not just elites—chose him over the self-identified socialist?”
Outlier Report
Left Fringe
Democratic Socialists of America members and figures sympathetic to Hong's base (e.g., young DSA activists) who view Crowley's win as illegitimate establishment sabotage and reject the electability argument entirely; roughly 10-15% of the left holds this more combative view.
Right Fringe
Commentators like those at Blaze Media and Townhall pushing the narrative that Crowley is functionally identical to a socialist and that DEI policies constitute 'anti-white' discrimination represent a more aggressive framing than mainstream conservative or independent voters would use; this represents maybe 20-25% of the right's most vocal commentariat.
Noise Assessment
High amplification from both ideological media ecosystems (Blaze/Townhall on the right, HuffPost/Axios framing on the left) relative to how much ordinary swing-state voters care about the moderate-vs-progressive framing distinction, which is largely an elite political and media preoccupation.
Sources (10)
<p>Milwaukee County Executive <a href="https://www.axios.com/2026/08/09/democrats-populists-michigan-wisconsin-2028-test" target="_blank">David Crowley</a> narrowly defeated<strong> </strong>socialist <a href="https://www.axios.com/2026/08/09/democrats-populists-michigan-wisconsin-2028-test" target="_blank">Francesca Hong</a> by about 3,000 votes, dealing a blow to the progressive left's momentum Tuesday in Wisconsin's Democratic primary for governor, after his own polling indicated he was behind by nearly 20 points.</p><p><strong>Why it matters: </strong>Crowley's win could breathe new life into a center-left that had been losing primary after primary in recent months, from last week's<a href="https://www.axios.com/2026/08/05/michigan-senate-abdul-el-sayed-democrats" target="_blank"> Senate contest</a> in Michigan to<a href="https://www.axios.com/local/philadelphia/2026/05/20/pennsylvania-primary-election-results-chris-rabb-district-3" target="_blank"> House</a><a href="https://www.axios.com/2026/08/05/michigan-7th-district-will-lawrence-maasdam-brink" target="_blank"> races</a><a href="https://www.axios.com/2026/06/09/democrats-house-primary-california-villegas-bains" target="_blank"> across</a><a href="https://www.axios.com/local/denver/2026/07/01/colorado-primary-results-melat-kiros-beats-diana-degette" target="_blank"> the</a><a href="https://www.axios.com/local/detroit/2026/08/05/donavan-mckinney-defeats-shri-thanedar-in-michigans-13th-district-democratic-primary" target="_blank"> country</a>.</p><hr /><p><strong>Yes, but: </strong>The day wasn't a total loss for progressives.</p><ul><li>In the day's other big ideological showdown between Democrats, Minnesota Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan, a progressive, defeated moderate Rep. Angie Craig in Minnesota's Senate primary by 20 points.</li><li>Flanagan will face GOP nominee Michele Tafoya, a former NFL TV reporter, in November.</li><li>Democrats also nominated progressive Matt Little to replace Craig in Congress.</li></ul><p><strong>Results from other closely watched races Tuesday:</strong></p><ul><li>In South Carolina, Trump-endorsed Sen. Darline Graham, who replaced her brother Lindsey Graham after his death last month, advanced to an Aug. 25 GOP runoff against Rep. Ralph Norman for a full six-year term.</li><li>Minnesota Sen. Amy Klobuchar easily won the Democratic primary for governor and will face state House Speaker Lisa Demuth, who defeated Trump-endorsed Mike Lindell for the GOP nomination.</li><li>Rep. John Larson (D-Conn.), 78, a 14-term incumbent, lost to former Hartford Mayor Luke Bronin, 47, who called for generational change. Larson is the <a href="https://link.axios.com/click/47000463.114347/aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuYXhpb3MuY29tLzIwMjYvMDgvMDUvaG91c2UtZGVtb2NyYXRzLXByaW1hcnktc2hyaS10aGFuZWRhci0yMDI2P3V0bV9zb3VyY2U9bmV3c2xldHRlciZ1dG1fbWVkaXVtPWVtYWlsJnV0bV9jYW1wYWlnbj1uZXdzbGV0dGVyX2F4aW9zc25lYWtwZWVrJnN0cmVhbT10b3A/63d417065462737d110e2dfdB45c89149" target="_blank">seventh House Democrat</a> and 10th House member ousted in a primary this year.</li></ul><p><strong>Zoom in: </strong>Wisconsin Democrats now have to unite after the party establishment's successful last-minute scramble to stop Francesca Hong, a socialist who captured the support of many young people and activists.</p><ul><li>Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers endorsed Crowley as a panic broke out among many in the party that Hong could doom their chances in the fall.</li><li>Some Democratic voters Axios talked to were ticked off at the move. "I mean, is he trying to sabotage us?" former state party official Marga Krumins said of Evers' <a href="https://x.com/AnthonyAdragna/status/2084623182795776190" target="_blank">warning</a> that Hong likely couldn't defeat Tiffany. </li><li>Crowley explicitly campaigned on the idea that Hong was a liability in the general election, telling Axios, "People don't like socialists" and "socialists didn't poll very good."</li><li>Hong's past social media posts, including calls to "cancel Thanksgiving" and defund the police, dominated her campaign's final week.</li></ul><p><strong>More takeaways from Wisconsin:</strong></p><ol><li><strong>Wisconsin's November election will be historic. </strong>The GOP's nominee,<strong> </strong>Rep. Tom Tiffany, would be the first person who <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2021/01/07/us/elections/electoral-college-biden-objectors.html" target="_blank">voted to overturn</a> the 2020 presidential results to become governor of a top swing state if he won. And Crowley would be the first Black governor in Wisconsin history.</li><li><strong>Tiffany is trying to soften his rough edges,<a href="https://x.com/TomTiffanyWI/status/2044063746671218984" target="_blank"> branding himself</a> as a "girl dad" who grew up "milking cows on a Wisconsin dairy farm." </strong>He's <a href="https://x.com/TomTiffanyWI/status/2086986579713630253" target="_blank">campaigning</a> with former Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin. But now that Crowley has won, Republicans have an opponent they appear to have feared: A GOP group <a href="https://www.jsonline.com/story/news/politics/elections/2026/07/15/republican-group-plans-ad-blitz-highlighting-hong-dems-smell-a-rat/90936274007/?gnt-cfr=1&gca-cat=p&gca-uir=true&gca-epti=z11xx51p118950l004150c118950e1166xxv11xx51d--40--b--40--&gca-ft=188&gca-ds=sophi" target="_blank">spent millions on ads</a> propping up Hong, suggesting they viewed her as the weaker candidate.</li><li><strong>Tiffany could help unite Democrats.</strong> The way some progressive Democrats see it, they might have wanted Hong, but they can't risk Tiffany being governor in the 2028 presidential race given his efforts to overturn the 2020 election and his false claims there had been "hundreds of thousands of illegal votes" in Wisconsin. On the other hand, some Hong supporters are sure to be disillusioned.</li><li><strong>Hong fell short as her controversial posts surfaced and progressive leaders gave her the cold shoulder. </strong>Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders and New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez declined to endorse her. And as we followed her on the campaign trail, voters clearly had electability on their minds: She was asked at stop after stop about her former comments and how she would defeat Tiffany in the fall.</li></ol>
<p>Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley narrowly defeated state Rep. <a href="https://www.axios.com/2023/08/17/expanding-equitable-access-to-health-care-madison" target="_blank">Francesca Hong</a>, a <a href="https://www.axios.com/2026/06/17/democratic-sewer-socialism-modern-reboot" target="_blank">democratic socialist</a>, in Tuesday's Wisconsin Democratic primary for governor, the Associated Press reports.</p><p><strong>Why it matters:</strong> Hong's loss blunts progressives' recent momentum and hands moderate Democrats a chance to prove their electability in a crucial battleground state in November</p><ul><li>Crowley will vie to become Wisconsin's first Black governor.</li></ul><hr /><p><strong>Driving the news: </strong>Crowley managed to edge out Hong by about 3,000 votes Tuesday, with 98% of the <a href="https://apnews.com/projects/elections-2026/wisconsin-primary-results-governor/#Dem" target="_blank">votes counted</a>.</p><p><strong>Zoom out: </strong>The chaotic primary left moderate Democrats fractured, as some pursued other offices and others ended their campaigns over fundraising problems, lack of support or personal scandals. </p><ul><li>Hong <a href="https://apnews.com/article/b9fdd10aa19ff8fffe37beb402b95c7f" target="_blank">made</a> her working-class background central to her pitch to voters: A single mom and longtime service worker, she <a href="https://civicmedia.us/news/2026/05/21/from-wildcard-to-contender-the-rise-of-francesca-hong" target="_blank">dropped out</a> of college to cook full-time, <a href="https://www.pbs.org/newshour/politics/democratic-socialist-francesca-hong-tests-how-far-left-voters-will-go-in-battleground-wisconsin" target="_blank">rising</a> from dishwasher to executive chef before co-owning a restaurant that closed in 2024 after years of financial strain that began during the pandemic. </li><li>She faced scrutiny over past positions and social media posts she later <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2026/08/10/us/francesca-hong-positions-wisconsin-governor.html" target="_blank">walked back</a>, including calls to defund the police and criticism of Thanksgiving as a racist holiday.</li><li>Crowley similarly leaned on his <a href="https://www.pbs.org/newshour/politics/david-crowley-reenters-battleground-wisconsins-democratic-governor-primary-with-gov-evers-backing" target="_blank">own hardscrabble Milwaukee story</a>: His family was once homeless, and he rose from community organizer to state lawmaker and eventually county executive. </li></ul><p><strong>The intrigue: </strong>Hong fell short without the traditional heavyweight endorsements from the left's biggest stars.</p><ul><li>Sen. Bernie Sanders and New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez <a href="https://www.axios.com/2026/08/09/democrats-populists-michigan-wisconsin-2028-test" target="_blank">declined to endorse</a> Hong, focusing instead on congressional races.</li><li>Her opponent, Crowley, was backed by the state's top Democrat, Gov. Tony Evers, who said he offered Democrats their best chance to win.</li></ul><p><strong>Zoom out:</strong> Republicans were eager to run against Hong in November. Democrats said the Republican Governors Association's millions in ads <a href="https://www.wpr.org/news/gop-ads-attack-hong-liberal" target="_blank">served to boost</a> Hong.</p><ul><li>The bet didn't produce Republicans' preferred matchup. </li></ul><p><strong>What we're watching: </strong>Crowley will face <a href="https://www.axios.com/politics-policy/donald-trump" target="_blank">Trump</a>-endorsed Rep. Tom Tiffany in November, the Republican nominee.</p><ul><li>Tiffany voted against certifying former President Biden's 2020 wins in Arizona and Pennsylvania, backed a lawsuit seeking to prevent Wisconsin and other states from casting their Electoral College votes and has continued to question Biden's victory.</li><li>Wisconsin's governor plays a role in certifying presidential and U.S. Senate election result, raising fears about how Tiffany could use the office if another close election is contested.</li></ul><p><strong>Go deeper:</strong> <a href="https://www.axios.com/2026/08/09/democrats-populists-michigan-wisconsin-2028-test" target="_blank">Bernie's revolution gets a test run for 2028 in Michigan and Wisconsin</a></p>
<img src="https://www.theblaze.com/media-library/here-s-the-unfiltered-truth-about-the-moderate-who-beat-the-america-hating-socialist-in-wisconsin.jpg?id=67608913&width=1245&height=700&coordinates=0%2C261%2C0%2C262" /><br /><br /><p>Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley upset socialist Francesca Hong in Wisconsin’s Democratic primary for governor on Tuesday.<br /></p><p>But he’s no moderate. Crowley has pursued anti-white diversity, equity, and inclusion policies since taking office, from public parks to health care administration. </p><p class="pull-quote">‘Apply a racial equity lens to all County decision-making.’</p><p>Crowley and <a href="https://ballotpedia.org/Wisconsin_Prohibit_Government_Discrimination_or_Preferential_Treatment_Amendment_(2026)" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">every</a> Wisconsin Assembly Democrat opposed a <a href="https://www.wpr.org/news/wisconsin-democrats-sproposed-constitutional-amendment-dei">constitutional amendment</a> in January banning race-based discrimination or preferential treatment by government agencies, though his dedication to DEI began much earlier.</p><p>Crowley began enlarging the county’s DEI programs shortly after his <a href="https://www.jsonline.com/story/news/politics/elections/2020/04/13/milwaukee-election-results-david-crowley-and-chris-larson-county-executive-april-7/2985143001/" target="_blank">election</a> as county executive in 2020, and he expanded the Racial Equity Ambassador team built under his predecessor during his first three months in office. </p><p>During that time, the Office on African-American Affairs “provided over <a href="https://milwaukeetimesnews.com/whats-happening-current-events-news/milwaukee-countys-office-on-african-american-affairs-celebrates-black-history-month">11,000 hours</a> of racial equity training to more than 3,000 Milwaukee County employees to normalize discussions on racism, implicit bias, and microaggressions,” Crowley said in an August 2020 <a href="https://urbanmilwaukee.com/pressrelease/milwaukee-county-executive-david-crowley-outlines-vision-to-achieve-racial-equity/#google_vignette" target="_blank">press</a> release.</p><p>Crowley also deployed these ambassadors to public parks to determine if they were racist. Each park was reviewed and assigned a value in the <a href="https://mkeparksfoundation.org/equity-index/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Milwaukee County Park Equity Index</a>, and parks' “<a href="https://county.milwaukee.gov/County---Equity/MilwaukeeCountyParksEquityIndex23-306POWERPOINT.pdf" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">equity index score</a>” helped determine "major maintenance funding allocations."</p><p>As county executive, Crowley has publicly and consistently blamed white people for Milwaukee's problems. </p><p><strong>RELATED: </strong><a href="https://www.theblaze.com/news/francesca-hong-wisconsin-socialists-grooming"><strong>Francesca Hong voted to protect pedophiles as assemblywoman</strong></a></p><p class="shortcode-media shortcode-media-rebelmouse-image"> <img alt="Francesca Hong voted to protect pedophiles as assemblywoman" class="rm-shortcode" id="8ab48" src="https://www.theblaze.com/media-library/francesca-hong-voted-to-protect-pedophiles-as-assemblywoman.jpg?id=67604594&width=980" /> <small class="image-media media-photo-credit"> Daniel Boczarski/Getty Images</small> </p><p>“People in historic positions of power have typically been straight and white and male,” Crowley said in <a href="https://urbanmilwaukee.com/pressrelease/milwaukee-county-executive-david-crowley-outlines-vision-to-achieve-racial-equity/#google_vignette">2020</a>. “People fall in the river because those who hold the power don’t always have the interests of all people in mind.”</p><p>Crowley supported an <a href="https://library.municode.com/wi/milwaukee_county/codes/code_of_ordinances?nodeId=MICOCOGEORVOII_CH108ACRAEQHE" target="_blank">ordinance</a> requiring Milwaukee County to “identify and address policies, practices, and power structures that, whether intentionally or unintentionally, work in favor of white people and create barriers for Black, Brown, Indigenous people, and people of color,” according to the <a href="https://county.milwaukee.gov/EN/Office-of-Equity/Off-Nav/Projects-and-Programs" target="_blank">county website</a>. Crowley was later responsible for the statute’s implementation and expansion.</p><p>The ordinance wasn’t just a declaration of Crowley’s policy priorities. It was binding on all future county executives and Milwaukee County government as a whole. </p><p>“The ordinance ensures racial equity is a top priority of Milwaukee County government and remains larger than any one government leader,” according to the Office of Equity Projects and Programs webpage. </p><p>Crowley also upheld standards <a href="https://county.milwaukee.gov/files/county/administrative-services/PSB/BudgetsCopy-1/2021-Budget/2021-Requested-Budget/Racial-Equity-Budget-Tools/Combined2021RequestedBudgetREBT.pdf" target="_blank">designed</a> to exclude white applicants from both hiring and promotional pathways. </p><p>“We are always mindful of considerations of diversity when promoting our staff,” Crowley’s 2020 racial equity budget review reads. </p><p>“To attract a diverse field of applicants, we have focused on reaching out to our contacts and organizations throughout the city (e.g. the Wisconsin Black Lawyers Association and the Hispanic Lawyers Association) to let them know when there is an opening.”</p><p>The county didn’t merely reach out to contacts. It spent taxpayer money selectively advertising to non-white job-seekers.</p><p>“This year we have added money to support ads on blackjobs.com (to attract professional African American job seekers) and hispanicjobs.com (to attract Hispanic, Latino, and Latinx candidates),” the review reads. </p><p><strong>RELATED: </strong><a href="https://www.theblaze.com/news/swing-state-election-investigation-resignation"><strong>Swing-state election official resigns amid mail-in ballot investigation</strong></a></p><p class="shortcode-media shortcode-media-rebelmouse-image"> <img alt="" class="rm-shortcode" id="b2a49" src="https://www.theblaze.com/media-library/image.jpg?id=67608940&width=1245&height=700&quality=50&coordinates=0%2C475%2C0%2C48" /> <small class="image-media media-photo-credit">Scott Olson/Getty Images</small></p><p>White employees who managed to keep their jobs were subject to race-specific condemnation. The county noted in that same review that it was “recognizing the work white people need to do to change their understanding and historic perception, to bring culture change in support of diversity and racial equity.”</p><p>Crowley and his team knew their DEI priorities weren’t making Milwaukee more prosperous. The COVID-era budget admitted that “racial equity and revenue generation by nature clash.”</p><p>Despite that admission, Milwaukee still spent millions in grants distributed according to DEI metrics.</p><p>“Our pursuit of racial equity will not be put on pause for the pandemic. It is crucial to invest in our marginalized communities now to secure a path forward and opportunity for continued economic growth long after the COVID-19 pandemic subsides,” Crowley said in a December 2020 <a href="https://www.wispolitics.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/Release_Milwaukee-County-Awards-Small-Business-Grants.pdf">press release</a> after awarding $11.6 million to 1,534 businesses. </p><p>“In step with the County’s mission to address racial inequity, priority was given to businesses with a letter of support from a member of the <a href="https://www.edbcwisconsin.org/" target="_blank">Ethnic & Diverse Chamber Coalition</a>, a group of chambers of commerce supporting entrepreneurs of color, women, LGBT, and veteran-owned businesses,” according to the release.</p><p>A 2021 Wisconsin Partnership Program <a href="https://wpp.med.wisc.edu/funded-project/evaluating-covid-19-response-milwaukee/" target="_blank">outcome report</a> found that 66% of grant recipients were indeed minorities, women, or veterans. </p><p>These programs are active and ongoing. </p><p>Milwaukee also launched a Racial Equity Lens Strategy team in <a href="https://county.milwaukee.gov/EN/Office-of-Equity/About-Us/Our-History" target="_blank">2021</a>, “developing tools and processes to apply a racial equity lens to all County decision-making.”</p><p>“From advancing racial equity efforts to investing in affordable housing, mental health services, and public transit, we’ve realized great progress over the last four years in making Milwaukee County the healthiest community in Wisconsin,” Crowley said in 2024 <a href="https://county.milwaukee.gov/EN/County-Executive/News/Press-Releases/Milwaukee-County-Executive-David-Crowley-Reflects-on-First-Term-Successes" target="_blank">reflection</a> on the end of his first term.</p><p>Crowley and the Milwaukee Office of Equity did not respond to requests for comment. </p><p><em>Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. </em><em><a href="https://www.theblaze.com/newsletters/theblaze-articlelink" target="_self">Sign up here</a></em><em>!</em></p>
Francesca Hong’s stunning defeat in Wisconsin’s Democratic gubernatorial primary has triggered a bitter debate on the Left, with some prominent Democrats and activists arguing that the socialist candidate’s loss may ultimately be good for their movement. Hong, a member of the Democratic Socialists of America, entered Tuesday’s primary as the heavy favorite after surging to ...
Crowley defeated Francesca Hong, whom party leaders feared would be a weak general election candidate.
<img alt="Wisconsin Democrat Gov. Tony Evers and Democrat candidate for governor, Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley, talk to the press." class="webfeedsFeaturedVisual wp-post-image" src="https://thefederalist.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/Screenshot-2026-08-12-at-3.55.27-AM-1200x675.png" style="display: block; margin: auto; margin-bottom: 5px;" />The narrow victory for the Milwaukee County Executive over socialist Francesca Hong was a win for Dem Party 'establishment.'
In one of his first interviews since winning the Democratic gubernatorial nomination, David Crowley shares his plan to bring in Francesca Hong voters — but he won’t commit to campaigning with far left surrogates.
Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley’s surprising win in this week’s Wisconsin Democratic gubernatorial primary, where recent polling had shown him trailing progressive Francesca Hong by double-digits, had catapulted him from a relatively unknown local leader to the national spotlight. The 40-year-old Wisconsin native became the youngest county executive in Milwaukee County history and the first…
Wisconsin Democratic gubernatorial nominee David Crowley denied Wednesday he dealt the progressive movement a setback by beating democratic socialist Francesca Hong in this week’s Democratic primary. When host Kaitlan Collins asked Crowley whether it was fair for The Wall Street Journal to characterize him as the “man who halted progressive momentum,” Crowley replied, “Absolutely not.”…