At 2:30 in the morning on Wednesday, after 28,000 delayed absentee ballots from Milwaukee were finally uploaded due to a human error, David Crowley pulled ahead of Francesca Hong by four-tenths of a percentage point. The democratic socialist who'd led in every poll, raised millions less than her opponents, and rallied with Marxist streamer Hasan Piker was done.
Crowley got 39.8%. Hong got 39.4%. In a Democratic primary.
Here's what makes this result remarkable. Just weeks ago — late July — a Marquette poll had Crowley in single digits. He had actually dropped out of the race earlier and only reentered roughly three weeks before the primary, after Lt. Governor Sara Rodriguez bowed out mid-July over campaign finance reporting issues. Former Lt. Governor Mandela Barnes followed her out the door weeks later. Outgoing Governor Tony Evers threw his endorsement behind Crowley, and the race was on.
Hong, a state lawmaker from Madison and a card-carrying member of the Democratic Socialists of America, had the progressive lane to herself for months. She had endorsements from Sen. Bernie Sanders and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. She held rallies with Rep. Ilhan Omar and Hasan Piker. Hong told a crowd, "I'd say it's about f*ing time we 86 Trump." She described her own half-white son as "being in proximity to whiteness." She promoted cancelling Thanksgiving, saying the holiday is "incredibly painful for many people in our communities," then later trying to walk back her sentiments after receiving backlash, "my favorite holiday is Thanksgiving. I love it."
The spending gap tells its own story. Crowley's campaign and allied groups spent $4 million on ads. Hong's campaign and supporting groups? Less than $500,000. A Republican Governors Association-tied group dropped nearly $3 million on ads calling Hong "too liberal" — which, credit where it's due, was accurate. But it was Crowley's coalition, not Republican interference, that closed the deal.
Politico's headline the morning after: "The far left hits a wall." Their subhead: "After hot DSA summer comes the fall."
Piker, the left-wing streamer who told his audience "the knives will be out" if Hong lost, has a bad track record when it comes to his endorsements. Polymarket had Hong's defeat at 99% probability by the time it was called. Every candidate this guy rallies with finds a way to lose. At a certain point, campaigns should start paying him to endorse the other side.
The general election is now Crowley versus Republican Rep. Tom Tiffany, who won the GOP nomination with President Trump's backing. Tiffany represents Wisconsin's 7th Congressional District in northern Wisconsin. If Crowley wins in November, he'd be the state's first Black governor. Democrats have held the governorship since 2019.
Kelda Roys, a progressive state senator, finished third with just shy of 8%. Rodriguez and Barnes each pulled nearly 4% despite having dropped out — a Wisconsin judge ruled voters who'd already returned absentee ballots couldn't request new ones even after candidates withdrew.
The DSA had their shot in a blue primary in a blue state with a candidate who checked every progressive box. Their own base looked at the full package and picked the other guy.
