Wisconsin Democrats pick governor nominee in Tuesday primary

Winner faces Tom Tiffany in November test of progressive appeal

Wisconsin Democrats are voting Tuesday in a chaotic primary for governor, with state assembly member Francesca Hong, a democratic socialist, trying to rise above the party establishment’s chosen candidate, Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley. Crowley revived his campaign after another leading contender, Lt. Gov. Sara Rodriguez, dropped out of the race.

The winner advances to face Republican U.S. Rep. Tom Tiffany in November in an open race that could test the limits of progressives’ appeal in a critical battleground state. Tiffany is running unopposed for the Republican nomination and voted against certifying the 2020 presidential election results, which Trump lost.

Democrats are hoping to capitalize on low approval ratings for President Donald Trump in a state he won in 2016 and 2024 to retain control of the governor’s office and flip both chambers of the Legislature, earning full control of Wisconsin state government for the first time since 2010. The seat is open because Democratic Gov. Tony Evers is not seeking a third term.

Hong, 37, a chef and former restaurant owner from Madison who was elected to the state assembly in 2020 as its first Asian American member, has led the field in most polls ahead of Tuesday’s vote. She is running on a platform that includes universal childcare, fully funding public schools, and a one-year moratorium on datacenter construction.

Her campaign has drawn national attention and public skepticism from some party figures who have questioned her electability in a general election. Crowley, 40, who would be Wisconsin’s first Black governor if elected, reentered the race after initially suspending his bid and received the endorsement of Gov. Tony Evers.

Rodriguez ended her campaign in July after discovering it had hundreds of thousands of dollars less on hand than expected, and she fired her campaign manager days before the withdrawal.

In other races Tuesday, Michael Alfonso, the 26-year-old son-in-law of U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy, is trying to win a five-way primary in Duffy’s old seat in the U.S. House. Democrat Rebecca Cooke is looking to emerge from the primary to force a rematch with Republican U.S. Rep. Derrick Van Orden in the state’s most hotly contested and narrowly divided congressional district.

Tuesday’s primary caps a race in which Hong entered election day as the frontrunner in most polls even as figures in her own party publicly questioned her electability, as MSI reported on the eve of the vote.