Tiffany outspent Crowley with millions from three billionaire donors
An Associated Press race call determined that Democrat David Crowley defeated Republican Congressman Tom Tiffany in the Wisconsin gubernatorial race, putting the Milwaukee County executive in the state’s top office as Wisconsin’s first Black governor. Crowley’s campaign centered on lowering costs for working families and bringing more jobs to the state, and he made defending Medicaid funding and preserving affordable housing central pillars of his platform.
Tiffany’s campaign spent far more than Crowley’s, and that difference did not carry the congressman over the finish line. Three billionaire donors contributed millions to Tiffany’s effort, and the Republican nominee collected endorsements from President Donald Trump, former Wisconsin Gov. Tommy Thompson and former Green Bay Packers quarterback Brett Favre.
Ads promoting Crowley touted Trump’s historic unpopularity, tied Tiffany to the president and argued that Tiffany’s votes for Trump’s agenda had resulted in costs going up. One Crowley ad proclaimed, “Wisconsin’s not for sale, but Tom Tiffany is, and it’ll cost ya.” Crowley also argued that a Tiffany governorship would bring income tax cuts for his billionaire donors.
Crowley dropped out of the race at one point and endorsed Lt. Gov. Sara Rodriguez, then re-entered after she withdrew, and he won the August primary by a razor-thin margin over Francesca Hong, whom NPR described as a democratic socialist. The endorsement of outgoing Democratic Gov. Tony Evers was a factor that some credit as a major contributor to that primary win. Together with the support of former President Barack Obama, Evers’s endorsement helped Crowley mobilize Democratic voters in the general election.
Crowley pitched himself as a “deal-maker” who can work across the aisle, and his record includes bipartisan work already underway in the state. Along with Evers and legislative Republicans, he was involved in the push for a bipartisan bill allowing the city of Milwaukee and Milwaukee County to raise their sales tax rates and earn more revenue for their respective governments.
Evers said Crowley also played a large role in negotiations on a $500 million deal to upgrade the baseball stadium where the Milwaukee Brewers play and to keep the team in the city through 2050.
The 40-year-old Crowley talked about his own route into politics during the campaign, describing a childhood in poverty with working-class parents who battled substance abuse and mental health issues during the city’s crack-cocaine epidemic. He said he worked his way out of those hardships through education and community organizing jobs, which took him to the Wisconsin legislature and later the county executive’s office.
Crowley said the historic nature of the race is not lost on him. “But I’m running to be a governor for all of us,” he said at a campaign stop at the Walworth County Fair. “And it doesn’t matter what zipcodes you live in, who you love, or where you come from. I want to make sure that we can move our entire state forward.”
Crowley takes office as Wisconsin’s first Black governor carrying the priorities he named on the campaign trail: the cost of living for working families, Medicaid funding and affordable housing.
Maayan Silver is a reporter for WUWM.