MILWAUKEE – Two days after reentering the race for governor, David Crowley called out Tom Tiffany and the Republican Governors Association for a $2.2 million scheme to interfere in Wisconsin’s Democratic primary, and said the effort is part of why he is back in this race.

Right Direction Wisconsin, an affiliate of the Republican Governors Association, is spending $2.2 million on television ads dressed up as attacks on state Rep. Francesca Hong. The ads are no such thing. They are a calculated effort to elevate Hong with Democratic primary voters because Tom Tiffany’s allies have decided who they want to face in November.

“Let’s call this what it is. Tom Tiffany and his billionaire backers are spending millions of dollars trying to pick their own opponent,” Crowley said. “This isn’t about Francesca Hong, who is running her own campaign and making her own case to voters. This is about Republicans in Washington deciding they get a vote in our primary. Every Democrat in Wisconsin should be outraged, and every Democrat should refuse to let them get away with it.”

The scale of the interference is staggering. Hong’s campaign has not purchased television advertising in this race, which means the only paid TV ads Wisconsin voters are seeing about her candidacy were bought entirely by Republicans. Tom Tiffany’s allies are now the largest advertiser in the Democratic primary.

“Think about that,” Crowley said. “The biggest spender in our Democratic primary is the Republican Governors Association. If that does not set off alarm bells for every Democrat in this state, I do not know what will.”

This is not a new tactic. It is a national Republican playbook. GOP-aligned groups have spent more than $4.3 million meddling in Democratic primaries in Texas, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Nebraska, and Maine this cycle, boosting candidates they believe will be easier to defeat in general elections. Wisconsin is simply the latest target, and with the governor’s office on the line, the stakes could not be higher.

“From day one, I’ve said the stakes in this election are too high for anyone to sit on the sidelines, and that hasn’t changed,” Crowley said. “Republicans run this scam all over the country because sometimes it works. It only works when Democrats let it. Our nominee should be chosen by the voters of this state based on who can win in November and govern from day one, not by MAGA donors and Washington operatives writing checks to rig our primary. Wisconsin Democrats get to send Tom Tiffany a message on August 11: you do not get to pick your opponent. We do.”

The Democratic primary is August 11.