David Crowley called for Dem unity as he campaigned alongside former rivals, while Republican Tom Tiffany sought to tie him to state Rep. Francesca Hong, the democratic socialist who narrowly lost her party’s gubernatorial nomination.

Both parties embarked on statewide tours yesterday following the state primaries that formalized the tickets. 

Campaigning alongside David Varnam, the party’s nominee for lieutenant governor, and Eric Toney, the party’s pick for attorney general, Tiffany sought to downplay differences between Crowley and Hong.

“David Crowley will do the same stuff that Francesca Hong would have. He just didn’t say it,” the congressman from Minocqua said at a campaign event in DeForest.

Tiffany also started to lay out attack lines that will be used against Crowley, the Milwaukee County executive, in the general election race.

That includes blaming Crowley for tax increases in Milwaukee County and invoking a brief controversy earlier this year where the county’s health insurance contract lapsed due to an administrative error. Crowley has noted no employees lost coverage.

Crowley “didn’t know whether he wanted to be governor or not,” Tiffany said, referencing Crowley’s 10-day departure from the primary where he backed Lt. Gov. Sara Rodriguez.

“He was in the race, then he was out of the race, then he asked to get back in the race,” Tiffany said. “You don’t have to worry about me staying there for the people of the state of Wisconsin.”

During a stop in Middleton, Crowley praised Hong’s leadership and called for solidarity to defeat “MAGA extremism.”

“We’re not going to win this race focusing on ideology alone,” Crowley said. “It’s about focusing on Wisconsin values. We cannot allow Washington politics to creep up into our own backyard because we’re tired of what we’re seeing in Washington, D.C., and so at the end of the day, this is about moving our state forward.”

Crowley and Hong were joined at the event by fellow gubernatorial candidates state Sen. Kelda Roys and former DOA Secretary Joel Brennan, along with Secretary of State Sarah Godlewski, who will be Crowley’s running mate as the party’s nominee for lieutenant governor.

Others who attended the event in Middleton included: U.S. Sen. Tammy Baldwin, of Madison; U.S. Rep. Mark Pocan, of Town of Vermont; AG Josh Kaul; Senate Minority Leader Dianne Hesselbein, of Middleton; and state Chair Devin Remiker.

Hong, who lost the primary election by less than a percentage point, did not address the media at the breakfast but wrote in a statement that she fully supports Crowley and will work with him to win the general election.

“This campaign was not about getting one person into office. It is about building a movement for permanent affordability and a government that puts working people first. Our movement is strong and the work isn’t done,” Hong wrote in a statement posted to social media.

Crowley thanked Hong for her leadership and her efforts to “make sure everybody’s voice is heard.” Moving forward, Crowley said the general election is about “Democrats defeating a MAGA extremist” and not “establishment versus progressive” or “insider versus outsider.”

“As Fran has consistently said, no matter what happens, on August 12th we have to make sure that we are coming together because ultimately we have to reach our goal, and that’s defeating Tom Tiffany and making sure that they don’t stop the progress that we’ve made in the past eight years,” Crowley said.

Gov. Tony Evers was not present at the breakfast as he had official obligations at the Wisconsin State Fair yesterday, according to the governor’s communications director.