David Crowley beat Republican Tom Tiffany on Tuesday despite being vastly outspent, becoming the first Black candidate elected governor in Wisconsin history and the first Milwaukee Dem to take the office since 1890.
With 91% of precincts reporting, the Milwaukee County executive had 53.5% of the vote, while the Republican congressman from Minocqua had 46.5%.
During his victory speech in Milwaukee, Crowley referred to growing up in poverty in a disadvantaged Milwaukee neighborhood.
“This is a very good day. Because of you, a boy who grew up facing evictions will now live in the governor’s residence,” Crowley told supporters in his hometown.
Crowley pledged to work for all Wisconsinites, including people who didn’t vote for him, and reached out to state lawmakers from both parties.
“My door is always open. Starting tomorrow morning, I’m going to sit down with anyone who is serious about lowering costs for our working families,” Crowley said, acknowledging the politicians “won’t agree on everything.”
During a brief and somber speech in Wausau, Tiffany told supporters he had called Crowley to concede. The congressman called it a “bitter defeat” but acknowledged the next governor loves the state, too. Someone from the crowd shouted something during Tiffany’s speech.
“We are going to be magnanimous tonight,” Tiffany responded. “Thank you Wisconsin. … The things we fought for still matter. … Folks, we live in a great country. It is always worth fighting for.”
As for what’s next, Tiffany hardly paused. “I am going to have an old-fashioned.”
Crowley’s election completed a remarkable turnaround from four months ago, when he dropped out of the Dem primary race and declared he had no path to victory. But with state Rep. Francesca Hong, a democratic socialist from Madison, leading in the primary polls, establishment Dems persuaded Crowley to jump back into the race. He made it official July 18, a day after Lt. Gov. Sara Rodriguez dropped out, citing financial irregularities with her campaign.
Crowley then rode a surge of money and Gov. Tony Evers’ endorsement — along with missteps by Hong and former Lt. Gov. Mandela Barnes dropping out of the race — to a 3,673-vote win in the Aug. 11 primary.
Fresh off his primary win, Crowley immediately faced a spending disadvantage. WisPolitics tracked a record $195 million in spending overall in the gubernatorial race. That includes $123.6 million in spending by Tiffany and Republicans, who outspent Crowley and his backers nearly 2-to-1.
Still, Dems enjoyed a favorable environment with headwinds blowing out of Washington, D.C., hampering Republicans across the country. In Wisconsin, President Donald Trump’s job approval rating dropped to 37% among registered voters, a record low in the Marquette University Law School Poll released last week.
Along with becoming Wisconsin’s first Black governor, the 40-year-old Crowley will become one of the youngest to win the office. Only three others were younger when they won their races for governor, led by Leonard James Farwell, who was 32 when he won the governor’s race in 1851 before serving a single two-year term.
Prior to Crowley’s victory, George Peck was the last Milwaukee Dem to win the governor’s office. He was the Milwaukee mayor when he won in 1890.