Wisconsin’s Democratic race for governor remained too close to call as of 10 p.m. Tuesday as Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley and Madison Rep. Francesca Hong were locked in a tight contest for the nomination.
U.S. Rep. Tom Tiffany easily won the Republican nomination after securing the state GOP and President Donald Trump’s endorsements early.
As early election results poured in, Crowley and Hong were separated by less than a percentage point, with each receiving about 40% of the more than 700,000 votes cast. State Sen. Kelda Roys and former Department of Administration Secretary Joel Brennan trailed far behind with percentages in the single digits.
The 2026 election for governor is an open seat after Democratic Gov. Tony Evers chose not to run for a third term. It’s the first open governor’s race in the state since 2010 when Gov. Scott Walker ushered in a conservative era during which Republicans dismantled public sector unions, increased pension and health insurance contributions for public employees, cut taxes and enacted gerrymandered legislative maps.
Democrats are hoping to take control of the state Legislature for the first time in 16 years after flipping the state Supreme Court to a liberal majority and enacting bipartisan legislative maps. But even with a legislative majority, the ability to enact Democratic legislation would still run through the governor’s office.
Hong, a democratic socialist, has led in the polls for months, and her primary victory seemed all but assured heading into Tuesday. But the close race mirrored a similar battle between establishment Democrats and left-wing activists in the Michigan U.S. Senate primary. Polls showed the left-wing candidate with a double-digit lead heading into last week’s primary, but he only won by 1 percentage point.
Crowley’s strong showing marks a stunning turnaround for a candidate who polled in single digits before he dropped out of the race in early July. Even in the final Marquette Law School Poll before the election, he only mustered 7% support to 38% for Hong, though 34% were undecided.
Crowley initially ended his campaign after he said he saw both poll and fundraising numbers show momentum for Lt. Gov. Sara Rodriguez.
But then Rodriguez dropped out of the race after revelations of issues with her campaign finance reports, which led Crowley to return to the race with a historically rare endorsement from Evers. In the final week of the primary, the two-term governor joined Crowley on the campaign trail to champion Crowley as his successor.
At the Atwood Music Hall in Madison on Tuesday night, Hong’s supporters waited for the results as the loudspeakers pumped in Stevie Wonder, Spice Girls and Chappell Roan. One Hong staffer estimated that a couple hundred people were in attendance, but didn’t have an official number. Reporters and TV cameras packed the balcony.
Luca Farmer, a 21-year-old Madison resident, cheered and waved a poster reading “Hotties 4 Hong” as CNN results showed the state representative pulling closer to Crowley around 10 p.m. Tuesday.
Farmer said he had been following the race since Evers chose not to run for reelection last year. He said he voted for Hong because she is “policy first.”
But Farmer said he did not anticipate Hong and Crowley were going to be as close as they were Tuesday night.
“My heart is palpitating,” he said. “I did not think it was going to be this close. I was very confident, but I am still confident that we will win.”
Around 11:20 p.m., Hong walked onstage to address and thank supporters, who erupted in cheers. She acknowledged that the results were not final, but “the fight continues no matter what.”
“In 11 weeks, no matter who’s on the ballot, y’all, we are going to fight to win for one another,” Hong said as the crowd started a chant of “we will win.”
“We will win together, united, because everyone who’s running in this race, they know that we can make better possible, and we must make better possible.”
At the Hyatt Regency in downtown Milwaukee, at least 250 people were spread among two ballrooms and a reception area. Chatter was loud but, as of 11 p.m., few cheers went up — the vote totals simply remained too tight.
Early in the evening, Noel Morales, a 21-year-old Crowley supporter from suburban Milwaukee, expressed confidence about Crowley’s chances. But he worried whether young Hong supporters would back Crowley if Crowley wins the nomination because Crowley has been cast as an establishment Democrat.
It’s a very big “it depends” on whether Democrats can find unity, he said.
The first sustained cheer at the Crowley gathering went up about 11:15 p.m. when a TV station went live from the party. Minutes later, the party went mostly quiet to listen to remarks made by Hong at her gathering. At that point, Crowley had yet to appear before his supporters.
At midnight, Milwaukee election officials said “human error” would delay ballot counting. At the Crowley party, just as supporters appeared ready to claim victory, the news was deflating.
“I’m at a loss for words,” said Crowley supporter Angela Hinton of the Milwaukee suburb of Glendale. “With the votes so close, we were on pins and needles. Now this.”
U.S. Rep. Gwen Moore told the gathering just after midnight that results were 90 minutes away. “It looks very good, but we have to wait,” she said.
Other results
In other primary results Tuesday, Rebecca Cooke won the Democratic nomination in the 3rd Congressional District for a rematch with Republican U.S. Rep. Derrick Van Orden. The seat is rated a toss-up and one of two that national Democrats are hoping to flip to retake control of the House.
In the other, the 1st Congressional District in southeast Wisconsin, Mitchell Berman won the Democratic nomination to take on U.S. Rep. Bryan Steil.
Michael Alfonso, the son-in-law of U.S. Department of Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy, won the Republican nomination in the 7th Congressional District in northern Wisconsin. The Democratic nomination was too close to call, though the seat being vacated by Tiffany leans Republican.
Nic Cravillion, a staffer for Sen. André Jacque, R-New Franken, won the Republican nomination for the 1st Senate District to replace Jacque after his two terms in the Senate.
Rep. Jenna Jacobson, D-Oregon, won the Democratic nomination in the 17th Senate District to challenge Sen. Howard Marklein in November. Jacobson is supported by the Senate Democratic Campaign Committee, which sees this district as a potential flip opportunity.
Case manager Ismael Luna beat incumbent Rep. Sylvia Ortiz-Velez, D-Milwaukee, by a large margin for the Democratic nomination in the 8th Assembly District. Ortiz-Velez had left the Democratic caucus last year after making a gun-related threat to a fellow Democrat.
In the 21st Assembly District, Oak Creek Mayor Dan Bukiewicz won the Democratic nomination and will now face Republican Carroll University student Dylan Pfaffenbach in the general election. The winner will replace Rep. Jessie Rodriguez, R-Oak Creek, who won by a narrow margin in 2024.
Former Sheboygan Ald. John Belanger won the Republican nomination in the 26th Assembly District and will face Rep. Joe Sheehan, D-Sheboygan.
In the 76th Assembly District, Hong’s district, Dina Nina Martinez-Rutherford, a former Madison City Council member, won the nomination. She will face Republican Nina Chat in the general election in the solid Democratic district. If elected Martinez-Rutherford would be the first transgender person elected to the Assembly.
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