Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley has won the Democratic nomination for governor of Wisconsin, according to a race call by the Associated Press. He narrowly defeated state Rep. Francesca Hong, a democratic socialist whose campaign had challenged the party establishment.
Crowley had at one point actually suspended his foundering campaign, facing low poll ratings and scarce campaign funds. But he relaunched it days later with the backing of outgoing Democratic Gov. Tony Evers in an effort to turn back the momentum by Hong.
The Hong loss comes after progressives saw a series of wins in recent primaries around the country. But the narrow margin of the loss still signals Democratic voters seeking change.
Democrats dodged a bullet. Hong almost certainly would have lost to Republican Tom Tiffany in November