In upset, anti-Israel democratic socialist loses Wisconsin governor primary

Crowley, a more moderate candidate who has not repeatedly condemned the Jewish state, will now face off against Rep. Tom Tiffany (R-Wis.) in November for governor.

By Andrew Bernard, JNS

Milwaukee County executive David Crowley won an upset victory over state Assembly member Francesca Hong in the Wisconsin Democratic gubernatorial primary after pre-election polling suggested that Hong, a member of the Democratic Socialists of America, held a double-digit lead.

Hong, 37, had accused Israel of “genocide” and appeared on podcasts with anti-Israel left-wing influencers, including Hasan Piker.

As a state lawmaker, she introduced legislation to repeal Wisconsin’s law opposing the movement to boycott Israel and opposed the state’s adoption of the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance’s working definition of Jew-hatred.

With an estimated 98% of votes counted, Crowley had 313,321 votes (39.8%) to Hong’s 310,110 votes (39.4%), according to the Associated Press, which called the race early in the morning on Wednesday.

In the closing days of the campaign, Hong disavowed some of her previously held far-left positions, including police abolition and calling Thanksgiving a “colonizer holiday” and did not make her views on Israel a focus of the campaign.

She nonetheless held to a “tax the rich” platform with calls for abolishing the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency and a one-year ban on data-center construction.

Hong’s record of outlandish views prompted the Republican Governors Association to spend $3.6 million backing her in the final days of the primary in the apparent belief that she would be the weakest Democratic candidate in the general election.

Her defeat will likely raise further questions about the electability of anti-Israel progressives in statewide races after Dr. Abdul El-Sayed, former Detroit health director, eked out a win in the Democratic Senate primary in Michigan last week by about 15,000 votes.

Crowley, a more moderate candidate who has not repeatedly condemned the Jewish state and who briefly withdrew from the race in July, will now face off against Rep. Tom Tiffany (R-Wis.) in November in the race to succeed Gov. Tony Evers, a Democrat who decided not to seek a third term.

Garren Randolph, Crowley’s campaign manager, stated on Wednesday morning that “from day one, this campaign has been about what comes next for Wisconsin: making life more affordable, strengthening our schools, creating good-paying jobs and making sure opportunity reaches every corner of our state.”

“The choice in November has always been clear,” he added. “We can move Wisconsin forward with leadership focused on solving problems, or we can bring the division and extremism of Tom Tiffany and Donald Trump to Wisconsin.”

Tiffany stated that “this fight is bigger than any one party. It’s bigger than any one candidate.”

“This fight is about Wisconsin and protecting the state we know and love,” he said. “Let’s move Wisconsin forward, together.”

After midnight local time, it was reported that Milwaukee County had misplaced absentee vote tallies, which were supposed to be recorded on five memory drives. Results were delayed due to that mishap.

Tiffany, the only substantial Republican in the primary race, had 465,948 votes (95.3%) at press time, with about 98% of votes counted.