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Wisconsin governor race: Last push for Democratic candidates
It's a battle for the future of the Democratic Party. Should the party go farther to the left? All the polls show Democratic Socialist Francesca Hong leading the Democratic Primary in Wisconsin, which is just a few days away.
MILWAUKEE - Four days out from primary day, candidates crisscross the state. They're making their final push for votes.
The Democratic Party has been soul-searching since the loss of the White House in 2024. The fight has pitted those farther left versus more establishment Democrats. Wisconsin Democrats will decide whether a Democratic Socialist should be their nominee of this battleground state.
New polling data
By the numbers:
A new poll from State Navigate out Friday, August 7, shows Democratic Socialist State Rep. Francesca Hong leading the Democratic primary with 44% support. In second is Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley, 20 points behind her. The new poll finds Hong leading even among people with 414 area codes, Crowley’s home area.
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Even if State Sen. Kelda Roys and nonprofit leader Joel Brennan weren’t in the race, the poll still finds Hong 21 points ahead of Crowley.
What they're saying:
"Primary polling is really hard. And it has a much larger margin of error than polling in a general election because of all the uncertainties over who's going to vote in a primary, who's going to vote in an open primary, like Wisconsin, where anybody, whatever their political leanings are, can choose which primary they want to vote in," said Craig Gilbert, Marquette Law School Lubar Fellow.
Governor Tony Evers is warning his fellow Democrats he isn't sure Francesca Hong can beat Republican Congressman Tom Tiffany. On Friday, he made a final push for votes in Shebogyan. He campaigned with the person he endorsed to replace him: Crowley. A Crowley campaign internal poll this week also showed him 18 points behind Hong, though his numbers have grown some since Evers endorsed him, and since former Lt. Gov. Mandela Barnes dropped out.
Wisconsin governor race: Evers questions Francesca Hong’s electability
This is another national test – can a Democratic Socialist win in a battleground state? All recent Democratic polls of the governor’s race show State Rep. Francesca Hong with commanding leads in the primary.
"I’m just pleased to have David running. You know, it was tough. It was a tough race, but we just have a couple days left, I f we don’t get people to vote, this is going to be a very, very sad place to be," stated Evers. "He will get things done. He has experiences, experience getting things done. It’s not all this other stuff people are talking about that frankly doesn’t matter. He is the only candidate who has got stuff done. I am just thrilled to turn over the realm to my good friend, David."
"We can no longer just play defense, we have to get back on offense, y’all. Democrats, we have been responding and reacting so much to Donald Trump and Republicans. They’ve been defining us for us. So, now it’s time to get in the game," said Crowley.
The State Navigate Poll showed Tiffany getting some support from Democrats if Hong wins the nomination: 5% said they would definitely vote for Tiffany, 3% said probably, and 1% said they would lean towards voting for Tiffany.
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The Republican Governors Association’s group in Wisconsin has spent more than $3 million dollars on ads featuring Hong. They attack her, but the message in the ads could actually be seen as promotion of her for a Democratic primary audience: the ads state Hong opposes ICE and President Trump’s deportation efforts.
The candidates make their final pitches to Democratic primary voters. Hong is campaigning Friday up north in Superior and Ashland, along with Wausau. Brennan is campaigning in Milwaukee on Sunday and Ozaukee County on Monday. Roys will be in Milwaukee County on Monday.
Portions of this article were formatted using A.I. FOX6’s Jason Calvi and an editor reviewed it for accuracy and tone prior to publishing.
The Source: Information in this story was gathered from State Navigate, Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley, Governor Tony Evers, and Marquette Law School Lubar Fellow Craig Gilbert.