Wisconsin primary election results, Tuesday takeaways

MILWAUKEE - It’s an 83-day sprint to Election Day, and the battle for your November vote starts today. The day after the primary, the tickets are set, the match-ups are finalized, and the campaigns hit the road to win your vote. Wisconsin voters will decide whether Democrats or Republicans control this key battleground state, a state that often has elections decided by less than a percentage point.

Governor race: David Crowley wins Democratic primary

Big picture view:

It was a razor-close finish for the Democratic primary for Wisconsin governor. On Wednesday, hours after the race was called, Democratic Socialist Francesca Hong and two others who lost the primary, Kelda Roys and Joel Brennan, joined the man who won, David Crowley, for breakfast in Middleton in Dane County. Crowley pledged to unify the party and to welcome Hong’s supporters. 

What they're saying:

"As we move forward into this general election, this isn't establishment versus progressive. This isn't insider versus outsider. This is Democrats defeating the MAGA extremists and Congressman Tom Tiffany. And that's what we should be focusing on moving forward," Crowley said after the breakfast.

"We may not agree on everything, but it doesn't mean that we can't come to the negotiating table and figure out how we bring everybody under this big tent. You know, the Democrats, we are a big tent," Crowley added.

Gov. Tony Evers, who did not seek reelection, broke a nearly year-long silence on his preferred candidate and backed Crowley to replace him.

LIVE RESULTS: 2026 Wisconsin primary election, August races

"I think that we kind of had a secret weapon, particularly when it came down to our great governor here, Governor Tony Evers. he has a lot of trust. He's done a lot of work. and he's one of the very few governors that we know has continued to deliver a year after year," Crowley said.

Governor race: Tom Tiffany wins Republican primary

Big picture view:

Republicans overwhelmingly backed Congressman Tom Tiffany, with 95% of the vote. His first campaign event after securing the nomination took the fight to Crowley's home turf: Milwaukee County and the city of West Allis, where Tiffany spoke at a bar. The bar owner spoke about spiking property tax and utility bills.

What they're saying:

"We are going to first, end the 400-year property tax increase, bringing down property taxes for many people, and after that we’re going to freeze them, so you don’t have to worry about being taxed out of your business, taxed out of your home," Tiffany said.

President Donald Trump backs Tiffany, and Tiffany has a fundraising advantage right now. The Republican Governors Association group targeted Hong with ads during the Democratic primary with more than $3.5 million dollars spent on a candidate who lost the primary.

"It really didn't make a difference to me who the candidate was going to be, and it goes back to: the leadership of the Democratic Party, not some of the rank and file, but the leadership of the Democratic Party has capitulated to the big government Socialism to the Democratic Socialists of America. That is who they are at this point," Tiffany said.

On Crowley, Tiffany added: "He’s told all of us where he’s going to be, hasn’t he? He’s going to be on the side of the Democrat Socialists, and we’re not going there, are we?"

Primary voters pick running mates

What we know:

In Wisconsin, the governor and lieutenant governor candidates run separate primaries. The primary voters decide who should be put together on one ticket. Think of it like an arranged marriage. The Democratic lieutenant governor candidate is Sarah Godlewski, the state’s current Secretary of State and former state Treasurer.

Tom Tiffany's running mate is David Varnam, the former mayor of Lancaster. He won the primary, despite the state convention endorsing someone else for lieutenant governor. 

Dig deeper:

The polls before the primary showed Crowley behind by double digits. It did get Hong's support right – with roughly 40%. The final Marquette Law School poll found undecideds at 34%. It is possible many of them made up their minds late. They also might have been turned off by the controversy over Hong's old tweets: about canceling Thanksgiving and defunding the police. In addition, Governor Evers warned he was worried Hong would lose to the Republican. The Marquette polls have found Wisconsin Democrats highly approve of Governor Evers, so they may have looked to his words as something to heed.

The Democratic candidates who dropped out of the race still got more than 8% of the primary votes. That is much more than the less than a point that separated Hong and Crowley. The Wisconsin Elections Commission this July ruled that voters could no longer get a redo on absentee ballots, meaning those who voted for candidates who dropped out were not allowed the chance to do what’s calling "spoiling" their absentee ballots.

Portions of this article were formatted using A.I. FOX6's staff and an editor reviewed it for accuracy and tone prior to publishing.

"Human error" delays Milwaukee count

What we know:

Milwaukee County Clerk George Christenson and Milwaukee Election Commissioner Paulina Gutierrez announced a delay in the processing of Milwaukee's results late Tuesday night.

Officials said audit logs, not results, were downloaded to five of nine memory sticks. The results were still available, but the "human error" with the files meant staff had to go back to Milwaukee Central County, download the results and bring them back to the county courthouse to be added to the county's totals.

Waukesha County sheriff primary

Local perspective:

Nick Ollinger won Waukesha County’s Republican primary for sheriff on Tuesday night, defeating John Gscheidmeier. With no Democrat in the race, the winner of Tuesday's Republican primary takes the job.

Nick Ollinger has worked for the Waukesha County Sheriff’s Department for 13 years and is currently the captain of the Detective Bureau. He is a lifelong Waukesha County resident.

Racine County sheriff primary

Local perspective:

Cary Madrigal won Racine County’s Republican primary for sheriff on Tuesday night, defeating Henry Perez to advance to November’s general election. Don Vandervest ran without opposition in the Democratic primary.

Madrigal has worked in the Racine County Sheriff's Office for 26 years. She has been sheriff's captain for the past six years. 

Fire referendum approved

Local perspective:

Town of Delafield voters on Tuesday approved a referendum that will fund Lake Country Fire & Rescue services through 2030. Voters were asked if the town should fund an additional $450,000 a year, through 2030, for Lake Country Fire & Rescue services.

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Editor's note: This story was updated to add more information.

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