Is Crowley Getting Back in The Race for Governor?

County Executive David Crowley. Photo by Sophie Bolich.

Amidst the chaos in the Democratic primary for governor, Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley is considering reentering the race.

Crowley suspended his campaign on July 8 and endorsed Lt. Gov. Sara Rodriguez the next day. Since then, problems with the Rodriguez campaign’s finance reports came to light. On Sunday Rodriguez fired her campaign manager and on Friday, she ended her campaign, saying her campaign’s financial problems had become a “distraction.”

Rodriguez did not tell Crowley about the growing red flags with her campaign financials when she pursued his endorsement, as Urban Milwaukee previously reported.

Friday morning, WISN’s Matt Smith reported there is a growing chorus of voices inside the Democratic Party seeking to push Crowley to relaunch his campaign for governor. A source close to the Crowley campaign confirmed the county executive is considering restarting his campaign.

Smith also reported that Gov. Tony Evers is considering endorsing Crowley if he re-enters the race.

Former WEDC Secretary Missy Hughes, who ended her campaign for governor in June, tweeted at Crowley Friday morning calling on him to get back into the race. Hughes previously endorsed Rodriguez.

Crowley is aided by a key fact: his name is already on the ballot. Because of when he dropped out, absentee ballots already include his name.

There is less than a month left to campaign before the partisan primary on Aug. 11. There are still four candidates in the race: State Rep. Francesca Hong, former Lt. Gov. Mandela Barnes, State Sen. Kelda Roys and Greater Milwaukee Committee President Joel Brennan.

Hong, Barnes and Roys all draw support from the progressive wing of the Democratic Party. Brennan, who served in the Evers administration from 2018 to 2021 as Secretary of the Department of Administration, remains the last establishment candidate in the race. Polling has placed Brennan well behind frontrunners Barnes and Hong.