What Explains Evers Endorsement of David Crowley for Governor?
He had expressly avoided endorsing anyone for governor, including 3 Democrats who worked for him.
Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley. File photo by Sophie Bolich.
If the July drama of Wisconsin Democrats were a play, it might be called You Can’t Make This Up.
One candidate for governor quits the race. The lieutenant governor blames her campaign manager for falsifying campaign-finance reports and then also quits the race. The Democratic governor then bypasses two candidates he had worked closely with to endorse the candidate who had ended his campaign days earlier.
The chaos wasn’t lost on Republicans, who are counting on their presumptive candidate for governor, U.S. Rep. Tom Tiffany, winning on Nov. 3.
“Watching Wisconsin Democrats is like watching a clown car crash into a parked semi-truck,” Republican Governors Association spokesperson Kolin Crompton told WisPolitics.
You’ve been busy, so you may need a short ticktock summary of the July adventure of Wisconsin Democrats.
July 8: Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley ends his campaign for governor. No poll or unofficial survey had him leading the field of candidates to replace the retiring Gov. Tony Evers.
July 13: Lt. Gov. Sara Rodriguez announces that her campaign manager had filed false campaign finance reports that included donations counted twice. The errors were discovered when Rodriguez’s campaign couldn’t pay for a new round of TV ads.
July 16: Rodriguez quits the race, saying the campaign finance controversy killed her chances. She was the third candidate to quit the race, if you count Crowley’s July 8 exit. Missy Hughes, former CEO of the Wisconsin Economic Development Authority, ended her campaign on June 22.
July 18: Crowley restarts his campaign for governor. While on a trade mission to Africa, Evers sends Wisconsin Democrats a gift they didn’t expect: an endorsement of Crowley in the Aug. 11 primary for governor.
“I’m all in on making sure Wisconsinites continue to have a governor who will stand up for the people of our state, who understands the challenges facing working families and has real plans to help, and who will work to do the right thing when it matters most, and that’s why I’m all in on David Crowley — and I’m urging Wisconsinites to join me in supporting him,” Evers said in a social media statement.
The endorsement stunned many Democrats, since Crowley said on July 8 he could not be elected governor.
The Evers endorsement also bypassed two other candidates who had worked closely with the governor: Mandela Barnes, lieutenant governor in Evers’ first term, and Joel Brennan, whom Evers appointed his first secretary of the Department of Administration (nicknamed “Department of All”) weeks after his 2018 election. Brennan held that job until 2022.
For his part, Crowley said it was an “honor” to get Evers’ endorsement.
“This isn’t about any of the other primary candidates,” Crowley told the Wisconsin Examiner. “This is about making sure that we have the best candidate that can defeat Tom Tiffany and his extreme MAGA agenda.”
It all left many Wisconsin Democrats asking why Evers endorsed Crowley.
Choose from some of these theories, or come up with your own:
-Evers believes Tiffany would easily defeat state Rep. Francesca Hong, of Madison, a Democratic Socialist, despite the wins those candidates have had in New York City, Colorado and Washington, D.C.
-The governor also remembers that Hong voted against the tax refund and K-12 education package he negotiated with the two top Republicans in the Legislature.
-Evers also doesn’t think state Sen. Kelda Roys, also of Madison, can be elected governor. Since she isn’t up for reelection this year, Roys is also in line for an important committee assignment — co-chair of the budget-writing Joint Finance Committee — if Democrats win control of the Senate. Roys was also one of the 15 Senate Democrats who killed that tax refund and school aid package in May.
-Evers may also doubt that Brennan is well-known enough to be elected governor. When he announced Brennan’s resignation, Evers praised him for helping lead through the COVID-19 pandemic, calling him “a critical partner in supporting our state and our economic recovery efforts.”
Now, Evers’ message to Brennan may be, “It’s not personal, Joel. It’s politics.”
-Evers may feel that the political capital of Barnes peaked in 2022, when he lost a very close election to Republican U.S. Sen. Ron Johnson.
-Since Evers has stressed diversity, appointing a record number of minorities and women, he may want part of his legacy to be helping elect Crowley as the first Black governor.
What’s next? A new Marquette University poll this week will estimate whether Evers’ endorsement helped Crowley’s campaign.
Steven Walters started covering the Capitol in 1988. Contact him at stevenscotwalters@gmail.com
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I rarely agree with anything said or done that originates from the Republican side, but in this case I can’t help but to agree with the clown car analogy made by Republican Governors Association spokesperson Kolin Crompton. It seems to me that Evers has a burr up his a$$ about the tax refund and K-12 education package he negotiated that didn’t get passed.
It’s crazy to think that Evers truly believes that Crowley can go from “no path to winning” to being the front-runner just because Sara Rodriguez dropped out of the race. Even crazier is that Crowley believes the same thing!
I can think of no rational explanation why he would endorse a County Executive who let the County employees health insurance plan lapse.
I liked Hong until i saw the insane DSA platform she represents and realized that anyone who is on the fence and reads that platform will jump off the fence and vote republican. Wisconsin isn’t New York City.
Maybe Barnes has a chance.
Dems nearly shot themselves in the foot but missed, now they have reloaded.
I still say the Dems best chance is Joel Brennan. IMO only a white male can beat Tiffany. Barnes was not the best choice to run against RoJo and all Wisconsinites are paying the price for that misstep by the Dems.
Francesca Hong remains the reasoned candidate we have for governor. Yes, she represents the DSA agenda but it is a change from the status quo which brought us the MAGA cult. I believe the people are simply tired of politics as usual. We are tired of being lied to and having our pockets picked while a few get richer. We are tired with being taxed out of our homes, and having to stop medical treatments due to the costs. We are done with a separate educational system funded by the state and only available to a select few. The people are ready for real change that will serve them.
@jmpehoski @KWH FYI, Hong does not support the full platform of DSA. She is also not endorsed by DSA National. She did a good job discussing this in last nights debate. She is electable, we just have to work for it and fight the stigma!
WPDZ: How familiar are you with the mindsets of those who reside in northcentral and northern Wisconsin? These are folks who thrive on rightwing radio and FOX News.
WPDZ: Almost all of the candidates are electable. But take a hard look at the red/blue breakdown county by county. All of the voters that normally vote (R) in those counties likely fall into at least one of the following categories:
1. Will never vote for a non-white candidate.
2. Will never vote for a woman to be governor.
3. Will never vote for a Democrat.
Sadly, I believe far too many of these same voters fall into all three categories. And frankly, I believe there may be enough voters in the blue parts of the state that fall into one of the the first two categories.
The path to winning any state office in Wisconsin is to win Milwaukee and Dane counties by 60% or better and then win urban pockets throughout the rest of the state. Keep in mind that in the WOW counties are no longer the bastions of Republican control they once were. Finally, the policy platform Tiffany has to run on, has been disastrous for Wisconsin farmers. Democrats must articulate that clearly if the party wants to peel away Republican’s strongholds.
Something else to consider, Democrats from Milwaukee County have an even harder time winning statewide elections. In part, this has to do with the relentless dog whistle politics of Republicans like Ron Johnson, Scott Walker, and Tommy Thompson. The racist tactics and created an “out-state Wisconsin verses Milwaukee” dichotomy. Republicans like Voss have used the fear of anything Milwaukee, to undercut state funding that address rural needs. Tiffany will use these same tactics.
The key for the Democratic candidate to beat Tiffany, is to listen to the fears and needs of out-state voters. Actively listen and not just give lip-service to these voters. Ask them what they need to make their lives, the lives of their families and communities better. Then structure the party platform to align with the needs those needs.
Once out-state voters feel heard by the Democrats, then Democrats can remind voters how the policies of Tiffany and the current administration have hurt out-state voters, how these policies have made their lives worse.
Whatever they do, Democrats can’t just concede out-state voters to Tiffany. They need to engage in dialog with north central and northwestern voters as well as voters across the state. Democrats can no longer proclaim their party tent welcomes everyone. No, they have to prove it. Dialog is the first step.