Crowley Outraises Hong in July, Despite Briefly Leaving Race for Governor

Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley sits next to Gov. Tony Evers during a campaign event in Appleton on Monday, Aug. 3, 2026. Joe Schulz/WPR

Despite briefly dropping out of the race for governor in July, Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley raised more than twice as much money as Madison Rep. Francesca Hong in the closing days of the Democratic primary.

At the same time, Crowley’s haul was eclipsed by Republican U.S. Rep. Tom Tiffany, who raised more than $4.6 million, largely with the help of two GOP megadonors.

Between July 1 and July 27, Crowley reported raising around $776,000, spending nearly $628,000 and ending the period with about $463,000 in the bank. During the same reporting period, Hong, the democratic socialist, reported raising nearly $339,000 and spending around $343,000. She ended with around $406,000 in cash.

It was a strong showing for Crowley, who was technically out of the Democratic primary for 10 days until he relaunched his campaign on July 18 with an endorsement from Gov. Tony Evers. Of Crowley’s fundraising totals, $20,000 came from Evers’ campaign account.

University of Wisconsin-La Crosse political science professor Anthony Chergosky told WPR Crowley’s fundraising surge and Evers’ donation “reflects Democratic Party leaders at long last coordinating around a single alternative to Hong.”

“Because in my view, Hong was and is beatable in the primary as long as the party coordinates around a single alternative to her,” said Chergosky. “And Crowley’s fundraising surge does, to some level, I think, reflect that the party is rallying behind him, or at least key parts of the party are rallying behind him in a last-ditch effort to stop Hong.”

Chergosky said it also raises questions about “Hong’s viability as a fundraiser for the general election” against a unified Republican Party getting millions of dollars from a handful of megadonors.

Madison Rep. Francesca Hong speaks to a crowd gathered at Atwood Music Hall to support her campaign for governor Sunday, June 14, 2026, in Madison, Wis. Angela Major/WPR

The remaining Democratic primary candidates, Madison state Sen. Kelda Roys and former Department of Administration Secretary Joel Brennan, were far behind in fundraising. Brennan reported raising around $145,000 and his campaign had nearly $284,000 in cash. Roys raised about $126,000, spent about $452,000 and ended the period with just more than $81,000 in the bank.

Former Lt. Gov. Mandela Barnes, who abruptly ended his campaign for governor Thursday, also posted lackluster fundraising figures compared to Crowley and Hong. Barnes brought in around $289,000 between July 1 and July 27. He spent around $369,000 and ended the period with around $124,000.

A filing from current Democratic Lt. Gov. Sara Rodriguez, whose campaign implosion threw the party’s primary into chaos reported raising nearly $286,000 and spending around $395,000. She ended July 27 with around $43,000 in cash, along with nearly $270,000 in outstanding debt.

Tom Tiffany continues to dominate Democrats’ fundraising thanks to GOP megadonors

Throughout Democrats’ messy race for their party’s nomination, Republicans have been nearly unified behind Tiffany’s campaign for governor. It showed once again in Tiffany’s latest fundraising figures, in which he reported raising more than $4.6 million over the 26 day period. That’s more than any Democratic candidate has raised during the entire year.

U.S. Rep. Tom Tiffany speaks before Vice President JD Vance’s remarks Thursday Feb. 26, 2026, at Pointe Precision in Plover, Wis. Angela Major/WPR

Tiffany’s haul, however, comes with caveats. Just more than $4 million of his total came by way of transfers from the Republican Party of Wisconsin, which got $5 million from GOP megadonors Richard and Elizabeth Uihlein.

All told, Tiffany’s campaign has received around $10.4 million in transfers from the state GOP and most of that came from the Uihleins and fellow Republican megadonor Diane Hendricks.

It’s the latest report detailing how the three megadonors have helped Republicans outpace the Democratic Party of Wisconsin’s fundraising in the governors race. While the state GOP brought in a total of around $5.1 million from five donors in July, the Democratic Party of Wisconsin only raised around $381,000 from 640 individuals.

Chergosky said it appears the “tables have turned” in Republicans’ favor after years of the state Democratic Party dominating fundraising, using a 2015 GOP law allowing unlimited donations to and transfers from political parties.

Richard and Elizbeth Uihlein, seen here in a 2017 promotional video, own the Pleasant Prairie-based Uline company. They’re also among the nation’s largest donors to conservative candidates. Screenshot via YouTube

Chergosky said Democratic money will flow once the party picks its nominee, but it’s possible there could be hesitance depending on which candidate moves on to the general election.

“For Democrats, they’ve got the big fish of their own,” said Chergosky. “I mean, Democrats have plenty of big donors to draw on, but it remains to be seen how willing they’re going to be to open up their wallets if they have questions about the party’s viability in the race for governor.”

Crowley outraises Hong in July, despite briefly leaving Democratic primary for governor was originally published by Wisconsin Public Radio.