David Crowley Trumps Tom Tiffany, Wins Gubernatorial Race

Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley. Photo taken Oct. 6, 2026 by Graham Kilmer.

Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley has won Wisconsin’s race for governor, defeating Republican Congressman Tom Tiffany and completing one of the most unusual political comebacks in recent state history.

Crowley, 40, will become Wisconsin’s first Black governor, succeeding fellow Democrat Tony Evers, who opted against seeking a third term. His victory gives Democrats a third consecutive term in the governor’s office, something the party has never accomplished in Wisconsin.

A senior official with the Crowley campaign declared victory at 9:30 p.m., following an earlier Decision Desk call. Crowley was outperforming Tiffany compared to past top-of-the-ticket races in key battleground communities, including Waukesha County.

Crowley is expected to speak at 10 p.m. Tiffany conceded shortly after this article was first published.

But Crowley’s path to the governor’s mansion was anything but straightforward.

He dropped out of the race in July, endorsed another candidate, returned just 10 days later and narrowly won a Democratic primary that appeared to be slipping away from the party’s establishment.

Now, less than four months after abandoning his gubernatorial ambitions, Crowley is governor-elect.

The Milwaukee native’s victory also represents a defeat for President Donald Trump, who endorsed Tiffany but never came to Wisconsin during the final months of the campaign, despite traveling extensively to other states.

According to the White House, Trump made 30 appearances in 20 states between Oct. 1 and Nov. 1, including visits to battleground states Michigan, Arizona, Georgia and North Carolina. He also made multiple trips to states he comfortably won in 2024, including Texas, Kansas and Ohio.

Wisconsin, where Trump won by less than one percentage point in 2024, was conspicuously absent from the itinerary.

The absence came as Tiffany, one of Trump’s most loyal allies in Congress, attempted to distance himself from some of the president’s less popular policies while relying on significant financial support from three billionaire donors.

Crowley and his allies repeatedly sought to connect Tiffany to Trump, including the congressman’s efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election.

The connection was potentially damaging. The final Marquette University Law School poll before the election found Trump’s approval rating in Wisconsin at just 38%.

A Campaign That Nearly Ended

Crowley’s victory would have seemed improbable in early July.

The Milwaukee County executive entered a crowded Democratic primary that included Lt. Gov. Sara Rodriguez, former Lt. Gov. Mandela Barnes, Rep. Francesca Hong, Sen. Kelda Roys and former Evers administration official Joel Brennan.

As Hong, a Democratic Socialist from Madison, gained momentum, Crowley struggled to break through.

On July 8, Crowley suspended his campaign and endorsed Rodriguez, apparently ending his bid for statewide office.

But Rodriguez’s campaign soon collapsed amid revelations of serious inaccuracies in its campaign finance reports. She withdrew on July 17, reopening the contest.

The following day, Crowley announced he was back in the race, this time with the endorsement of Evers.

The governor’s support proved consequential. Crowley attracted a surge of financial backing and support from establishment Democrats concerned about Hong winning the nomination.

On Aug. 11, Crowley narrowly defeated Hong, winning by less than half a percentage point. Barnes had also withdrawn before the primary, adding another twist to the chaotic contest.

The primary victory set up a general election between two candidates with sharply different political backgrounds.

Crowley, a Milwaukee native, was first elected to the Wisconsin Assembly in 2016 and became Milwaukee County executive in 2020. He was the first Black person and youngest candidate elected to the position.

Tiffany, 68, represented a sprawling northern Wisconsin congressional district after previously serving in the Legislature. He was elected to Congress in a 2020 special election and became a reliable supporter of Trump.

Trump Looms Over Race, But Stays Away

The president’s role became one of the defining elements of the general election, even as he stayed out of Wisconsin.

Tiffany sought to make the race a referendum on state taxes, crime and economic development, promising to return Wisconsin’s approximately $3 billion surplus to taxpayers and freeze property taxes.

He attacked Crowley’s record running Milwaukee County and portrayed him as a supporter of controversial data center developments.

Crowley emphasized affordability, public education, health care and child care. He also made Tiffany’s relationship with Trump a central issue, criticizing the Republican’s support for the president’s economic agenda and the war in Iran.

The Democrat repeatedly contrasted his campaign’s grassroots support with Tiffany’s extensive financial backing. Tiffany raised more than $26 million between July 1 and Sept. 23, with most of that funding coming from billionaires Richard Uihlein and Elizabeth Uihlein and Diane Hendricks.

Crowley countered with appearances by prominent Democrats, including former Vice President Kamala Harris, Maryland Gov. Wes Moore and former U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg.

Trump, meanwhile, maintained an aggressive national campaign schedule, but bypassed Wisconsin even as Republicans battled to win the governorship and preserve their legislative majorities.

The president’s absence was particularly notable given Wisconsin’s recent electoral history. Trump carried the state in 2016, lost it in 2020 and reclaimed it in 2024, with each contest decided by less than one percentage point.

From Milwaukee to Madison

Crowley’s election creates another major political transition in Milwaukee.

The county executive must relinquish the position he has held since 2020 to become governor. His departure will create an opening atop Milwaukee County government, where he has spent much of his tenure managing longstanding fiscal challenges, public transportation issues and efforts to overhaul county services.

Board Chair Marcelia Nicholson-Bovell will become county executive or can appoint someone to the position before a special election is called.

Crowley will inherit a state government that has spent much of the past eight years divided between Evers and Republican legislative leaders. But, based on the outcome of a number of pending races, he could end up leading a Democratic trifecta, with Democrats controlling the Legislature.

This article is about breaking news and will be updated.