Gov. Tony Evers isn’t running for reelection in 2026, but he still played a leading role in potentially determining his successor, as Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley rode a late Evers endorsement to apparent victory Tuesday with a razor-thin win over state Rep. Francesca Hong in the Wisconsin Democratic gubernatorial primary.
Hong led most of the polls, but still faced a seemingly skeptical block of undecided voters who ultimately broke for Crowley, even though he left the race for a 10-day period in mid-July.
The independent firm Decision Desk HQ called the race for Crowley at 1:20 a.m.
Late into the vote counting, Crowley and Hong exchanged leads of only a couple of hundred votes before Crowley built an advantage of less than 3,100 votes out of 751,000 total votes cast, once thousands of absentee ballots in Milwaukee had been tabulated.
With more than 95% of all votes counted, Crowley had 312,286 votes, or 39.88%, while Hong had 308,401, or 39.38% — a margin of less than 3,100 votes out of 751,000 total votes cast.
State Sen. Kelda Roys earned 7% of the vote and Joel Brennan collected 4%. Another 66,840 votes were cast for three candidates who had dropped out of the race: Lt. Gov. Sara Rodriguez, former Lt. Gov. Mandela Barnes, and Missy Hughes.
In Wisconsin, a candidate who finishes less than one percent behind the winner can ask for a recount. The state covers costs if the margin is less than one-quarter of a percent. Above that threshold, the candidate must pay the Wisconsin Election Commission before the counting is done.
Crowley will face Republican US Rep. Tom Tiffany, who had no trouble defeating Andy Manske in that primary contest.
Congressional primaries
3rd Congressional District – There will be a rematch in Wisconsin’s 3rd Congressional District as Rebecca Cooke fended off a challenge from Emily Berge in the Democratic primary. Cooke gets another chance to unseat Republican US Rep. Derrick Van Orden. Decision Desk HQ called the race at 8:35 p.m. CDT.
7th Congressional District – Michael Alfonso won a close race to become the Republican nominee in the 7th Congressional District, setting up the chance to claim the seat once held by his father-in-law, US Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy.
Alfonso held off former 7th Congressional District Republican Party Chair Kevin Hermening and two other contenders, despite a scant work history and a campaign funded largely with funds tied to Duffy, the transportation sector he’s supposed to oversee, and billionaires.
On the Democratic side, former state Rep. Fred Clark emerged from a three-candidate field, collecting 37% of the vote compared to 32% for Ginger Murray and 30% for Chris Armstrong, with more than 95% of votes counted.
Legislative primaries
In southwest Wisconsin’s 17th State Senate District, Rep. Jenna Jacobson, with the backing and resources of the State Senate Democratic Committee, defeated former childcare operator Corrine Hendrickson and business owner Lisa White. Jacobson will challenge GOP Sen. Howard Marklein, co-chair of the Legislature’s Joint Finance Committee.
The 76th Assembly District seat in Madison is open as Rep. Francesca Hong chose to run for governor. In a five-candidate Democratic field, Madison alder Dina Nina Martinez-Rutherford emerged as the nominee and is seeking to become Wisconsin’s first openly transgender legislator depending on a November matchup with Republican Nina Chat.
State treasurer’s race
Marathon County Board member Yee Leng Xiong has won the Democratic primary for the role of state treasurer, the only statewide post currently held by a Republican, John Leiber.
Xiong, who is also a member of the Weston Village Board and the DC Everest School Board, defeated Black Earth Village Board member Dylan Helmenstine, who is also a member of the Wisconsin Heights school board.
With 71% of the vote counted, Xiong led the race, 56%-42%. He is hoping to become the first Hmong American elected to statewide office in the United States.
GOP statewide races
There have been surprises in two of the Republican Party’s statewide races, where the candidates endorsed at the state convention lost in Tuesday’s primaries.
The lieutenant governor running mate for US Rep. Tom Tiffany will be David Varnam, the mayor of Lancaster, rather than the party-endorsed candidate, Will Martin, from Racine. With 67% of the votes counted, Varnam had 54% to Martin’s 46%.
And in the race for Secretary of State, party-endorsed candidate Nate Pollnow lost to Jay Schroeder. Pollnow and Martin had access to party resources as a result of the convention endorsements, but GOP voters went in a different direction.
