Wisconsin’s Democratic gubernatorial primary has become a political relay race, with candidates dropping out, jumping back in and leaving voters to sort through a trail of unanswered questions. The reported turmoil arrives just before the November 3 midterm elections, making the party’s internal disorder especially difficult to ignore.
According to the report, Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley announced on July 8 that he was suspending his campaign. That left Wisconsin Lt. Governor Sara Rodriguez in the primary, at least temporarily. Two weeks later, on July 17, Rodriguez dropped out after her campaign discovered what it called “serious mismanagement and inaccuracies” in its campaign finance reports. Her campaign manager, Kara Spencer, was fired.
Then came the political equivalent of a revolving door. Crowley returned to the race less than 24 hours after Rodriguez’s departure. The Democratic primary was suddenly a contest between Crowley and Francesca Hong, a candidate described in the source report as a socialist. The primary election was less than a month away, leaving plenty of time for confusion and not much time for anyone to pretend the process looked orderly.
On election night, Crowley narrowly defeated Hong, a 37-year-old state assemblywoman. The reported margin was roughly 3,000 votes, less than half a percentage point. Hong had been widely expected to face Republican nominee Tom Tiffany in the general election, but Crowley’s late victory changed the matchup.
Adding another layer to the story, Milwaukee’s election results were reportedly delayed after five of nine USB flash drives failed to download the results. Officials attributed the problem to “human error,” while critics called it “complete incompetence.” Flash drives are not usually supposed to become major characters in a governor’s race, but Wisconsin apparently had other plans.
The report also revisits disputed claims involving the 2020 election, alleging that a Milwaukee election flash drive was lost before officials later reported approximately 120,000 additional votes for Joe Biden. The source presents the latest flash-drive failure as a repeat of that earlier controversy, though the claims remain allegations presented by the publication.
An October 24 update added an even more serious accusation. Steve Cortes said an insider whistleblower provided evidence that Crowley left the primary at the request of party insiders in exchange for $250,000 and a job for his wife. The report says Daily Wire published the allegations and that Crowley later re-entered the race under similarly unusual circumstances before securing the nomination.
Cortes summarized his concerns by writing, “Wisconsin isn’t for sale. It sure looks like laws were broken. At the least, Crowley has major questions to answer, and I’m told there’s more to come…”
Whether these allegations withstand scrutiny, the Wisconsin primary has already produced a remarkable list of questions involving campaign finance reports, sudden candidate withdrawals, a rapid return, razor-thin results and malfunctioning election equipment. For a party that routinely lectures everyone else about competent government, this is not exactly a polished demonstration.
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