David Crowley is the first Black man to become a major party nominee for governor in Wisconsin.
Crowley, Milwaukee’s first Black county executive and the youngest person to hold that office, narrowly defeated presumed frontrunner Francesca Hong in the Democratic primary in the early hours of Aug. 12.
“This historic moment is not lost on me, but I’m not even thinking about that because we still have work to do,” Crowley said Aug. 12 when asked about the potential of becoming Wisconsin’s first Black governor.
“My job is not to become the first, and if I do become the first, my job is to make sure that I’m not the last, and provide more opportunities for young men and women across the state.”
Crowley accepted the Democratic nomination for governor at Sherman Phoenix in Milwaukee before taking questions from reporters. He moves on to the general election against Republican Tom Tiffany.
Crowley, 40, was raised in one of the state’s toughest ZIP codes, 53206, and has spoken about his parents’ struggles with mental health, substance abuse and evictions. He’s said he became a community organizer because he didn’t want other children to go through what he did.
“I know what it means to face hardship because I’ve lived it,” Crowley said, during his acceptance speech, saying his road to this moment wasn’t perfect and adding it was “hallmarked by childhood eviction, family addiction and mental health struggles.”
Crowley defined himself as “a son of Milwaukee, a community organizer by heart who just happened to find himself in the halls of the state Capitol building at the head of Milwaukee County’s government for the last six years.”
Crowley oversees a $1.4 billion county budget. He helped negotiate a shared revenue deal with Republicans in 2023 to avoid a financial crisis in the city and county, which is still facing a $50 million deficit and looming financial trouble.
He was also involved in discussions with lawmakers regarding legislation passed in 2023 that helped pay for improvements to American Family Field and keep the Milwaukee Brewers in the city until 2050.
Crowley was a state representative before being elected to his current role in 2020. He coasted to reelection in the 2024 race for Milwaukee County executive, winning about 85% of the vote.
On the campaign trail Crowley has highlighted his years as executive as well as his time as a legislative staffer and a member of the state Assembly, saying he has a unique combination of executive leadership experience and knowledge of how the state Capitol operates.
Crowley’s administration has faced criticism over a lapse early this year in Milwaukee County’s contract covering employee and retiree health care and pharmacy benefits after it expired at the end of 2025. Crowley’s office said in February that an employee tied to the lapse had been terminated.
He attended Bay View High School and enrolled in University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee but left school at age 19.
He recently went back to UWM and earned his bachelor’s degree in December 2024, when he delivered the commencement address at the Panther Arena.
Crowley previously worked for organizations like Safe & Sound, the YMCA Community Development Center, COA Youth and Family Services and Urban Underground.
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: David Crowley’s nomination a first for a Wisconsin Black man
Reporting by Mary Spicuzza and Shane Colpoys, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel / Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Mary Spicuzza and Shane Colpoys, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel | USA TODAY Network
