In the final week of a turbulent primary, Wisconsin’s two-term governor is crisscrossing the state to pitch to voters David Crowley as his successor – a longshot effort to coalesce the Democratic electorate’s undecided voters to head off frontrunner Francesca Hong.
Evers’ endorsement of Crowley in July rocked an already chaotic race, returning the Milwaukee County executive to the primary he had dropped out of just days prior and enraging other candidates who had expected Evers to stay out of the race.
In an interview with the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Evers said he made the controversial move because of Crowley’s unique experience governing when compared to other candidates’ resumes.
“It’s always been people before party,” Evers said Monday. “I want, more than for Democrats to win in November, it’s to leave Wisconsin in good hands when someone else takes over. Wisconsin comes first, always.”
When asked if he believed Hong could defeat Republican candidate for governor Tom Tiffany in a general election, Evers said “probably not.”
“Obviously she’s an extraordinarily talented person, but at the end of the day, it was about issues,” Evers said.
Hong spokeswoman Allison Geyer said Hong is leading in polls “because Wisconsinites overwhelmingly want to tax the rich, stop the AI data centers, and deliver fundamental change to our broken politics.”
“The Governor can have his opinion, but it is the voters who should decide who is the nominee, not the political establishment,” Geyer said.
To pull off what Evers and Crowley are seeking to do is a “stretch,” Marquette University Poll director Charles Franklin said in a recent interview with WISN 12.
In Franklin’s most-recent poll, Crowley received just 7% of Democratic voters’ support while 38% of voters said they supported Hong. But 34% said they were still unsure of who to get behind. In a separate survey, 51% of voters polled approved of the job Evers is doing as governor.
Two other Democrats still in the race, former Evers cabinet official Joel Brennan and state Sen. Kelda Roys, polled at 2%.
Franklin said for Crowley to attract the number of voters he needs “would be an exceptional coalescence around an alternative candidate.”
At a campaign stop at brewery in Appleton on Aug. 3, Crowley downplayed the uphill climb before him.
“Not only with the governor’s endorsement, but with my background building coalitions and building bridges, with my executive experience and with my governing experience, there’s no reason why we wouldn’t be able to coalesce all the undecided voters in order to win in August 11th,” he said.
Evers said he believed there were enough voters who wanted an alternative to make the feat possible. He cited Crowley’s experience governing Milwaukee County, negotiating legislation aimed at keeping the Milwaukee Brewers at American Family Field through 2050, and opening a new mental health emergency center in the county, among other initiatives.
“I want to make this clear, they’re all good people, but he was in a position to make tough decisions,” Evers said. “If you think about it, there’s four left and there’s only one who’s got stuff done and it’s him.”
Molly Beck can be reached at molly.beck@jrn.com.
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Tony Evers hits campaign trail for David Crowley to stave off Hong
Reporting by Molly Beck, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel / Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
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By Molly Beck, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel | USA TODAY Network
