David Crowley Wins Wisconsin Governor Race Against Francesca Hong

In the Wisconsin governor race held on Tuesday night, moderate Democrat David Crowley defeated progressive candidate Francesca Hong by approximately 4,000 votes, a margin of 0.5 percentage points. Despite holding a lead in many polls prior to the election, Hong, who is affiliated with the Democratic Socialists of America, did not receive endorsements from prominent progressive figures such as Senator Bernie Sanders and Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. Critics from both the right and some Democrats had previously scrutinized Hong for her past social media comments, including a deleted post advocating for the cancellation of Thanksgiving and calls to defund the police. The race was marked by significant withdrawals from establishment Democrats, including Wisconsin's current lieutenant governor, Sara Rodriguez, who suspended her campaign in July after issues with her campaign manager. Crowley had also briefly suspended his campaign earlier in July due to poor polling but re-entered the race following Rodriguez's exit. The outcome of this race may offer limited insights into the future of progressive candidates within the Democratic Party.