Crowley zeroes in on ‘MAGA extremism’ to rebuild a fractured Wisconsin coalition

David Crowley is focusing his efforts on appealing to voters who supported democratic socialist Francesca Hong, framing the governor’s race as a critical battle against “MAGA extremism.”

In Wisconsin, Democrats are working urgently to bridge the divide between the far left and centrist factions of the party after a challenging primary that raised issues of electability and the extent to which they should pursue leftist ideologies. A similar scenario is unfolding in Michigan, where the party has a limited window to rally behind progressive Abdul El-Sayed for a crucial election in November.

Crowley shared with POLITICO his intention to use GOP Rep. Tom Tiffany and President Donald Trump as focal points to unite the party.

“We’re not all going to agree on everything. But I think we agree that the ultimate goal is making sure that we don’t have a MAGA extremist and congressman Tom Tiffany sitting in the governor’s office,” Crowley said in an interview Thursday, highlighting the state’s chance to “check on Trump’s agenda” amid the ongoing “affordability crisis.”

Democrats see retaining control of the governor’s mansion in Wisconsin—a crucial battleground state where Trump narrowly won by just under 30,000 votes in 2024—as essential to countering Trump’s influence. They aim to achieve a governing trifecta in the state for the first time since 2010.

Crowley, the Milwaukee County executive chosen by Governor Tony Evers, aims to not only consolidate the left but also appeal to independents and former GOP voters who feel alienated by the current Republican party. Evers himself won against GOP then-Gov. Scott Walker in 2018 by forming a coalition across Democratic strongholds, independents, and some Republican-leaning voters.

Crowley also mentioned conversations with “some Republicans who are more interested in defeating Tom Tiffany.”

With Trump’s approval rating declining, Crowley’s team believes that addressing living costs under the Trump administration and the unpopular Iran war offers a strategic advantage to reach a broader voter base.

Despite his efforts to connect with Hong’s supporters, Crowley indicated to POLITICO that he would not campaign with some of her prominent surrogates. He was non-committal when asked about including Hong’s allies in his general election campaign, stating that everyone is “welcome” at the table.

When questioned about campaigning with controversial leftist social media influencer Hasan Piker, Crowley said, “No.”

“I don’t know Hasan, but I always want to be focused on Wisconsin voters,” he commented.

Hong has pledged to campaign alongside Crowley leading up to November, but many of his allies view her as a potential political risk. They are concerned that her democratic socialism and controversial social media posts about defunding the police and canceling Thanksgiving might harm Crowley’s broader appeal. Crowley is also standing firm on a major campaign issue that divided the primary: he will not support the moratorium on data center development that Hong advocated.

“No moratorium,” Crowley stated in the interview, though he and Hong agree on implementing “guardrails” on data center development through legislation.

“I let folks know exactly where I stood on data centers,” he said. “That’s why we were able to not only consolidate many of those undecided voters but get many rural communities to support us as well, because we have a common-sense approach to make sure that we’re protecting our environment, protecting our water, and protecting ourselves … when it comes down to these data centers.”