by Ben Whedon
Democratic socialist Francesca Hong on Wednesday endorsed Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley for governor, after he pulled off an upset against her to win the Democratic nomination for Wisconsin governor.
Hong had been the favored candidate in nearly every poll, though Crowley managed to narrowly edge her out on Tuesday evening. He has since called for party unity to defeat Rep. Tom Tiffany, R-Wis.
“Congratulations to David Crowley and his team. I fully support him and look forward to working with him to defeat Congressman Tiffany in November,” Hong said in an X statement.
“This campaign was not about getting one person into office. It is about building a movement for permanent affordability and a government that puts working people first,” she added. “Our movement is strong, and the work isn’t done. I am overwhelmingly proud of our team and the work they have done to achieve that goal.”
The race is expected to be one of the more competitive gubernatorial contests in November.
Numerous Democratic Socialists of America candidates have scored major primary victories during the 2026 primary season.
In New York, Darializa Avila Chevalier defeated Rep. Adriano Espaillat by almost 4 points in the Democratic primary for New York’s 13th District. In the state’s 7th Congressional District, Claire Valdez defeated Brooklyn Borough President Antonio Reynoso by over 20 points.
Outwest in Colorado, Melat Kiros beat Rep. Diana DeGette in the state’s Democratic primary for the 1st Congressional District by over 13 points.
Other DSA-backed candidates who won include Donavan McKinney in Michigan’s 13th Congressional District and Chris Rabb in Pennsylvania’s 3rd Congressional District.
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Ben Whedon is a reporter for Just the News. Zachery Schmidt is the digital editor of The Star News Network and contributed to this story.
Photo “David Crowley” by David Crowley. Photo “Francesca Hong” by Francesca Hong.
