David Crowley's Tepid Support from Home County Bodes Badly for His Chances in Wisconsin Governor Race

Wisconsin voters who know him best didn't rally for Crowley.

The 1984 electoral map for the presidential election between Democrat Walter Mondale and Republican Ronald Reagan is a classic example of the home field advantage candidates typically expect. That year, every state went Republican red except Mondale's blue home state of Minnesota. Even a dog of a candidate can normally expect support from their own neighborhood.

Likewise, in the Democrat governor primary in Wisconsin, Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley won his home county, but only by a hair, capturing 43.05 percent of the votes compared to socialist Francesca Hong's 41.47 percent. It was similar to other countries where Crowley prevailed, but not by much.

Look at Hong's home turf, Madison's Dane County, where Hong earned 44.02 percent of the votes and Crowley had 36.67 percent. That was a 7.35 percent lead for Hong at home, whereas Crowley only led Hong by 1.58 percent on his home turf. Here we see the old proverb in action: familiarity breeds contempt.

What do Milwaukee voters know that the rest of the state ought to know? Living under Crowley's rule has been a lesson in rising costs and shrinking services. Under Crowley the 2026 Milwaukee County budget of $1.4 billion has a $46 million shortfall that is projected to climb above $50 million in 2027. It means it costs more to live in Crowley's Milwaukee. The Milwaukee County sales tax went up by .4 percent in 2024, from 0.5 percent to 0.9 percent, the highest county sales tax in the state.

The county increased its property tax levy in 2026 by 3.48 percent. There is no evidence that Crowley can manage the money he takes from taxpayers, yet now he wants to manage Wisconsin's budget?

🚨 WATCH: David Crowley says that "defunding or divesting from the police is a conversation we're going to have to have together." pic.twitter.com/9rp95Q0mtB

— Tiffany War Room (@TiffanyWarRoom) August 12, 2026

Crime is up with Crowley leadership, too.

Car jackings rose 11 percent in 2025 (513 incidents) over 2024 (463 incidents), according to a report from the Milwaukee Police Department. Car theft is up. Robbery is up.

Nonfatal shootings are down to 639 in 2024, but that still is almost two shootings a day—making Milwaukee an unsafe place to take a leisurely walk if you want to avoid stray bullets and aren't sure where the "safe areas" are located.

Seems like a terrible time to "have a conversation" about defunding the police, as Crowley wants to do.

Perhaps this is why the appetite for Crowley as governor is so light in his home county where voters know his work best.

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