MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Republican Tom Tiffany conceded defeat Tuesday in the Wisconsin governor's race.
The Associated Press hasn't called the race yet and Tiffany's Democratic opponent, David Crowley, hasn't declared victory. But Tiffany said in his concession speech that he wanted to be magnanimous in defeat.
Crowley would be the first Black governor in Wisconsin 178-year history, and his win would mark the first time that Democrats will hold the governor’s
office for more than eight consecutive years. He would replace Gov. Tony Evers, who decided to retire instead of seeking a third term. Evers issued a statement congratulating Crowley.
The victory would blunt Republican efforts to claw back control of a state that Trump won in two of his three presidential campaigns. It also would ensure that a Democrat will be leading Wisconsin during the next race for the White House, when the state will likely continue its role as a key battleground.
Crowley, 40, was born on the north side of Milwaukee in one of the country’s poorest neighborhoods, and his parents battled substance abuse and evictions. But Crowley turned to community organizing and politics, winning election to the Legislature at age 30. He served just over three years before being elected in 2020 as Milwaukee County executive.
His path to the governor’s office was tumultuous. He dropped out of the race when he appeared unlikely to win the Democratic nomination, only to rejoin at Evers’ urging. He defeated a democratic socialist in the August primary, then faced off with Tiffany, who received most of his financial support from just three billionaires.
Tiffany, who survived a small plane crash while campaigning, was weighed down by the president’s record-low approval numbers in Wisconsin, a state that Trump won twice.
Democrats were hoping for a trifecta — winning the governor’s office and flipping both legislative chambers. They have not had full control of Wisconsin state government since 2010.
Wisconsin’s governor’s race was open for the first time in 16 years after Evers decided against seeking a third term.
The last open race for governor was in 2010, when Democratic incumbent Jim Doyle, similar to Evers, opted not to seek a third term. Republican Scott Walker won that year, and over the next eight years enacted a wide array of Republican priorities that dramatically scaled back union rights, slashed taxes and started requiring voters to show identification at the polls.
Evers, who normally doesn’t endorse in primaries, got behind Crowley in an effort to blunt the rising campaign of democratic socialist Francesca Hong. Crowley won by less than half a percentage point.
Wisconsin is used to close races.
Trump, who endorsed Tiffany, won Wisconsin in 2016 and 2024 and lost in 2020. Those three presidential elections are among five of the past seven in Wisconsin that have been decided by less than a percentage point.
In 2018, Evers defeated then-Gov. Scott Walker by 1.1 percentage points. Evers won reelection by 3.4 points in 2022, a landslide by Wisconsin standards.
Tiffany tried to portray Crowley as an advocate for building data centers in Wisconsin, referring to him as “Data Center David Crowley.” Tiffany ran an ad that included a clip of Crowley saying Wisconsin could become the “AI and data hub not only for the entire country, but for the entire globe.”
But Tiffany also said positive things about data centers in the past. Crowley changed his position on data centers late in the campaign, coming out in favor of a moratorium in October. Tiffany did not call for a moratorium on construction.
Tiffany also tried to portray Crowley as weak on crime and said Crowley would increase taxes as governor to pay for his agenda, which included expanding healthcare and fully funding public schools.
Crowley hammered Tiffany on economic issues, saying his loyalty to Trump and support of the war in Iran was to blame for the high gas prices that were hurting Wisconsin residents, particularly farmers. Crowley also ran in support of overturning the 15-year-old state law known as Act 10 that effectively ended collective bargaining rights for most public workers.
Tiffany, 68, voted for that law when he was a member of the Legislature. Tiffany was elected to Congress in 2020, representing a mostly rural district after nine years in the Legislature.
Crowley also called for expanding Medicaid coverage, increasing funding for public schools and increasing access to child care.
