US Midterms: Wisconsin Governor's Race

Is Crowley the working-class candidate, are Tiffany's tax breaks more important or is Big Tech the only winner here?
US Midterms: Wisconsin Governor's Race
Above: A voting ward map at a polling station in Eau Claire, Wis., on Aug. 11. Image credit: Steven Garcia/Bloomberg/Getty Images

The Spin


Democratic narrative

Crowley learned service the hard way, with evictions and instability, before mentors taught him how to take care of his people. As county executive, he cut the levy by $21 million, built a mental-health crisis center and put $35 million into housing. As governor, he can do even more — raise the minimum wage for everyone and repeal Act 10 so public workers can bargain again. Tiffany spent a career weakening those same workers, which is why Crowley has become a ray of hope for Wisconsinites left behind.

Republican narrative

Tiffany is running on concrete policies, like freezing property taxes, repealing the indefinite school tax hike, cutting income taxes for working families and returning the surplus instead of spending it in the capital. Crowley, meanwhile, raised Milwaukee County's sales tax and now wants driver's licenses and tuition for illegal immigrants. This is the same high-cost, low-enforcement path that already squeezed the state's largest county, and Wisconsin does not need it state-wide.

Establishment-critical narrative

Democratic leadership spent the primary panicking over old social media posts and then handed the nomination to a man who wanted Wisconsin to be an AI hub for the entire globe. Crowley's union contracts will be for building these massive eyesores and his "guardrails" still mean no moratorium, leaving regular people living with the power bills. Whether on the right or left, the next governor should remember that more than half of his constituents are opposed to data centers.



The Controversies



Go Deeper

© 2026 Improve the News Foundation. All rights reserved.Version 7.4.1

© 2026 Improve the News Foundation.

All rights reserved.

Version 7.4.1