Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley defeated state Representative Francesca Hong in Wisconsin's Democratic gubernatorial primary on Tuesday, winning 39.8 percent of the vote to Hong's 39.4 percent — a margin of approximately 0.4 percentage points — in a race that highlighted divisions within the Democratic Party between mainstream and left-wing factions. Crowley, endorsed by incumbent Governor Tony Evers, will face Republican nominee US Representative Tom Tiffany, who won his party's primary with 95.3 percent of the vote, in the November general election.
Crowley defeats Hong in Wisconsin Democratic gubernatorial primary; other states hold mixed results
Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley defeated state Representative Francesca Hong in Wisconsin's Democratic gubernatorial primary on Tuesday, winning 39.8 percent of the vote to Hong's 39.4 percent — a margin of approximately 0.4 percentage points — in a race that highlighted divisions within the Democratic Party between mainstream and left-wing factions. Crowley, endorsed by incumbent Governor Tony Evers, will face Republican nominee US Representative Tom Tiffany, who won his party's primary with 95.3 percent of the vote, in the November general election.
Primary elections were also held Tuesday in Alabama, Connecticut, Minnesota, South Carolina, Vermont, and Wisconsin. Hong had led in polls ahead of election day, according to the article.
Hong's policy positions included abolishing the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency, imposing a one-year moratorium on new data centres, and increasing taxation on billionaires and corporations. She ran without endorsements from US Senator Bernie Sanders or US Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, unlike Abdul El-Sayed, a progressive candidate who won Michigan's Democratic Senate primary earlier in the month.
Hong had also faced criticism over past social media posts, including a November 2020 post referring to Thanksgiving as 'the colonizer holiday' and another calling for cancellation of the holiday. In subsequent interviews, she walked back those statements, saying she had fond memories of Thanksgiving as a chef but acknowledged the holiday is painful for many people, and separately said she did not want to cancel Thanksgiving.
A recent Reuters/Ipsos poll cited in the source indicates a growing number of Democratic voters want candidates to move further left. More than seven in ten Democrats who identify as liberal said it is 'essential' that candidates support raising taxes on corporations and billionaires (76 percent), expanding abortion access (72 percent), and universal government-provided healthcare (71 percent).
In Minnesota's Democratic Senate primary, progressive Lieutenant Governor Peggy Flanagan defeated Representative Angie Craig, with Flanagan receiving 59 percent of the vote to Craig's 39.4 percent, with approximately 99 percent of votes counted. Flanagan will face Republican Lisa Demuth in November. Demuth, Speaker of the Minnesota House of Representatives, defeated former MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell in the Republican gubernatorial primary, winning 43.4 percent to Lindell's 32.5 percent despite Lindell having received Trump's endorsement in May. Lindell is a proponent of the claim, described in the source as debunked, that the 2020 presidential election was stolen from Republicans.
In Minnesota, Democratic Senator Amy Klobuchar won her party's gubernatorial nomination following what the source describes as 'Operation Metro Surge,' a Trump administration immigration enforcement campaign in Minneapolis that resulted in the deaths of two protesters at the hands of officers.
In Alabama's redrawn 2nd Congressional District, Trump-backed Republican Rhett Marques won the primary with 50 percent of the vote, ahead of Hampton Harris at 21.6 percent. The district was redrawn following a Supreme Court ruling in April that allowed Louisiana Republicans to redraw their electoral map; the redrawn Alabama map eliminates one of two districts where Black voters formed a majority or near-majority. Marques will face Democrat Shomari Figures in November.
In South Carolina, Darline Graham — sister of the late Senator Lindsey Graham — advanced to an August 25 Republican runoff for her brother's Senate seat, receiving 32.7 percent of the vote in a ten-candidate field. US Representative Ralph Norman, who received 24.7 percent, will face her in the runoff. Governor Henry McMaster had appointed Darline Graham to serve the remainder of her brother's term after Lindsey Graham died unexpectedly from a heart ailment. Trump endorsed her for a full six-year term.
In Vermont's Democratic gubernatorial race, Amanda Janoo won 49.1 percent of the vote, ahead of Aly Richards at 46.5 percent, with approximately 98 percent of votes counted. Republican incumbent Phil Scott ran unopposed.
- The source does not include any response or statement from Tom Tiffany regarding his Republican primary win in Wisconsin.
- The source does not include a response from Lisa Demuth following her Minnesota Republican primary victory.
- The source does not detail results from Connecticut's primary elections, which are listed as having occurred Tuesday.
- The source does not provide Shomari Figures's response to facing a redrawn, more Republican-leaning district.
- The source does not specify the nature of the Supreme Court ruling cited in relation to Alabama's redistricting — the ruling described appears to concern Louisiana, and its application to Alabama's map is not fully explained.
- The source does not clarify how the deaths of two protesters in Minneapolis during 'Operation Metro Surge' are connected to Klobuchar's nomination win.
- Al Jazeera English — original — by Sarah Shamim
- France 24 — by FRANCE 24
Read the original at Al Jazeera English