What the Hell Just Happened in Wisconsin?

Hong was up 20 in every poll and lost by half a point. The postmortem.

Yesterday morning, it seemed like Francesca Hong, a DSA assemblywoman from Madison, was going to cruise to the Democratic nomination for governor in Wisconsin. She was up by 20 points in some polls, and news outlets were already previewing the changes she would make to her campaign for the general election and wondering how Democrats would unite behind her in a tough battle against Republican election denier Tom Tiffany.

Fast forward to this morning: Hong lost, and Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley is now the Democratic nominee. The story of this primary season has been outsider progressive upstarts beating establishment-backed candidates left and right. So what the hell happened in Wisconsin? How did David Crowley, who campaigned day and night with the sitting governor, upset Hong?

It’s All About Electability

Ever since Trump waddled onto the scene, Democrats have wanted winners. They have voted with their heads more often than their hearts. The idea that he was uniquely qualified to beat Trump was Joe Biden’s biggest selling point in 2020. Electability became a central issue in this race. Governor Evers would tell anyone who would listen that Hong would probably lose to Tiffany and put the state in the hands of a MAGA extremist.