David Crowley makes history as Wisconsin’s first Black governor

The 40-year-old Milwaukee County executive defeated Republican Tom Tiffany in a historic election, pledging to lower costs for working families.

David Crowley has won Wisconsin’s gubernatorial election, becoming the first Black governor in the state’s history.

The Milwaukee County executive defeated U.S. Congressman Tom Tiffany, the Republican nominee, 53% to 46% at the time of publication.

“The historic nature of this campaign is not lost on me, but I think that it’s more important that even if I am the first, that I’m not the last,” Crowley, 40, previously told theGrio when reflecting on the potential moment.

Crowley focused his campaign on lowering costs for Wisconsinites, specifically working families. He told theGrio that he would prioritize tackling the affordability crisis, lowering utility prices, housing prices, creating greater access to childcare and to healthcare.

As he ran for the governorship in the critical battleground state, Crowley also positioned himself as a non-hyperpartisan candidate willing to work with Republicans to achieve common goals, if necessary.

“Politics is loud, it’s angry, and, for some, it’s broken,” he told theGrio. “I think that we need a governor who’s going to be steady, who’s going to be responsible, who’s going to be focused on getting the things done. I think that’s exactly what our state needs right now, and this is exactly how I’ve been able to govern, not just as Milwaukee County executive, but even as a state representative.”

Crowley, like many Democratic candidates this midterm election cycle, seized on to President Donald Trump’s growing unpopularity over the economy and other domestic issues in Wisconsin, where Trump won in the 2024 election by just over 1%.

As the final two years of Trump’s presidency near, Crowley said Democrats must prepare and be “proactive” as they continue to “stand on the front lines” and point out the “bad policies that are coming out of the federal government.”

Crowley’s victory was hard-fought. After initially suspending his campaign ahead of the primary, the Milwaukee County executive jumped back into the race days later, after a major candidate, Wisconsin Lt. Gov. Sara Rodriguez, dropped out, and another, Mandela Barnes, did so days before the primary election. Crowley, who was endorsed by the current Wisconsin Governor Tony Evers, went on to defeat the progressive frontrunner, Francesca Hong.

The young Milwaukee leader, who is a husband and father of three, previously shared with theGrio his personal story of growing up in the state’s poorest zip code with parents who battled addiction and mental health challenges.

“I wasn’t born into the establishment. I was born into struggle,” he said. “I was evicted three times before I graduated high school. For at least 15 years of my life I moved every single year, and if it weren’t for a youth development organization at the time called Urban Underground that saved my life when I was a junior in high school, you know, I wouldn’t be here today.”

Crowley went from AmeriCorps to organizing as a youth and, eventually, to working as a staffer at the Wisconsin State Capitol, including serving as chair of the Black Legislative Caucus, before entering elected office.

Crowley took on various roles in state and national politics, including as policy director in the Wisconsin State Capitol. In 2016, he was elected to the state assembly, where he served until he was elected Milwaukee County Executive in 2019. 

The now governor-elect said that he wants to create a “long-lasting legacy of being able to get work done.”