DSA Frontrunner Falls Short in Wisconsin Primary

The Democrat Socialists of America’s (DSA) recent surge just suffered a major setback as Francesca Hong, the frontrunner to win the gubernatorial primary in Wisconsin, lost to David Crowley in a narrow race.

What does this loss say about the DSA’s future in the 2026 midterm elections and beyond? Have they gone too far to the left even for the Left?

As reported by NBC News:

Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley has won the Democratic primary in Wisconsin’s race for governor, NBC News projects, dealing a major upset to democratic socialist Francesca Hong.

The result marks a dramatic turnaround for Crowley, who had dropped out of the race roughly a month ago after initially struggling to gain traction only to re-enter days later with outgoing Democratic Gov. Tony Evers’ endorsement.

Hong, a state lawmaker from Madison, had led in the polls in the final stretch of the race, but faced growing scrutiny over her past controversial positions and general election viability. Her loss is a setback for progressives, who have found success in other high-profile primaries around the country this year against establishment-backed candidates.

Crowley will face Republican Rep. Tom Tiffany, who is backed by President Donald Trump, in a general election that will be one of the marquee gubernatorial matchups this fall. Crowley took 39.8% of the Democratic primary vote to 39.4% for Hong with 98% of the expected vote tallied.

Crowley, 40, has served as Milwaukee County executive since 2020. Before that, he was a member of the state Assembly representing an urban Milwaukee district. As recently as late July, he was in the single digits in the well-regarded Marquette University Law School poll, with a large plurality of voters behind Hong, but more than a third saying they were still undecided.

His victory marks the final unexpected development of a volatile primary that had long lacked a clear front-runner.

Lt. Gov. Sara Rodriguez, who some Democrats expected would emerge as a leading centrist contender, abruptly dropped out of the race in mid-July amid campaign finance reporting issues. A few weeks later, former Lt. Gov. Mandela Barnes, a progressive who was the party’s 2022 Senate nominee, ended his bid.

In between those moves, Crowley relaunched his campaign after initially struggling to gain traction in a crowded field, part of a last-ditch push by moderate Democrats to find an alternative to Hong.

Is the tide turning away from the extreme socialists?

Last night Wisconsin’s very tight primary was decided by an extremely narrow margin, as frontrunner Francesca Hong – a DSA candidate who was predicted to handily secure the Democrat nomination for governor – was defeated. Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley, an establishment Leftist, pulled off what may be the upset of this election season.

Still, at a difference of less than .5%, we cannot discount how close a socialist came to taking the Democrat nomination for governor. This result might also be evidence of how disjointed and divided the Left really is – and that includes the mainstream media.

Even today the headlines are asking: How could the polling have been so far off from the actual result? Reputable polls had Hong walking away with the nomination. So, what happened? Did they only conduct these polls at Francesca Hong rallies? Political analysts will likely be scrutinizing this one for weeks to come as we approach November.

Today’s Sekulow broadcast included more analysis of last night’s high-profile primary in Wisconsin. We were also joined by ACLJ Senior Counsel for Global Affairs Mike Pompeo to discuss newly declassified documents that show how the FBI silenced 14 informants who came forward to expose Biden Administration corruption, some of which directly related to Sec. Pompeo himself.

Watch the full broadcast below: