Wisconsin Gubernatorial Primary by the Numbers
Crowley’s narrow win was the third closest primary out of 96 major party contests for the office since 1912
It was a late night in Wisconsin before its competitive Democratic gubernatorial primary race was called with Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley (pictured) edging out State Assemblywoman Francesca Hong by less than a percentage point.
With just an estimated few thousand votes left to count, Crowley holds a 0.48-point advantage over Hong – good for the third most narrowly decided primary for governor out of eight-dozen held over the last 110+ years.
Since the first contest in 1912, there have been 96 gubernatorial primaries for the Democratic, Republican, and Progressive (1934-1944) parties.
Crowley’s win was the closest in 86 years, when former Kaukauna Mayor and dentist William Sullivan defeated state Democratic Chairman Gustav Keller of Appleton by 0.32 points with just 24.3 percent in the six-candidate 1942 field.
The biggest nail-biter in Wisconsin gubernatorial primary history came on the Republican side in 1918. Two-term Governor Emanuel Philipp edged State Senator Roy Wilcox of Eau Claire by 0.23 points with 38.1 percent of the primary vote.
From 1912 through 2026 a total of 16 of 96 primaries for governor have been decided by single digits.
Seven on the Democratic side:
- 1914 (7.0 points): Milwaukee County Judge John Karel (53.5 percent) over U.S. District Attorney John Aylward of Madison (46.5 percent)
- 1922 (9.2 points): La Crosse Mayor Arthur Bentley (54.6 percent) over former paper manufacturer executive Karl Mathie (45.4 percent)
- 1940 (6.6 points): Former GOP Governor Francis McGovern (38.9 percent) over former Milwaukee city purchasing agent William Callahan (32.3 percent)
- 1942 (0.3 points): Kaukauna Mayor and dentist William Sullivan (24.3 percent) over state Democratic Chairman Gustav Keller of Appleton (24.0 percent)
- 1982 (3.9 points): Former State Assemblyman Tony Earl (45.9 percent) over former Governor Martin Schrieber (42.0 percent)
- 2002 (3.9 points): Attorney General Jim Doyle (38.4 percent) over U.S. Representative Tom Barrett (34.5 percent)
- 2026 (0.5 points): Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley (39.8 percent) over State Assemblywoman Francesca Hong (39.3 percent)
Seven on the Republican side:
- 1918 (0.2 points): Governor Emanuel Philipp (38.0 percent) over State Senator Roy Wilcox of Eau Claire (37.8 percent)
- 1920 (2.9 points): Attorney General John Blaine (29.9 percent) over Wilcox (27.0 percent)
- 1926 (8.1 points): Secretary of State Fred Zimmerman (46.8 percent) over Attorney General Herman Ekern (38.7 percent)
- 1928 (4.1 points): Plumbing manufacturer executive Walter Kohler, Sr. (43.7 percent) over U.S. Representative Joseph Beck (39.6 percent)
- 1936 (3.6 points): Former Chippewa County Attorney Alexander Wiley (51.8 percent) over newspaper Ashland editor John Chapple (48.2 percent)
- 1946 (3.4 points): Governor Walter Goodland (42.5 percent) over state Adjutant General Ralph Immell (39.1 percent)
- 2022 (5.1 points): Business executive Tim Michels (47.1 percent) over former Lieutenant Governor Rebecca Kleefisch (42.0 percent)
And two for the Progressives:
- 1940 (6.2 points): Former state Attorney General Orland Loomis (33.1 percent) over Chippewa Falls attorney Harold Stafford (26.9 percent)
- 1944 (0.8 points): Aid Association for Lutherans president Alexander Benz (33.1 percent) of Appleton over Kenosha attorney Leo Vaudreuil (32.3 percent)
In Tuesday’s Republican primary, U.S. Representative Tom Tiffany easily won nomination with 95.3 percent of the vote. It was the most support received by a non-incumbent in a contested GOP primary for governor in state history, besting Lieutenant Governor Jack Olson’s mark of 91.4 percent in 1970.
The average primary victory margin across all 96 races has been 53.0 points including 30 gubernatorial nominations that went uncontested.
The seven-candidate Democratic field this cycle was the second-largest in a gubernatorial primary in state history.
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Somewhat ironically, the state known for its (LaFollette) progressive heritage and reputation will not have a female governor in early 2027, whereas nearby IA and SD already had or still has one, and MN is certain to have one after the election (a rare match-up, between a sitting US senator and a sitting state House speaker). No less significantly, since it ceased to be be a standalone elective office, a lieutenant governor of the state, either sitting or former, has yet to win an election for US senator, attorney general, or governor (Martin James Schreiber, who reached the office by ascension in the 1970s, sought election in 1982, but failed to win the nomination).
Would Assemblymember Hong have won the primary election for, say, treasurer? Better yet, would she have won the primary had she not vacillated in her response to problematic years-ago social media comments, or never have assented to that CNN interview? (What had been a mostly below-the-radar local contest had become a magnet of national media, and that elevation may have spelled the death knell for the insurgent campaign of the one-time chef.)
Considering the closeness of this race, one suspects if Hong had simply not gone on her media tour during the last week she would have picked up more undecided voters (and/or not shed as many previously Hong-leaners) and eked out a victory. It was not simply the content of her past comments that dragged her down but the not-ready-for-primetime responses to the most basic questions and push-back from journalists.