MADISON – Running on his experience leading the state’s largest county and a plan to build on Gov. Tony Evers’ work, Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley has joined the Democratic primary for governor.
“Gov. Evers has been able to lead our entire state … with a steady, calm, quiet strength, and I want to continue to do a lot of that work — but I know that there’s so much more for us to do for working families across the state,” he told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel in an interview to announce his campaign.
Crowley, 39, enters the race just a year after securing a second term as the county’s leader. He oversees a $1.4 billion county budget that is currently facing a $47 million deficit and looming financial troubles. The county’s transit system will likely see funding cuts to address a budget deficit in that department, too.
Having years of experience as both a legislative staffer and a member of the state Assembly, Crowley touted his combination of executive leadership experience with knowledge of how the state Capitol operates.
“Since May of 2020, I’ve led Milwaukee County not only through the pandemic, but we’ve tackled issues like public safety, like public health and fiscal recovery,” Crowley said. “We’ve invested in small businesses across the county. We’ve invested in affordable housing. We’ve made government more accessible. We’ve delivered on affordable housing, and we’ve also delivered on giving our residents the largest property tax cut in the county’s history.”
As county executive, Crowley has pursued policies to address opioid addiction and unaffordable housing and to reduce carbon emissions. In 2023, he also helped negotiate a deal with Republican lawmakers who control the state Legislature to send more state funding to local governments.
That deal also aimed to keep the city and county of Milwaukee from entering a financial crisis by allowing their elected leaders to vote on local sales tax increases. The law was a “historic” bipartisan effort that helped communities obtain needed resources, Crowley said, but “I will be the first to tell you that it didn’t solve all of our problems, either.”
Crowley pledged that a Democratic trifecta with him as governor and the party in control of the Legislature would deliver the political muscle to “tackle the shared revenue problem once and for all.” Democrats would need to pick up two new seats in the Senate and five in the Assembly to assume the legislative majority.
Asked about bills he’d like to sign into law as governor, Crowley did not share any specific policies but said, “It’s about going to every community across this state, no matter their size, and making sure to listen. Folks want someone who’s going to come to the table and listen to the issues that are facing them, but also invite them to be a part of the solutions. And … we can’t have a cookie-cutter solution to everything that is happening.”
In a video announcing his campaign launch, Crowley shared his family’s experience being evicted multiple times during his childhood — something he said will either “break you” or “make you.” He was raised in one of the state’s toughest ZIP codes, 53206, and said he became a community organizer because he didn’t want any other children to go through what he did.
When asked how he might pursue affordable-housing policies, Crowley said policymakers “need to go out into these communities and listen to those who are directly impacted by the rising cost of housing to see what is needed and how we can move forward,” adding that he sees bureaucratic roadblocks to bringing affordable and attainable housing throughout the state.
Crowley also did not say whether he would look to change any of the state’s abortion laws, which currently ban abortion after 20 weeks among other restrictions, but said he’d see what came to his desk and “anything that we can do to continue to be champions for reproductive rights, we’re going to do that.”
More: Republicans wary abortion issue could be a millstone in 2026 Wisconsin elections
Asked about two Milwaukee-specific problems — the city’s issues with reckless driving and a struggling school district — Crowley said more state funding is needed. He did not say why he has not invoked a state law that would allow the Milwaukee County executive to take over its public schools, or whether he would consider it.
More state dollars would give local governments “the opportunity to make those investments that help uplift their community, invest in infrastructure and invest in fire and police,” he said. He also argued for more state resources for public schools, but said “any school that’s receiving any public funds” must be transparent and accountable.
He joins Lt. Gov. Sara Rodriguez in the Democratic primary for governor. State Sen. Kelda Roys and Wisconsin Economic Development Corp. Secretary Missy Hughes are expected to announce bids in the coming weeks, too.
Asked where he sees himself within the Democratic Party on a scale from far-left to centrist, Crowley said he’s “just a good Democrat,” but added his campaign will welcome Democrats, Republicans and independents as he seeks to be a “governor for all of us.”
In 2020, Crowley was elected as Milwaukee’s first Black county executive and the youngest person to hold the office. Crowley would be one of the youngest Wisconsinites to become governor if elected. Former Democratic Gov. Martin Schreiber was 38 when he took office in 1977. Gov. Philip La Follette, who was first a Republican and later a progressive, was 34 when he began his first term in 1931. The state’s first governor, Democratic Gov. Nelson Dewey, was 35 when he took office in 1848.
Before running for county executive, Crowley served two terms in the state Assembly. His career in politics began as an organizer for Russ Feingold’s U.S. Senate campaign in 2010. He also worked as a legislative aide to county supervisor and state Sen. Nikiya Harris Dodd.
Having dropped out of the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee at 19, three years ago he quietly pursued a degree and graduated last December, all the while carrying out his duties as county executive.
Crowley previously worked for organizations such as Safe & Sound, the YMCA Community Development Center, COA Youth and Family Services and Urban Underground, according to his LinkedIn.
Crowley first joined Urban Underground in high school, a Milwaukee youth organization that he credits with guiding him to public service.
Crowley and his wife, Ericka, live in Milwaukee with their three daughters.
Jessie Opoien and Molly Beck can be reached at jessie.opoien@jrn.com and molly.beck@jrn.com.
Hope Karnopp contributed to this report.
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: David Crowley enters Democratic field for Wisconsin governor