MILWAUKEE (WTAQ-WLUK) — Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley announced his decision to officially relaunch his campaign for Governor of Wisconsin at a rally held in Milwaukee on Saturday, and was immediately bouyed by an unexpected high-profile endorsement.
During the rally, held at Venue 3 located in the 3rd Street Market Hall, Crowley stated the election is “too important to gamble on”, encouraging his decision to re-enter the race.
“We cannot allow the GOP to choose the Democratic nominee for governor. This election is too important to gamble on, and that’s why, today, I am re-entering this race. “
Wisconsin governor Tony Evers released a statement to X endorsing Crowley.
Today, I’m endorsing @DavidcCrowley to be Wisconsin’s next governor.
I’m urging Wisconsinites to join me in uniting and supporting David in the upcoming August 11 primary and the November election.
We’ve got a lot to do and only a short time to do it, folks. Let’s get to work! pic.twitter.com/KvArA2cZdt
— Tony Evers (@Tony4WI) July 18, 2026
Crowley responded to the endorsement during his speech, saying “the governors endorsement reflects his confidence that I have the judgment and record to build the type of coalition that we need to defeat Tom Tiffany and lead effectively from the very first day in August.”
Crowley concluded his speech with a recap of his decision to rejoin the race.
“It is time to fight back y’all. My record proves that I can do it, and I am ready for this fight on day one. You deserve a true democratic energy, and that’s exactly why I am re-entering this race to be the next Democratic Governor.”
The announcement comes one day after Lt. Gov. Sara Rodriguez suspended her own campaign, citing campaign finance problems that she said would become an ongoing distraction.
Crowley had ended his campaign July 8 and endorsed Rodriguez the following day.
Each of the other Democratic candidates in the gubernatorial election have weighed in on the news.
In a statement, former Lt. Gov. Mandela Barnes’ campaign wrote that Crowley’s campaign had already struggled to catch momentum.
David Crowley left this race for a reason. After nearly an entire year in the race, the only attention he received was for a major healthcare scandal that threw Milwaukee residents off their insurance. He and his allies spent nearly a million dollars but gained absolutely no traction and was stuck in the low single digits. With just 3 weeks until Election Day and after nearly 70,000 people have voted, this Hail Mary serves no purpose other than playing spoiler and handing our state to Trump’s handpicked candidate in Tom Tiffany.
State Rep. Francesca Hong also commented on the news on ‘X’, as well as Gov. Evers’ endorsement of Crowley.
— Francesca Hong For Governor (@FrancescaHongWI) July 18, 2026
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