Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley said affordability will be his top priority if he’s elected governor next year.
Crowley announced his candidacy this week to succeed Governor Tony Evers, who will not run for re-election.
In an interview for the 365 Amplified podcast, Crowley said everything is just too expensive.
“There’s an affordability crisis happening right now,” he said. “Everyone is getting less, even if you’re making more money. We need to figure out how we can provide some relief.”
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While acknowledging the state has little power to control prices, it can help people afford to keep up.
“We need to invest in good paying, family-sustaining jobs, union jobs,” he said. “We have to fully fund our public school systems all across this state… (and make) sure people get access to affordable and accessible health care whenever and wherever they need it.”
Crowley noted that he has led the state’s most populous county, representing nearly one-sixth of the state’s population. It’s also a very different, more urban environment than most of the state.
“What works in Milwaukee may not work in Madison, may not work in Green Bay,” he said. “We don’t need cookie cutter solutions for the problems we face. We need to tailor solutions to each particular area and each particular community.”
Still, he said, the important issues are pretty consistent across the state.
“The issues I have focused on in Milwaukee County—affordable housing, tackling the opioid epidemic, cutting taxes, cutting our carbon emissions in half—these aren’t just Milwaukee issues. These aren’t just Democratic issues. These are Wisconsin issues,” he said.
Crowley, 39, was born and raised in Milwaukee and is a product of Milwaukee Public Schools.
“Both of my parents suffered from either drug addiction or mental health, and when I was a junior in high school, that’s when I got my life saved by a youth organization. That youth organization introduced me to community organizing, taught me how to love myself, love my community, which eventually introduced me to politics,” he said.
That youth organization was Urban Underground, where Crowley would go on to become community justice coordinator. He would go on to work for US Senator Russ Feingold and Nikiya Dodd, both when she was a Milwaukee County Supervisor and State Senator.
He first ran for office himself in the spring of 2016, coming in third in the nonpartisan primary race for Milwaukee City Council, in which the top two candidates moved on to the general election. Soon thereafter, State Representative LaTonya Johnson announced that she would not seek re-election, opening the door for Crowley to run to represent the district. He won the three-way Democratic primary handily, with 56% of the vote, and went on to run unopposed in the general election.
After two terms on the council, in 2020 he ran to succeed Chris Abele as Milwaukee County Executive, coming in second in the nonpartisan primary to former State Senator Chris Larson and then narrowly defeating Larson – by less than half a percentage point – to become the first Black, and youngest, executive of Milwaukee County in history.
The prospect of being the first Black governor is not lost on Crowley.
“There’s two things that I can’t control,” he said. “I’m from Milwaukee and I’m an African American, but that’s not going to stop me from being the governor for all of us. While it is historic in nature, it’s more important for me to talk to folks about the opportunities we’re going to create for all communities across this state.”
Lieutenant Governor Sara Rodriguez has also announced that she is running, as have two Republicans: manufacturing executive Bill Berrien and Washington County Executive Josh Schoemann. Milwaukee Mayor Cavalier Johnson, considered by pundits a potential candidate himself, has endorsed Crowley. The primary election will take place August 11, 2026, and the general election November 3, 2026.
