Wisconsin’s Democratic gubernatorial primary was more chaotic than the public knew, according to a party insider who said the race’s eventual winner had earlier accepted a hefty payoff to drop out of the race.
Democrat David Crowley dropped out of the race in July and returned weeks later to win, persuaded by hundreds of thousands of dollars and the promise of a job for his wife, according to longtime Democratic staffers and corroborating accounts reviewed exclusively by The Daily Telegraph.
Crowley struck a deal with Lt. Gov. Sara Rodriguez as part of an effort to consolidate votes for Socialist Party candidate Francesca Hong, according to political sources with first-hand knowledge of the incident. The adviser familiar with internal discussions within Rodriguez’s campaign said the deal involves Crowley withdrawing from the race and endorsing Rodriguez in exchange for transferring $250,000 into his political coffers and guaranteeing his wife a role in a future Rodriguez administration.
“The Crowley campaign has made it clear that David Crowley will not support Lt. Gov. Rodriguez without committing to substantial funding for his campaign account or future political activities,” the senior Democratic adviser said, adding that his wife Erica’s paid position is guaranteed.
It was after the deal was finalized that Crowley withdrew from the race on July 8, people familiar with the matter said. Report immediately He will support Rodriguez. At a press conference a day later, he said the only reason for the decision was that Rodriguez was “the best candidate.”
“I want to be very clear about something,” Crowley explain July 9th. “No one called me or anything like that to ask me to withdraw from this race. This race is about making sure we get the best candidates in this race.”
“So I want to be very clear that there is no process in place. This is a decision I made in this campaign to support Sarah Rodriguez because I believe she is the best candidate,” he added.
Behind the scenes, negotiations over Crowley’s exit continued for about a month between the two camps before an agreement was reached, the Democratic operative said.
“At the time, the Rodriguez campaign and other Democratic consultants and insiders believed there was a need to clear the way for a candidate other than Francesca Hong,” the consultant told The Daily Telegraph, noting that Rodriguez was believed to have the best chance of winning.
“We decided to transfer $250,000 to David Crowley’s campaign, and Erica may be offered a position,” the consultant said. The position was not specified, he added, but “obviously it will be a paid position.” Crowley’s wife currently holds the position. director Member of the Milwaukee Rental Housing Resource Center, an organization focused on homelessness.
The Crowley campaign, less than two weeks away from a general election contest against Republican Tom Tiffany, has denied knowledge of any endorsement deals. “We don’t know what you’re talking about,” a campaign spokesman said.
Neither Rodriguez nor her office responded to text messages, emails or phone calls seeking comment.
Of course, the election went very differently than Democrats expected.
Support for Rodriguez briefly surged after reports emerged of inconsistencies in Rodriguez’s campaign finance reports. she forced After overreporting hundreds of thousands of dollars, she repeatedly revised her report to say she only had about $35,000 in cash on hand. She suddenly dropped out of school, shocking the political world.
“As we continue to dig deeper into our financial reports, it’s clear that there are issues that will continue to be a distraction — not just for this campaign, but for the primary and the state of Wisconsin,” Rodriguez said. explain July 17th. “This game is too important to Wisconsin to let this happen.”
One day after Rodriguez dropped out of the race, Crowley announced he would return with the support of Democratic Gov. Tony Evers.
On July 18, Evers said of Crowley: “Not only is he a candidate who can win in November, but he’s the kind of person who cares about doing a good job.”
Less than a month later, Crowley defeated Hong, a socialist, in the primary, even though polls showed her leading by a wide margin.
Voting now exhibit It was a close race between Crowley and Tiffany, who had served in the state Legislature and the U.S. Congress. Crowley leads the polls by an average of about 3 points, but his approval rating remains below 50%.