Francesca Hong and David Crowley battle for the lead in Wisconsin’s Democratic primary for governor

Wisconsin’s Democratic primary for governor was too close to call early Wednesday morning, according to NBC News’ Decision Desk, with state Rep. Francesca Hong and Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley separated by only a few hundred votes.

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The race was more competitive than most Democrats expected entering election night, after a dramatic campaign of twists, dropouts and surges that illuminated the deep divides between different wings of the party.

Hong, a democratic socialist, started her campaign essentially unknown but went on to build a substantial lead in public polling, becoming an object of national political fascination in one of the nation’s most closely balanced battleground states.

Crowley, meanwhile, dropped out of the race one month ago after he initially struggled to gain traction, only to re-enter 10 days later with outgoing Democratic Gov. Tony Evers’ endorsement.

But Hong, 37, of Madison, faced growing scrutiny in the closing stretch of the campaign over her controversial positions she’d outlined in the past, fueling concerns among some Democrats that she was too far left to win a general election in the swing state.

Crowley, 40, was also a largely unknown quantity statewide. But Evers, a popular governor who chose not to run for a third term, went to bat for him on the campaign trail, arguing that he was the most electable candidate in the primary.

As the governor put his political capital on the line and stumped across the state with Crowley, pro-Crowley outside groups amplified the message with closing ads on TV, as polls also showed a large chunk of voters headed into the final weeks of the race undecided.

The message seemed to land with some voters. Alli Plummer of Madison told NBC News that she “voted for Crowley because I am a risk-averse person, and I really was reading a lot about who has the chances to beat Tom Tiffany in the larger election.”

But Plummer was part of a “split-vote couple” with Shawn Bass, who voted for Hong.

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“I really think that she has a great platform for talking about universal healthcare, talking about universal childcare,” Bass said.

The late drama and tight vote count came after other major shakeups throughout the primary, which had lacked a clear front-runner for much of the year.

Lt. Gov. Sara Rodriguez, who some moderate Democrats expected would establish herself as a leading candidate, unexpectedly exited the race in mid-July amid issues with her campaign finances. Former Lt. Gov. Mandela Barnes, the Democratic Senate nominee in 2022 who narrowly lost to GOP Sen. Ron Johnson, dropped out at the end of July.

Candidates aside from Hong and Crowley played a significant role, pulling a combined 20% of the vote. They included Rodriguez and Barnes, who were each taking nearly 4% support. A Wisconsin judge had ruled that voters who returned absentee ballots could not request new ones, even if the candidates they backed were no longer in the race.

State Sen. Kelda Roys was in third place, just shy of 8%. In Dane County, a critical liberal stronghold that includes both Roys’ and Hong’s legislative districts, Roys was taking close to 11%.

In Wisconsin, a losing candidate can request a recount if the margin is decided by less than 1%. If the margin is 0.25% or less, the state pays; otherwise the candidate does.

The eventual Democratic nominee will face Rep. Tom Tiffany, who won the Republican gubernatorial primary Tuesday, NBC News projected.

Tiffany attacked Hong and “extreme Madison socialism” in a brief appearance on Fox News Tuesday night. In a speech to supporters after his primary win, he said, “Stand with me as we protect the Wisconsin way of life, and stand with me as we move Wisconsin forward.”

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