‘Moderate’ Dem gubernatorial candidate embraced DEI budget tool, Green New Deal-style policies
Democratic socialist Francesca Hong lost Wisconsin’s Democratic gubernatorial primary earlier this month, but some of the progressive policies that define the party’s far-left flank may not have disappeared with her campaign entirely.
David Crowley, the Milwaukee County executive who defeated Hong after being cast as the more moderate choice, has overseen racial-equity budgeting, expanded the county’s equity bureaucracy and urged the Wisconsin attorney general to sue fossil fuel companies for environmental-related damages. Meanwhile, Crowley has also shared ground with Hong on taxing millionaires and ambitious carbon-neutrality goals.
"Milwaukee County is known for it's beer and brats, but unfortunately it's also the epicenter of David Crowley's budgetary boondoggles. Under Crowley's failed leadership, residents received their largest property tax hike in 15 years, paid higher sales taxes for everyday purchases, and saw millions of their hard-earned tax dollars set up to finance Crowley's Green New Deal 'Net Zero' scam for the county," Wisconsin native and Republican consultant Mark Bednar told Fox News Digital.
"In an era where voters are increasingly focused on the economy and their pocketbooks, Wisconsinites should ask themselves, do they really want to expand Crowley's gross mismanagement and liberal priorities to the whole state?" He continued. "I'm guessing a big Wisconsin 'heck no.'"
In a recent campaign ad, Crowley touted a record of "getting things done" and "practical bipartisan solutions," while Wisconsin Public Radio described him during the primary as a "mainstream Democratic alternative" to Hong.
CBS News called him a "moderate Democrat" after his primary victory, while Axios framed Crowley's upset as a potential revival for the Democratic Party’s center-left.
But, despite being cast as the more moderate alternative, Crowley has shared several significant policy positions with Hong. Crowley himself acknowledged the policy overlap during the primary, telling supporters that "there’s many things that everybody agrees on, right?" when discussing his differences with Hong, according to WISN 12’s "UpFront," while adding that there were also areas where the two "absolutely disagree."
Both have backed higher taxes on millionaires, a $20 minimum wage, expanded union rights and universal child care. Their climate agendas also contain a notable parallel – Hong campaigned on making Wisconsin carbon-neutral by 2050, while Crowley signed Milwaukee County’s plan to bring county operations to net-zero emissions by the same year.
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Crowley’s record on DEI complicates his "moderate" image as well. It includes embedding a Racial Equity Budget Tool (REBT) into the state budgeting process. Milwaukee County describes the tool as a "structured racial equity lens" for departments to assess how budget decisions affect communities of color.
In his 2022 budget address, Crowley said all the Milwaukee County departments had "once again" used the tool and were asked what they would do with additional funding "to specifically address racial equity."
"Racism is a public health crisis in Milwaukee County," the county's 2024 budget stated. "The REBT is a structured racial equity lens for Milwaukee County departments to use to critically assess the impact of budget decisions on communities of color."
Crowley’s tenure as Milwaukee County executive also transformed the county’s Office on African American Affairs into a broader "Office of Equity," which grew the original office’s reach to "other communities of color, LGBTQ+ and people with varying abilities," while increasing accountability for the county’s existing racial-equity goals.
Climate policy has been another focus of Crowley’s tenure in Milwaukee. In April 2025, he signed Milwaukee County’s Climate Action 2050 plan, developed by his administration after the County Board adopted a carbon-neutrality goal in 2021. The plan seeks to bring county government operations to net-zero carbon emissions by 2050 — the same year Hong’s statewide climate agenda called for Wisconsin to become carbon-neutral.
Crowley also signed a 2022 resolution calling on Wisconsin’s attorney general to sue fossil-fuel companies and seek damages for environmental and climate harm in Wisconsin communities. And, in April, he signed legislation reaffirming Milwaukee County’s commitment to the principles and goals of the Paris Agreement amid federal climate-policy rollbacks.
Crowley’s campaign and Milwaukee County’s press office did not respond to Fox News Digital’s requests for comment on his record.