David Crowley (Wisconsin politician)
American politician (born 1986)
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David Carl Crowley (born May 14, 1986) is an American politician who has served as the seventh executive of Milwaukee County since 2020. A member of the Democratic Party, he previously served in the Wisconsin State Assembly, representing the 17th district, including the west side of Milwaukee, from 2017 to 2020.[1][2][3] Crowley is the first African American to serve as Milwaukee County's top official and the youngest person elected to the office, having taken office in May 2020 at age 33.[4][5] He is a candidate in the Democratic primary in the 2026 election for Governor of Wisconsin.[6]
May 14, 1986
David Crowley | |
|---|---|
Crowley in 2026 | |
| 7th Executive of Milwaukee County | |
| Assumed office May 4, 2020 | |
| Preceded by | Chris Abele |
| Member of the Wisconsin State Assembly from the 17th district | |
| In office January 3, 2017 – June 18, 2020 | |
| Preceded by | La Tonya Johnson |
| Succeeded by | Supreme Moore Omokunde |
| Personal details | |
| Born | David Carl Crowley May 14, 1986 Milwaukee, Wisconsin, U.S. |
| Party | Democratic |
| Spouse | Ericka |
| Children | 3 |
| Education | University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee (BS) |
| Website | Campaign website |
Early life and education
Crowley was born on May 14, 1986, in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.[7] Crowley's parents struggled with drug addiction during his childhood, and the family lost its home when he was 10 years old. His parents eventually divorced. Crowley was evicted from two more homes before graduating from high school.[4][8][5]
Under the mentorship of Reggie and Sharlen Moore and their community organizing group Urban Underground, Crowley became interested in issues of policing and local government.[4] Crowley graduated from Bay View High School and first attended the University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee in 2006, leaving during his first semester and returning intermittently in later years.[9] He resumed his studies while serving as county executive and earned a bachelor's degree in community engagement and education in December 2024.[9][10][5] Crowley delivered the commencement address at the December 2024 ceremony.[9][10]
Political career
While attending college, Crowley began working in politics as a campaign organizer for U.S. Senator Russ Feingold's 2010 re-election campaign. After the election, he took a job as a legislative aide to Milwaukee County supervisor Nikiya Harris Dodd. When Harris Dodd was elected to the Wisconsin Senate in 2012, Crowley suspended his education to work as her policy director at the Wisconsin State Capitol in Madison, Wisconsin.[4][7]
Crowley made his first attempt at elected office in 2016, when he ran for a seat on the Milwaukee Common Council. He came in third in the February nonpartisan primary election and did not advance to the general election.[11] Later that month, his employer, Nikiya Harris Dodd, announced she would not seek re-election in Wisconsin's 6th Senate district. The move prompted Assembly member La Tonya Johnson to declare for that office, creating an open race in the 17th Assembly district. Crowley entered the race and won the Democratic primary with 56% of the vote.[12][13] He was unopposed in the general election and entered office on January 3, 2017.[4][14] He was re-elected in 2018.[7]
Milwaukee County executive (2020–present)
In November 2019, after incumbent Chris Abele announced he would not seek re-election, Crowley announced his candidacy for Milwaukee County executive.[15][16] In the February primary election, Crowley came in a close second to state senator Chris Larson, defeating county board chairman Theodore Lipscomb and businesswoman Purnima Nath.[17] Crowley received the endorsement of outgoing executive Chris Abele, who had been challenged by Larson for the office in 2016. Abele went on to spend heavily on behalf of Crowley through his political action committee, Leadership MKE.[18][19] The April election was significantly disrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic in Wisconsin. Crowley defeated Larson by 1,026 votes.[2][19]
Crowley was sworn in as county executive on May 4, 2020, in the front yard of his home because of restrictions on public gatherings during the COVID-19 pandemic.[20][21] He resigned his seat in the Assembly effective June 18, 2020, as required by a 2015 Wisconsin law prohibiting a person from simultaneously serving as a member of the legislature and a county executive.[3][22][23]
As county executive, Crowley oversees an annual county budget of about $1.4 billion.[24][25] When he took office, the county was already facing longstanding financial problems that were compounded by the COVID-19 pandemic.[26][27] To address these problems, Crowley partnered with organizations including the League of Wisconsin Municipalities, the Greater Milwaukee Committee, and the Wisconsin Counties Association to seek additional local revenue authority.[citation needed] He also lobbied Milwaukee mayor Cavalier Johnson, Democratic and Republican state legislators, and Governor Tony Evers in support of a state funding agreement.[27][28] The resulting legislation, 2023 Wisconsin Act 12, authorized Milwaukee County to impose an additional 0.4-percentage-point sales tax.[28][27] The County Board approved the increase in July 2023, raising the county sales tax from 0.5% to 0.9%, and Crowley signed it the following month. The tax took effect on January 1, 2024.[27][29] County officials said the additional revenue was needed to address pension obligations and avoid further cuts to county services.[27]
Crowley's other policies have addressed opioid addiction, housing affordability, and carbon emissions.[26][9] In 2021, he signed legislation creating Right to Counsel Milwaukee, a program providing free legal representation to eligible residents facing eviction or foreclosure.[30][8] In 2023, Crowley signed legislation distributing more than $11 million in opioid-settlement funds among 15 county programs, including treatment for people in the county correctional system and vending machines dispensing naloxone and fentanyl test strips.[31] In April 2025, he signed Milwaukee County's Climate Action 2050 plan, which calls for net-zero carbon emissions from county operations by 2050.[32][33] In January 2021, Crowley was named to the Milwaukee Business Journal's "40 Under 40" class of 2021.[34][35] He was re-elected in 2024, defeating perennial candidate Ieshuh Griffin with 84.5% of the vote.[36][37]
2026 Wisconsin gubernatorial campaign
In 2024, it was unclear whether Governor Tony Evers would run for a third term; at that time, Crowley was named as one possible candidate to succeed him.[38] Evers announced on July 24, 2025, that he would not seek re-election in the 2026 election.[39] The next day, Crowley said he planned to run for governor.[40]
Crowley formally launched his campaign for governor on September 9, 2025.[5][26] He was endorsed the next day by Milwaukee mayor Cavalier Johnson.[41] Crowley faced a crowded Democratic primary field that included Lieutenant Governor Sara Rodriguez, former lieutenant governor Mandela Barnes, state senator Kelda Roys, state representative Francesca Hong, former Wisconsin Department of Administration secretary Joel Brennan, and Missy Hughes, the former CEO of the Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation.[42] In the first major campaign finance reports, covering the second half of 2025, Crowley reported raising about $789,000 and had about $602,000 cash on hand, the most money raised among the Democratic candidates during that reporting period.[42]
Despite his fundraising, Crowley struggled to gain support in opinion polls. A March 2026 Marquette University Law School poll found him at 3% among Democratic primary voters.[43] At the Democratic Party of Wisconsin state convention in June, Crowley placed fourth in an informal straw poll, with 13% support from delegates.[44] On June 22, Hughes suspended her campaign and endorsed Rodriguez, who had won the straw poll.[45] Crowley announced on July 8 that he was suspending his campaign and formally endorsed Rodriguez the following day.[46][47]
Days later, Rodriguez fired her campaign manager after discovering that her campaign had hundreds of thousands of dollars less cash on hand than expected. Rodriguez suspended her campaign on July 17, saying continuing problems with its financial reports would be a distraction.[48] Crowley re-entered the race on July 18 and announced the endorsement of Evers.[49][50] A Marquette poll conducted from July 22 to 27 found Crowley at 7%, with 34% of Democratic primary voters undecided.[51] Barnes suspended his campaign on July 29.[52] Crowley, Hong, Brennan, and Roys remained active candidates on the day of the August 11 primary.[6]
Personal life and family
Crowley's parents later recovered from their addiction struggles.[4] His mother, Valerie, died in 2023.[9] He married his wife, Ericka, in 2016; they have two daughters together, and Crowley is also the stepfather of a daughter from Ericka's previous relationship.[4][37] Crowley has served as vice chair of the Milwaukee chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union.[citation needed] He has also served on the chapter's board.[53] He is a member of Milwaukee Urban League Young Professionals and the Milwaukee NAACP.[37][15]
Electoral history
Milwaukee Common Council (2016)
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nonpartisan Primary, February 16, 2016 | |||||
| Nonpartisan | Khalif Rainey | 1,351 | 31.51% | ||
| Nonpartisan | Michael Bonds | 1,116 | 26.03% | ||
| Nonpartisan | David Crowley | 962 | 22.44% | ||
| Nonpartisan | Randy Jones | 613 | 14.30% | ||
| Nonpartisan | Vivian Redd-Fehr | 228 | 5.32% | ||
| Scattering | 17 | 0.40% | |||
| Total votes | 4,287 | 100.0% | |||
Wisconsin Assembly (2016, 2018)
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic Primary, August 9, 2016 | |||||
| Democratic | David Crowley | 3,303 | 56.48% | ||
| Democratic | Kim Burns | 1,635 | 27.96% | ||
| Democratic | Marcus Hart | 887 | 15.17% | ||
| Scattering | 23 | 0.39% | |||
| Plurality | 1,668 | 28.52% | |||
| Total votes | 5,848 | 100.0% | |||
| General Election, November 8, 2016 | |||||
| Democratic | David Crowley | 21,715 | 99.07% | ||
| Scattering | 204 | 0.93% | |||
| Plurality | 21,511 | 98.14% | |||
| Total votes | 21,919 | 100.0% | |||
| Democratic hold | |||||
Milwaukee County Executive (2020)
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nonpartisan Primary, February 18, 2020 | |||||
| Nonpartisan | Chris Larson | 42,154 | 36.34% | ||
| Nonpartisan | David Crowley | 39,756 | 34.27% | ||
| Nonpartisan | Theodore A. Lipscomb Sr. | 19,252 | 16.60% | ||
| Nonpartisan | Purnima Nath | 14,218 | 12.26% | ||
| Scattering | 624 | 0.54% | |||
| Total votes | 116,004 | 100.0% | |||
| General Election, April 7, 2020 | |||||
| Nonpartisan | David Crowley | 96,714 | 50.05% | ||
| Nonpartisan | Chris Larson | 95,688 | 49.52% | ||
| Doug Schmidt (write-in) | 1 | 0.00% | |||
| Scattering | 836 | 0.43% | |||
| Plurality | 1,026 | 0.53% | |||
| Total votes | 193,239 | 100.0% | |||