It Wasn’t Over

August 12, 2026

. . . ’til the last vote was counted.

I hope the DNC is paying attention. They need to understand that their voters—and independents who they hope will vote for Democratic candidates—cannot be pigeonholed or molded to fit the DNC’s ideal. People are not all alike, and the DNC needs to start seeing their party as a coalition, not a monolith. Progressive voters are a large part of that coalition. The results of the Senate primary in Michigan and the gubernatorial primary in Wisconsin prove that. The DNC cannot ignore or push aside progressive candidates and voters and still expect to win elections.

The stakes are too high. Republican candidate Tom Tiffany is trying to present himself as a folksy farm boy. Signs at his watch party last night said, “You Betcha!” (If I didn’t know better, I’d say he’s trying to model himself after Minnesota Governor Tim Walz.) He’s campaigning as the candidate who will govern with common sense, not like the “madness in Minnesota” or the “insanity in Illinois,” he says. But he’s not fooling anyone who’s keeping score. Tom Tiffany is 100% MAGA: election denier, against abortion under any circumstances, Trump toady, the works.

During the campaign, the Democratic candidates all said they understood the need for everyone to support whoever won the primary. They know the danger of having Tiffany as governor. The losing candidates now need to persuade their supporters to set aside their disappointment and work to elect David Crowley and defeat Tom Tiffany.

Sitting out the election is not an option. Skipping over the governor race on your ballot is not an option. Writing-in the name of someone who has no chance of being elected is not an option. The voters chose David Crowley to be the Democratic candidate for governor. Whatever your political stripes, if you do not want Tom Tiffany as governor, you must vote for David Crowley.