Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley is running for governor because, ostensibly, he wants to lead all of Wisconsin. But time and again, he proves that he is not a leader. Milwaukee County is grossly mismanaged; Crowley is asking for a $2.4 billion budget, including massive tax increases, on top of his county already having the highest tax rates in the state. Despite this, the county also has a structural deficit and had to cut public transit services by 25 percent thanks to his failures.
Instead of owning his mistakes, Crowley blamed the fiscal mess on Scott Walker, who left the job in 2010 to become governor. After Walker, a string of Democrats ran Milwaukee County until Democrat Crowley took over.
On Sunday night, mobs of black teenagers rushed the gates at the Wisconsin State Fair, located in the Milwaukee County suburb of West Allis. Thanks to Crowley's budget cuts, which mean the Milwaukee County Sheriff's office is understaffed, there wasn't enough law enforcement present to deal with the chaos. Several officers were assaulted, including one who was punched in the head. The mobs spilled out into the surrounding neighborhood where at least one person was shot.
But once again, Crowley isn't talking about solutions or taking responsibility for what happened in his county. Instead, he's pointing the finger at Madison, and blaming Republicans in the state legislature.
Dem gov candidate Milwaukee Co Exec David Crowley on the State Fair chaos Sunday night: "Let's be very clear. State Fair is actually controlled by the state of Wisconsin which is controlled by the Republican-controlled Legislature..." https://t.co/dNDRRRmWmx pic.twitter.com/EQoBBdRLMs
— Matt Smith (@mattsmith_news) August 19, 2026
"Let's be very clear, State Fair is actually controlled by the state of Wisconsin which is controlled by the Republican-controlled legislature," Crowley said. "And so, at the end of the day, we want to make sure that we're providing safe spaces working directly hand-in-hand not just with law enforcement but our community violence interrupters in general."
This isn't accurate, either. The Wisconsin State Fair is actually controlled by the State Fair Park Board, an agency of the state of Wisconsin. It has 13 members appointed by the governor — in this case, Democrat Tony Evers — who oversee operations of the park.
This includes two Democrats: State Sen. Tim Carpenter and State Rep. Christine Sinicki, and just two Republicans: State Sen. Howard Marklein and State Rep. Jessie Rodriguez.
The governor can remove board members for cause, too.
So Crowley is not just refusing to take responsibility, but he's also lying about how the State Fair Park actually operates.
GOP gov candidate Tom Tiffany on State Fair fights: "Public safety starts with leadership, and Crowley’s leadership has failed Milwaukee County. Don’t let him fail Wisconsin."https://t.co/VRKU8klxYL
— Matt Smith (@mattsmith_news) August 19, 2026
Tom Tiffany is correct.
With @DavidCCrowley, it’s always someone else’s fault: MAGA, Scott Walker, and now the Legislature.
— Tom Tiffany (@TomTiffanyWI) August 19, 2026
Teen takeovers and massive brawls keep happening in Milwaukee County, which has Wisconsin’s highest violent crime rate.
Take responsibility for the county you lead. https://t.co/Uo3rl9JDDm
He will never do that.
Crowley wants to be the governor and the head of the Wisconsin legislature. That role is currently filled by Tony Evers, so if Crowley is going to blame the legislature for State Fair's chaos, he should blame Evers, too.
Will Crowley take responsibility if he wins and mob violence erupts next year? No. He'll find a way to blame "MAGA Republicans" for the chaos.
Wow. He is really just blaming everything on WisGOP and Trump. What a campaign strategy! https://t.co/pKA7x907HA
— Wisconsin’s Conservative Sponge (@wiz_political) August 19, 2026
Conservatives were worried that Crowley posed a threat to the Tom Tiffany campaign. Democrats ran Crowley as the moderate, but as his campaign has demonstrated in the last week, he's anything but. Crowley himself admitted his policies are no different than Francesca Hong's, and he's sticking to that.
He's a failed leader who blames others and refuses to take responsibility.
Editor’s Note: The 2026 Midterms will determine the fate of President Trump’s America First agenda. Republicans must maintain control of both chambers of Congress.
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