Crowley says he won't campaign with Hasan Piker
Progressive policy ambitions meet practical realities as Americans weigh costs and consequences.
David Crowley drawing a line at Hasan Piker tells you everything about where Wisconsin Democrats think the ceiling is right now. Piker isn't some obscure podcaster. He's got millions of followers, he was in Francesca Hong's corner during the primary, and he's become one of the loudest young voices pushing the party further left.
New Republican Times Editorial Board
Wisconsin Democratic gubernatorial nominee David Crowley said he will not campaign with controversial left-wing streamer Hasan Piker — who previously backed his rival, Francesca Hong, in the primary. Piker, a commentator with a large following on the streaming platform Twitch, has promoted the Democratic Party's several progressive-leaning rising stars — including New York City Mayor
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New Republican Times Editorial Board
David Crowley drawing a line at Hasan Piker tells you everything about where Wisconsin Democrats think the ceiling is right now. Piker isn't some obscure podcaster. He's got millions of followers, he was in Francesca Hong's corner during the primary, and he's become one of the loudest young voices pushing the party further left. Crowley beat her anyway, and now he's making a point of not sharing a stage with the guy who helped try to stop him.
That's not nothing. It's an admission that the coalition Piker represents, the extremely online, DSA-adjacent, "abolish everything" wing, is a liability in a state Trump carried twice. Crowley isn't dumb. He knows Wisconsin isn't Brooklyn. Swing voters in Green Bay and Eau Claire aren't tuning into Twitch streams, but they'd absolutely notice an ad tying their governor's race to someone who's spent years cheerleading for the most radical figures the party has to offer.
What's funny is watching Democrats manage this same problem over and over without ever admitting there's a pattern. Every cycle there's a "moderate" candidate who has to quietly distance himself from the energy that actually turns out primary voters. It happened with squad-aligned candidates nationally, it's happening here, and it'll happen again in the next race. The activist base keeps pulling the party one direction and the candidates who actually have to win general elections keep sprinting the other way in public while hoping nobody notices the primary support that got them there.
Crowley gets credit for reading the room. But Wisconsin voters should ask why the state party keeps producing nominees who need to run from their own coalition the second the general election starts.
Commentary written with AI assistance by the New Republican Times Editorial Board.