90: The Polls, The Upset, and Wisconsin's Road to 2028

Jamal Simmons and Matt Butler are joined by longtime Wisconsin operative Joe Zepecki to break down one of the wildest primaries of the cycle: David Crowley's stunning comeback from 20 points down to beat Francesca Hong for the Democratic nomination for governor. Zepecki explains how the Crowley campaign clawed back, why the polls weren't as wrong as they looked, and what it'll take to unite Hong and Crowley voters ahead of a must-win fall matchup against MAGA Republican Tom Tiffany. They dig into why this race is about far more than one governorship — it's about who certifies Wisconsin's 2028 presidential results and whether Democrats can finally win a blue trifecta and redraw fairer congressional maps. Plus: lessons on polling primaries versus general elections, Rebecca Cooke's rematch in WI-3, Pete Buttigieg's swing through the state, and why every 2028 hopeful needs to prove they can win in Wisconsin.Topics CoveredDavid Crowley's comeback from 20 points down to beat Francesca Hong in the Wisconsin governor primaryWhy the polls weren't as far off as the final margin suggestedThe 3,850-vote margin and how razor-thin the race really wasUniting Hong and Crowley voters into one coalition for the fallWisconsin's stakes: certifying the 2028 election and winning a blue trifectaTom Tiffany's record — supporting Ken Paxton's 2020 election lawsuit and voting against certifying Arizona and Pennsylvania's electorsWhy polling primaries is harder than polling general electionsState Navigate's polling methodology and the debate over weighting young votersBernie Sanders and AOC staying out of the primaryRebecca Cooke's rematch against Derek Van Orden in Wisconsin's 3rd DistrictPete Buttigieg's town hall for Cooke and his "Win the Era" PACWhich 2028 hopefuls need to prove themselves in WisconsinThe history of Wisconsin's primary calendar and why it moved to April