Crowley, Zamarripa, Xiong Win Historic Statewide Races

David Crowley, JoCasta Zamarripa, and Yee Leng Xiong secured their respective statewide offices in Tuesday's election, marking three historic firsts for Wisconsin. Crowley will serve as the state's first Black governor. Zamarripa will become the first Latino to hold the office of secretary of state. Xiong will serve as the first Hmong statewide elected officer.

The three Democrats, along with Lieutenant Governor-elect Sarah Godlewski, formed the most racially diverse party slate in Wisconsin history. While the candidates mentioned their historic status during the campaign, it was not the central focus of their messaging. The victory extends a pattern of demographic shifts in the state's political representation.

In his victory speech in Milwaukee, Crowley referenced the challenges faced by Black residents in the state. "Because of you, a boy who grew up facing eviction will soon take residence in the governor's residence," Crowley said. "Tonight Wisconsin made history, and being your next governor is humbling in its own right. I don't take any of this lightly. And I know exactly the shoulders that I stand on."

Crowley previously became Milwaukee County's first elected Black executive in 2020. African Americans have made up at least one in five Milwaukee County residents since the 2000 census. As of the 2024 American Community Survey, they comprised roughly one in four residents. This compares to roughly 6% of Wisconsin's total population.

Zamarripa, a lifelong Milwaukeean, first served as a state lawmaker in 2010 and joined Milwaukee's Common Council in 2020. She said her campaign focused on building Latino voter outreach infrastructure. "We're the fastest-growing constituency in the great state of Wisconsin," she said. Her team mailed bilingual materials to Latino voters across the state, including in manufacturing and agricultural hubs. Partnerships included Spanish-language radio stations and ad buys in southeast Wisconsin and the Green Bay area.

Xiong hails from Marathon County, which has the state's second-largest Hmong community. Roughly one in ten Wausau residents identified as Hmong in 2024. Tens of thousands of Hmong refugees settled in Wisconsin after the Vietnam War. Xiong produced Hmong-language get-out-the-vote videos and hosted bilingual campaign events. He noted that his outreach relied heavily on personal relationships with voters.

Voters in Milwaukee participated in the historic election. Nextaly Rodriguez, 44, voted for Crowley over Republican Tom Tiffany at the Kosciusko Community Center. "Just trying something new," he said in Spanish. Jesus Mancilla, 18, arrived less than thirty minutes before polls closed. His brother convinced him to vote for his immigrant parents. Mancilla chose Crowley in the governor's race, joining other first-time Latino voters at the polling site.