Former Vice President Kamala Harris recently visited Wisconsin to support Democratic gubernatorial candidate David Crowley, as his campaign appears to struggle with voter engagement. Republican opponent Rep. Tom Tiffany highlighted Harris’s visit as evidence of the campaign’s difficulties in mobilizing voters.
Harris arrived in Milwaukee, a vital battleground area, just eight days before Election Day. She addressed supporters at Milwaukee’s Pfister Hotel, acknowledging a range of emotions felt over the past year and a half, including anger, sadness, depression, and a sense of powerlessness.
“For the last year and a half, I know many of us have been going through a whole lot of emotion: anger, sadness, disappointment, destruction, depression, all kinds of emotions,” Harris told attendees. “And we’ve been feeling powerless. People have been feeling like, ‘I can’t do anything about this.’ And I know how much pain people are in. I know how it is creating so much fear among so many communities of people.”
During the event, Harris also criticized the Trump administration, referring to it as “the most callous and corrupt in American history.”
Rep. Tom Tiffany told Fox News Digital that Harris was brought in to energize the Democratic base, which he claims has not been sufficiently excited by Crowley’s campaign. According to Tiffany, Crowley’s efforts have suffered due to national political fatigue and continuous campaign messaging.
The debate between Tiffany and Crowley has been intense, with issues like abortion, immigration enforcement, and socialism leading to heated exchanges. Critics claim Crowley was selected by Democratic leaders like Gov. Tony Evers as a centrist option over more progressive candidates. This selection process draws parallels to challenges Harris experienced during her presidential run.
“It was, once again, the Democrats that pulled somebody off the bench,” Tiffany remarked. “They handpicked them rather than letting democracy work in their own party, and there’s people very frustrated with that. They’re trying to excite their base, and it’s a problem for them.”
Tiffany has positioned himself as a candidate advocating for practical solutions, criticizing Crowley’s record as Milwaukee County executive. He claims Crowley’s tenure shows a pattern of increasing taxes, which is contrary to voter expectations.
“It’s not in his DNA to reduce costs for people in Wisconsin or to reduce taxes,” Tiffany stated. “He is going to raise taxes. That’s what he’s done every single year when he’s been county executive. That’s not what people want to hear.”
In response, Crowley’s campaign spokesperson highlighted his strategies for addressing affordability amid inflation and accused Tiffany and the Trump administration of implementing costly policies.
“David Crowley is criss-crossing the state to discuss his plan to lower costs for working families who are struggling to pay their bills because of Congressman Tom Tiffany and Donald Trump’s unaffordable MAGA agenda,” the spokesperson asserted.
Crowley is noted for his efforts in balancing budgets and reducing property tax rates during his time as county executive. His campaign points out how Tiffany supported tax breaks for wealthy individuals, which his campaign claims disadvantaged working Wisconsinites.