UPFRONT: Crowley, Tiffany in first post-election interviews

[0:00] Right now, on Upfront. [0:02] Election stunner. [0:04] And let's win! [0:05] David Crowley surging to a razor-thin victory, [0:08] beating Democratic Socialist Francesca Hong [0:11] in the chaotic Democratic primary for governor. [0:13] The fight continues no matter what. [0:16] Now, the race to November. [0:18] Republican Tom Tiffany with an official opponent. [0:21] Congratulations to David. [0:22] This Sunday, in their first sit-down interview since the election, [0:26] David Crowley and Tom Tiffany are with us. [0:29] The new interview is just moments away. [0:32] Then, the polls. [0:34] Campaigns matter. [0:35] Already, new polls in the field. [0:37] And this Sunday, the exclusive first look at the Crowley-Tiffany matchup. [0:42] Republican strategist Keith Gilks, Democrat Tanya Bjork, here to unveil it all. [0:49] This is Upfront with Jaron Jordan and political director Matt Smith. [0:56] Hi, everyone. Thanks for joining us. [0:58] What a week. [0:58] David Crowley beating Francesca Hong by roughly 3,800 votes. [1:02] The culmination of a wild and chaotic Democratic primary for governor. [1:07] And now, this weekend, the sprint to November. [1:10] And our new interviews with Tom Tiffany and David Crowley. [1:13] Their first sit-downs after Tuesday's stunner. [1:18] David Crowley in Milwaukee Wednesday night, [1:23] just hours after securing a stunning victory over Democratic Socialist Francesca Hong. [1:28] Now, this weekend, headlining a unity tour after a fractured and chaotic Democratic primary. [1:35] Francesca Hong called you when the results came in? [1:38] Yeah, she called me early that morning to let me know. [1:41] Basically, wanted to thank me for the type of race that we won, congratulated me. [1:46] And I congratulated her on the type of leadership that she showed throughout this entire campaign, [1:51] but also for pushing us even further. [1:53] And so, you know, my goal is to make sure that we can create that unity. [1:58] We've already had our unity breakfast and started doing tours across Wisconsin already. [2:03] But I know that I have to earn every single vote out there moving forward, [2:07] and that's exactly what we're going to do together. [2:09] Was it called really that cordial, as you just described? [2:12] Actually, yeah. [2:12] I mean, I've known Francesca. [2:14] We've always had great conversations. [2:16] We've always been one of those, with all the campaigns, actually. [2:19] I've always talked to everybody. [2:20] And so it was a cordial conversation. [2:23] And it was a quick conversation. [2:25] We lasted less than five minutes, but it was a good conversation. [2:28] What happened in this primary over the last month was remarkable. [2:31] Could you have pulled this off, do you think, without Governor Tony Evers and his endorsement? [2:36] You know, I'm glad that we've had the support of Governor Evers. [2:38] You know, as we were crisscrossing, and you've probably heard me say this, [2:42] but I've been keeping up with him. [2:43] And to see the type of support and respect and love that he has across this state [2:47] was tremendous and honorable to see. [2:50] But to have his confidence in my judgment, in my leadership, [2:54] and in my abilities to organize across this state, [2:57] I think translated to voters in rural, suburban, and urban communities alike [3:02] and helped get us over the finish line. [3:04] Francesca tapped into something with her supporters. [3:08] She had controversy also that followed her. [3:10] She campaigned with, she raised money with Hassan Piker, the controversial streamer. [3:14] Would you ever consider doing the same between now and November [3:17] to win over that base of the Democratic vote? [3:21] Look, I think that we have to reach voters where they are. [3:23] And, you know, wherever we have to do that. [3:25] But, you know, I have my ways of doing that. [3:27] I don't want to lend credibility to platforms, if you will, [3:32] that I believe further divides us as a community, further divides Democrats, [3:36] or further divides this country. [3:38] But I do know that we have to focus on bringing everybody into under this tent. [3:43] And so I'm always willing to have those tough conversations. [3:45] But we also have to utilize not just myself, but there are many community members. [3:50] There are many voters. [3:51] There are many supporters that we can empower to bring people to be a part of this big tent [3:56] we call the Democratic Party. [3:57] When you're talking about dividing, are you talking about Hassan? [4:00] I'm talking about anybody who focuses on, you know, divisive language. [4:04] So you are leaving the door open or not to campaigning with him? [4:07] With Hassan? [4:08] Yeah. [4:08] No, I'm not. [4:09] I don't plan on campaigning with Hassan, if that's what you're asking me. [4:11] Yeah, that is what I am asking. [4:12] No. [4:13] You told a group of supporters recently, in recent weeks, that there's not a lot of policies [4:19] that you really differ from with Francesca Hong. [4:22] Is that opening the door to you supporting the Democratic Socialist agenda? [4:26] Or what did you mean by that? [4:27] What I mean by that is that there's many things that everybody agrees on, right? [4:31] I agree with, you know, folks, for example, that we need safe communities. [4:35] I'm not sure if that's a Democratic or a Republican talking point. [4:38] We need to make sure that we have access to public education and we need to have access [4:42] to health care. [4:43] Look, when it comes down to Fran and I, yes, there are some things that we absolutely disagree [4:47] on. [4:48] But what we do agree on is that we can come to a table just like this and negotiate how [4:53] we move our party, how we move our people forward. [4:55] Republicans are already out saying, well, listen, you're no different than her. [4:59] You're all Democratic Socialists. [5:01] You're all advancing that agenda. [5:02] You're going to say what to that attack that's already coming out on the campaign? [5:05] Well, you know, the difference between, you know, me and many of these Republicans saying [5:09] that is I have a track record. [5:10] You know, I'm the only candidate in this race that actually has done things, not just for [5:14] Milwaukee County and the different municipalities that I represent across the political spectrum. [5:20] But we brought Democrats and Republicans together to bring money back to every single community. [5:24] We're hearing you talk about Tom Tiffany. [5:25] Tom Tiffany is starting to talk about you. [5:27] One of the things we heard even just today in these first couple of days was, listen, as county [5:33] executive, you proposed property tax increases. [5:36] You oversaw a near collapse in health insurance for county employees. [5:41] So why should voters trust? [5:43] Well, look, what he won't tell you is that we're picking up the mess that actually Scott [5:48] Walker actually left for us, right? [5:49] You know, Scott Walker was the county executive and didn't do anything to fix the pension. [5:53] Matter of fact, he ran up a $400 million credit card and put it on the backs of property [5:58] taxpayers here in the state of Wisconsin and became the governor and made things not only [6:02] worse for Milwaukee County, but for every single municipality. [6:06] And when you talk to these rural communities, they're always wondering, when is the state [6:10] going to step up and give that shared revenue? [6:12] And so I am focusing on delivering results. [6:15] And what we've been doing is moving Milwaukee County forward. [6:18] We have the lowest in sheltered homeless count per capita than any community in the United [6:22] States. [6:22] And we're a Democratic bastion. [6:24] We've lowered overdose deaths more than any community here in the state of Wisconsin. [6:29] And I want to continue to deliver for everybody across the state in the same way. [6:33] Is Scott Walker the reason, though, you needed to propose a property tax increase? [6:37] Well, the reason why we had to the reason why we had to focus on shared revenue reform [6:41] is because Republicans who've controlled the legislature for the past 15 years weren't willing [6:46] to work with local municipalities. [6:47] And when Governor Hevers proposed different types of fixes, they continued to block him. [6:52] What I'm focusing on is Democrats not playing defense anymore. [6:56] By electing Democrats up and down the ballot in the state of Senate, as well as the state [7:00] assembly, we can get back on office and make sure that municipalities are in the best position [7:04] possible to deliver for their residents. [7:06] Describe to me, and I will wrap with this one more, I promise. [7:10] Describe to me, how would you characterize this primary and how it ended? [7:13] I mean, you couldn't write this as a story, right? [7:18] And so for me, it's, it's, it's, it's been a whirlwind, you know, but at the end of the [7:23] day, uh, for me, this has turned into a storybook ending the next governor of the great state [7:30] of Wisconsin, Tom Tiffany in West Alice Wednesday meeting with supporters and alongside Tuesday [7:36] night's Republican primary winners, a show of unity on the GOP side as well, just hours [7:42] after that stunning result in the Democratic primary. [7:45] I'm curious, just first your response to the results that we saw on the Democratic side [7:50] Tuesday night, were you preparing to run against Francesca Hong? [7:52] I was prepared for whoever would come out and it was clear the Democrat establishment, they [7:58] did not want her. [7:59] And so they really boosted her at the end and were able to get David Crowley across the finish [8:04] line. [8:04] Congratulations to David. [8:05] Is he going to be a tougher candidate to beat? [8:09] I think I've thought all along, there's not a dime's worth of difference in the candidates [8:13] on the Democrat side. [8:15] I mean, they basically have adopted all the same policies. [8:18] Um, there's, I mean, really the leadership of the Democrat party has capitulated to this [8:25] Democrat socialist movement. [8:27] And even David Crowley said a couple of weeks ago that my policies are going to be very similar [8:32] to Francesca Hong's. [8:34] When we look at November, it is a full sprint now between, and now November, Senator Johnson [8:40] did an interview Wednesday morning after the election and he said, we need to get Republicans [8:45] to the polls, not as many showed up in the primary as needed to, and we need President [8:50] Trump to come in and tell his supporters to get to the polls. [8:53] Is that going to be one of your biggest challenges between now and November? [8:55] Yeah, I think that one of the biggest challenges is turnout. [8:58] And I think part of the reason there wasn't as many people, there was not as dynamic of [9:02] a governor's race on the Republican side. [9:04] So I think that's part of the reason you see that fall off a little bit, but we got to [9:09] make sure we turn out people because we are in the position now when we get the greatest [9:13] amount of turnout, Republicans win. [9:16] So it will be a turnout election. [9:18] Does the president's endorsement hurt or help as we head to the general now? [9:22] Oh, so I think like the other side, they're going to be campaigning against Donald Trump. [9:28] I'm going to be campaigning for the state of Wisconsin, and I've really stayed focused [9:32] throughout this campaign. [9:34] This is about being governor. [9:36] This isn't about being in Wisconsin and shouting at Washington, D.C. [9:40] You control the things that you can control, and that's what I'm going to do as governor. [9:43] And it starts with affordability and accountability, and we are rolling out an agenda every day [9:50] in regards to those issues. [9:52] You mentioned the president and what Democrats are going to do, and they've already started [9:55] that. [9:56] David Crowley, Wednesday morning, called you a mega extremist. [9:59] How are you going to respond to those attacks from Democrats? [10:02] Well, they can run against Donald Trump. [10:04] I'm running for the state of Wisconsin. [10:07] I mean, they're going to try to divert away from the real issues of this campaign, and there's [10:12] a reason for that. [10:13] That's because they've been giving us the 400-year property tax increase, the over $2 billion [10:19] in rate increases. [10:20] At this place where we're sitting right now, his utility bill went up $400 a month in the [10:26] last year, and that's because they've just been rubber stamping these increases. [10:30] We have to deal with the affordability issue, and I'm going to do that. [10:34] While they're talking about Donald Trump, I'm going to talk about how we're going to make [10:37] Wisconsin a better state. [10:39] You have been a big supporter of the president. [10:40] Is that going to help or hurt you, do you think, between now and November? [10:43] Oh, Wisconsin voters are really smart voters. [10:46] They see through that stuff. [10:48] I've talked to voters that are like, we're Republicans. [10:52] We don't vote for President Trump, but we'll vote for you. [10:55] Voters are really discerning in regards to this. [10:58] They can see through the fog. [11:00] Are you going to have to differentiate yourself from the president, do you think? [11:03] I just need to be who I am, which is, I mean, in my time that I've served in office, whether [11:10] it's the legislature or Congress, Wisconsin always comes first, and Wisconsin will always [11:15] come first when I am the next governor. [11:19] And remember, I only overlap, if elected as governor, I only overlap with the president [11:24] for two years. [11:25] Then we're going to have a new president, and whether that president is Republican or Democrat, [11:30] I will always do what's best for Wisconsin. [11:32] The Democrats have been, and they're going to come at you pretty hard for your vote on [11:36] the 2020 election. [11:37] Do you regret that at all, not voting to certify the results? [11:41] No. [11:42] No. [11:42] Joe Biden won the election, and we've lived with the consequences with the massive inflation [11:47] that he gave us after becoming president. [11:50] Inflation went up the most in 40 years, and now it's up to us to do everything we can to [11:55] fix those problems that were created from that. [11:58] I'm looking forward, not backwards. [12:00] Do you regret your vote, though? [12:01] No, I'm looking forward, not backwards. [12:04] I imagine the money on the left is going to come in now to backdate David Crowley. [12:08] Do you have the money? [12:09] Do you have the support you need to compete from now until November? [12:11] We will compete all the way to November 3rd. [12:14] When you look at the map, how close is this going to be? [12:17] How contentious is this race going to become? [12:19] I would think Wisconsin just has a history of very close elections, and I expect this one [12:26] to be the same. [12:27] I mean, it's going to be a close election, and a lot of it will be driven by turnout. [12:32] And so that's what we're going to do is push that turnout. [12:36] But I think there's also a real place for, you know, some of the people that are politically [12:41] homeless at this point, truly moderate Democrats that are not socialists. [12:48] They can support me because I think getting control of property taxes and your utility [12:54] bills and all of these things that are part of the cost of living that state government [12:59] drives, we have the winning message for them. [13:02] We think some of those people are going to come over and vote for us. [13:05] Do you want the president and the state campaigning for you? [13:07] That's up to the president. [13:08] The president will decide whether he's going to come to the state or not. [13:12] And I mean, he's got his hands full, both nationally and internationally. [13:15] They're going to do the midterm convention. [13:19] So he's got his hands full. [13:20] He should decide what he's going to do because I can tell you, I independently decide what I'm [13:25] going to do as far as our campaign. [13:27] And we're going to do what's best to be able to win this election and do what's right for [13:32] the people of the state of Wisconsin. [13:33] Would you welcome him if he wanted to come? [13:35] The president's going to make that decision. [13:37] He's going to make that decision whether he comes to Wisconsin or not. [13:40] Okay, one more. [13:41] I lied. [13:41] Are we going to see your mom on the campaign trail? [13:43] Speaking of the ads. [13:44] I got to ask mom, but she certainly is a rock star. [13:49] Are an election day just 79 days away if you're counting? [13:52] Up next, the new governor's race poll unveiled right here.