A senior Democratic political adviser has accused Wisconsin gubernatorial nominee David Crowley of conditioning his withdrawal from the Democratic primary on promises of campaign funding and employment for his wife, while alleging Lt. Gov. Sara Rodriguez directed the negotiations; both campaigns deny the claims.
By yourNEWS Media Newsroom
A senior Democratic political adviser has signed an affidavit alleging that Wisconsin Democratic gubernatorial nominee David Crowley demanded $250,000 for future political activities and a paid government position for his wife in exchange for withdrawing from the party’s primary and endorsing Lt. Gov. Sara Rodriguez, according to an investigation published Monday by The Lakeland Times.
The Oct. 26 report by investigative journalist Richard Moore states that the newspaper reviewed the signed affidavit and verified its authenticity. The adviser, whose identity was withheld, also alleged that Rodriguez personally directed campaign staff to negotiate with Crowley’s representatives.
Crowley’s campaign and a spokesperson for Rodriguez categorically denied the allegations, which emerged one week before Wisconsin’s Nov. 3 gubernatorial election.
“The Crowley campaign made it clear that David [Crowley] would not endorse the lieutenant governor unless $250,000 was promised for his next run for county exec or for future political activities, and that his wife, Ericka Crowley, would have a paid position within a Rodriguez administration,” the adviser told The Lakeland Times.
The adviser alleged that negotiations began in June, approximately one month before Crowley withdrew from the Democratic primary on July 8 and endorsed Rodriguez the following day.
“The lieutenant governor directed staff to enter into negotiations/pursue an agreement with the Crowley campaign,” the adviser said.
The allegations expand on an Oct. 23 investigation by The Daily Wire, which cited an unnamed Democratic operative familiar with the discussions and reported that Crowley sought financial support and employment for his wife in exchange for his endorsement.
The Daily Wire said it reviewed corroborating materials but did not publish them. The Lakeland Times subsequently reported obtaining an authenticated affidavit supporting the central allegations.
The affidavit’s authenticity establishes that the adviser made a sworn statement, not that the alleged negotiations or promises occurred. Neither newspaper publicly established that money changed hands or that an employment agreement was executed.
Crowley campaign spokesperson Philip Shulman rejected the account.
“These claims are not true, and this never happened,” Shulman told The Lakeland Times.
“This is yet another desperate attempt by a flailing campaign to make up lies about David and his family to try to distract from the real issues in this race like lowering costs, expanding healthcare access, and standing up to the corruption in DC.”
Christina Freundlich, a spokesperson for Rodriguez, also denied the allegations.
“These allegations are false,” Freundlich said. “Whoever is spreading them is trying to distract Wisconsinites from the clear choice they face in the final week of this election.”
The reported negotiations allegedly occurred during a contentious Democratic primary involving Crowley, Rodriguez, state Rep. Francesca Hong and former Lt. Gov. Mandela Barnes.
According to the adviser, Democratic Party insiders were concerned about Hong’s growing support and sought to consolidate the field behind Rodriguez, who was polling behind other contenders.
“And at that time, the Rodriguez campaign and other Democratic Party insiders and advisors decided that there was a need and an urgent need to clear the field for a candidate other than Hong or Barnes,” the adviser said.
The source claimed that Crowley’s withdrawal alone would not have been sufficient because he had approximately 6% support in polling.
“Because Crowley was polling at about 6 percent in Marquette and with the party as well, it wasn’t enough for him to drop out,” the adviser said. “They really needed the endorsement.”
Crowley announced his withdrawal July 8 and publicly endorsed Rodriguez at a news conference July 9, describing the decision as his own.
“Nobody called me or anything like that to ask me to step out of the race,” Crowley said at the time.
“This race is about making sure we can have the best candidate …. I think it is extremely important that all of us as candidates start to make decisions about how we need to win this race and making sure that we’re keeping the Democratic Party, keeping people, at the center of these decisions. So I want to be very clear there was no establishment process. This is me making a good decision in this race to support Sara Rodriguez because I believe she is the best candidate.”
Rodriguez withdrew from the gubernatorial primary July 17 following problems involving her campaign finance disclosures, including inaccurate contribution reporting and a significant shortfall in available funds.
Crowley reentered the contest July 18 and quickly received an endorsement from Democratic Gov. Tony Evers.
Barnes withdrew July 30, and Crowley subsequently defeated Hong in the Aug. 11 Democratic primary.
He now faces Republican nominee Tom Tiffany in the Nov. 3 general election.
The sequence of withdrawals and endorsements has attracted renewed scrutiny following the allegations. However, the timing of those events does not independently establish that an improper agreement existed.
The reported $250,000 arrangement would allegedly have supported Crowley’s future campaign activities, including a possible return to the Milwaukee County executive’s office. The adviser also alleged that Ericka Crowley would receive a paid position in a Rodriguez administration if the lieutenant governor won the election.
The precise employment position was not identified.
A separate Heartland Post examination of the allegations reported that campaign finance filings through Sept. 23 showed no transfer from Rodriguez’s campaign to Crowley’s.
The adviser did not specify whether any money had actually been transferred after Rodriguez withdrew.
The allegations have also renewed attention to Ericka Crowley’s employment with Community Advocates, a Milwaukee nonprofit that has received public funding through county-administered programs.
Previous reporting has examined the organization’s financial relationship with Milwaukee County during David Crowley’s tenure as county executive.
Crowley’s campaign has maintained that the funding was approved through public procedures and that he disclosed relevant conflicts of interest.
Those separate questions concerning county contracts do not establish the validity of the newly reported endorsement allegations.
The Republican Party of Wisconsin has called for Crowley to address the claims, while his campaign has characterized the reports as politically motivated attacks intended to distract voters before Election Day.
No criminal charges or official findings of wrongdoing have been announced in connection with the alleged endorsement arrangement.
The identity of the adviser remains undisclosed publicly, and the underlying negotiations have not been independently substantiated through released communications, financial records or testimony from named participants.
The Lakeland Times’ report nevertheless adds a sworn allegation to a controversy that initially rested on an unnamed political operative’s account.
With Wisconsin voters preparing to select their next governor, the dispute centers on whether Crowley’s July withdrawal and endorsement resulted solely from political considerations, as his campaign maintains, or involved the financial and employment promises described by the Democratic adviser.
Both Crowley and Rodriguez deny that such an arrangement occurred, leaving the central allegations contested ahead of the Nov. 3 election.
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