3 takeaways from David Crowley’s comeback: From the Politics Desk

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In today’s edition, we break down the key lessons from last night’s Wisconsin primary upset. Plus, Andrea Mitchell digs into the fraying relationship between President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

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Five weeks ago, Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley dropped out of the Wisconsin governor’s race, saying “it has become clear that I will not be the Democratic nominee.”

Today, that’s exactly what he is. Crowley’s primary victory is one of the more astonishing political comebacks in recent memory. He relaunched his campaign 10 days after he ended it, as establishment Democrats embarked on a last-minute mission to stop the rise of state Rep. Francesca Hong , a democratic socialist.

Here are three reasons that help explain how he pulled it off.

1. An unusually volatile race. There were several twists and turns that shook up the final stretch of the primary. In addition to Crowley’s re-emergence, two other prominent contenders — Lt. Gov. Sara Rodriguez and former Lt. Gov. Mandela Barnes — also abruptly dropped out last month.

Left with two leading candidates in Hong and Crowley, neither of whom had ever run statewide, a large chunk of the electorate didn’t decide who they were backing until late. A Marquette University Law School poll conducted July 22-27 showed that a third of primary voters were undecided and 16% backed Barnes, who would end his campaign days later. The survey showed Hong at 38% — close to her final vote share, as Bridget Bowman points out — and Crowley at 7%.