Speaking outside Cargo Coffee, Warnock called the moment a defining moral test and said the stakes in Wisconsin echoed those in Georgia, where he said partisan gerrymandering has shaped elections. The next governor will serve during the next reapportionment, he said, making the office especially consequential. Crowley is the Democratic candidate for governor; Republican Tom Tiffany is his opponent.

Warnock, who has been traveling to support Democratic candidates nationally, said he came to Wisconsin because he considers Crowley a capable leader. He praised Crowley’s ability to build support across Milwaukee County and cited Crowley’s reported 85% margin in his last county executive election as evidence of his appeal across divisions.

The senator also criticized what he called an intensification of gerrymandering following the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in Louisiana v. Callais. Legal experts have characterized that ruling as a significant setback for the Voting Rights Act. Warnock said the result risks allowing politicians to choose their voters rather than voters choosing their representatives, and argued Tiffany would follow a similar approach.

Warnock, who is also senior pastor at Atlanta’s Ebenezer Baptist Church, framed the governor’s role as a safeguard against national political pressure. After the event, he predicted Republicans would suffer significant losses in the midterms and said President Donald Trump could become more dangerous in response. Wisconsin needs a governor prepared to protect residents, Warnock said.