Since the beginning of 2024, The Western Journal has published 29 articles containing the word “schadenfreude,” and, judging by a quick review, every one of them appears to have come from the same writer.
Now comes number 30, and it may be difficult to find a more fitting occasion for the milestone.
Schadenfreude, of course, is the pleasure someone takes in another person’s misfortune. It may not be the noblest human emotion, but electoral politics has a way of producing unusually strong examples of it.
Wisconsin’s Democratic gubernatorial primary appears to have supplied one.
Francesca Hong entered election night looking like the clear favorite. Polling throughout July had consistently shown her ahead, often by double digits. RealClearPolitics did not publish a polling average for the race, but every poll taken since July reportedly gave Hong at least an 11-point advantage over her closest competitor.
Then came Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley.
Crowley had suspended his campaign in June after concluding that he did not have a realistic path to victory. At the time, he was struggling in the polls and appeared to be finished.
Then he came back.
By early Wednesday morning, Decision Desk HQ had projected Crowley as the winner. Shortly after 2 a.m. Central Time, he held roughly 39.8 percent of the vote compared with Hong’s 39.4 percent, with nearly all ballots counted. The Associated Press also called the race for Crowley.
That would have been remarkable enough on its own. What makes the story almost absurdly perfect is the explanation Crowley gave for getting back into the race.
According to Wisconsin Public Radio, Crowley said that he and his wife prayed about the decision. His wife asked God for an unmistakable sign — specifically, a red bird.
Then she saw a cardinal.
That was apparently enough to help reopen the conversation about the campaign, and Crowley re-entered the race on July 18.
There is nothing unusual about people praying over major life decisions, and there is certainly nothing unusual about a politician describing faith as part of the decision-making process. The amusing part is the particular sign involved.
Northern cardinals are not exactly rare in Wisconsin. BirdWatchingHQ describes them as among the state’s most familiar and popular birds, commonly seen around feeders and neighborhoods.
In other words, asking for a cardinal in Wisconsin is not quite the same thing as asking for a penguin to stroll through downtown Madison.
Still, the bird became part of what turned into one of the strangest political comeback stories of the year.
Hong had plenty of controversy surrounding her campaign. She had faced criticism for past comments about Thanksgiving and capitalism, and she later softened her position as the campaign intensified. Her campaign also drew attention for hiring an OnlyFans model as a deputy campaign manager and for older social media comments that critics described as racially inflammatory.
Despite those controversies, Hong remained the polling favorite.
Part of her advantage appeared to come from instability among more establishment-oriented Democratic candidates. Former Lt. Gov. Mandela Barnes and Crowley had struggled to consolidate enough support, while Lt. Gov. Sara Rodriguez eventually left the race after campaign financial problems reportedly left her unable to continue effectively.
That created an opening Hong seemed positioned to exploit.
Instead, Crowley returned from political near-death and won.
The whole episode brings to mind the famous line often attributed to French writer Voltaire, who supposedly prayed for God to make his enemies ridiculous. Whether or not divine intervention had anything to do with Wisconsin’s Democratic primary, the result certainly produced the kind of political irony that keeps the word “schadenfreude” useful.
Crowley received the nomination. Hong received one of the most unexpected defeats of the primary season. And a common Wisconsin cardinal somehow earned a supporting role in the story.