A dues-paying member of the Democratic Socialists of America has surged to a double-digit lead in the Democratic primary for Wisconsin and sent establishment party leaders scrambling to stop her.
Francesca Hong, a 37-year-old state representative and former bartender, is dominating a crowded field that includes former Lt. Gov. Mandela Barnes and Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley. Her platform reads like a progressive wish list: abolishing ICE, creating government-owned grocery stores, imposing a 32-hour workweek with no pay reduction, restoring voting rights to felons, and dramatically reducing the role of prisons and police.
The August 11 primary has become a five-alarm fire for Democrats who fear nominating a socialist in a state President Trump won could hand the governor’s mansion to Republican Rep. Tom Tiffany, the expected GOP nominee.
“The Republican Governors Association is bankrolling millions right now, not to attack a Democrat, but to boost one, because they’ve decided which Democratic nominee they can beat in November,” Crowley said, explaining why he jumped back into the race after briefly suspending his campaign. “That is a five-alarm warning sign. We cannot let the GOP choose the Democratic nominee for governor of Wisconsin.”
Crowley had suspended his gubernatorial bid before reviving it two weeks later with the backing of outgoing Democratic Governor Tony Evers.
Hong, who fits the mold of Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, has built her campaign around working-class populism. Her platform also calls for legalizing marijuana to fund high-speed broadband, backing a state-run development bank, providing universal childcare and paid leave for all, and imposing a one-year moratorium on data centers.
“It’s so stressful to get by these days, and I know a lot about stress. I work in restaurants,” Hong said in a campaign launch video. “I’m a service worker, community organizer, and a mom. I work for a living, always have, still do.”
Hong called for abolishing the U.S. Senate in a February 2021 social media post. Her campaign denied the claim to Fox News, stating: “Rep. Hong has never called for abolishing the U.S. Senate. Tiffany cannot produce a single statement where she did, because it doesn’t exist.”
The race isn’t without controversy for her opponents either. NBC News recently uncovered old social media posts linking Crowley to a pseudonymous X account called “Dirt McGirk,” which the outlet said featured racist, sexist, and homophobic posts between 2010 and 2014. Crowley insisted other people had access to the account and condemned the derogatory posts.
Prediction markets overwhelmingly favor Hong to win the primary. The August contest will test whether democratic socialism can sell in the industrial Midwest after the movement notched victories in New York City, Washington, D.C., and Denver.
A similar dynamic is unfolding next door in Michigan’s U.S. Senate race, where Democratic Congresswoman Haley Stevens is fighting off a stronger-than-expected challenge from leftist Abdul El-Sayed, who is leading in most polls. That race took an unexpected turn when a black Farmington school board member backing Stevens urged El-Sayed to stop embracing his Muslim identity on the campaign trail.
“Don’t come out speaking only Arabic,” Angie Smith said at a Stevens campaign event.
For Republicans watching Wisconsin closely, Hong’s rise represents everything they’ve warned about: a Democratic Party lurching leftward while everyday Americans struggle with the cost of living. Whether Wisconsin voters agree remains to be seen.
