And then there’s Wisconsin and Francesca Hong
Here we go again. A DSA far-leftist named Francesca Hong is running for the Democratic nomination for governor of Wisconsin.
Wisconsin is a purple state, and that’s a statewide office. So the Democrats are understandably nervous about her:
Most political observers assume Democratic insiders are trying to stop Francesca Hong because they fear she would lose a general election. Given Hong’s support for abolishing police, abolishing prisons, and other positions well to the left of most Wisconsin voters, many Democrats worry she could squander what they believe is a favorable political environment in 2026 while dragging down legislative candidates and jeopardizing hopes of a Democratic trifecta.
There is certainly some truth to that.
But the deeper fear has far less to do with November than it does with what happens afterward.
If Hong wins the Democratic primary, she instantly becomes the face of Wisconsin Democrats. Whether she wins or loses in November almost becomes secondary. She would emerge as the standard bearer for the Democratic Party, and an influential voice who can fundamentally re-shape Democrat politics in the state. …
Establishment Democrats see the direction their party is heading—both in Wisconsin and across the country. And many are increasingly fearful that Democratic Socialism is no longer a fringe movement, but the future of the Democratic Party. And they are terrified that they will lose their position of power in this new-look Socialist Party.
Yes, but I’m more worried that, as in New York, these DSA candidates will win elections. I suppose it’s likely that Wisconsin isn’t ready for Hong. But in a few years it may be.
The article goes on to discuss a host of more local races in Wisconsin in which ultra-leftists are challenging more moderate Democrats and even conventionally “progressive” candidates. It’s become very apparent that this DSA takeover attempt is an extremely well-organized national movement.
Here’s some background on Hong, who is from deep-blue Madison:
Hong was born on November 4, 1988, in Madison, Wisconsin, to Korean American immigrant parents
During the 2024 Democratic Party presidential primaries, Hong backed the Uncommitted National Movement to protest President Joe Biden’s policies towards the Gaza war, and drafted a letter calling for a ceasefire in Gaza. Hong also joined the State Assembly’s Socialist Caucus in 2024. …
Hong has described herself as the “wild card” in the race, running as a progressive outsider. During her campaign, she was compared to fellow democratic socialist and then-mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani in New York City. Hong has drawn inspiration from Mamdani’s mayoral campaign in running her own gubernatorial campaign.
Hong is the Democrats’ frontrunner in a recent poll, and she also leads the GOP frontrunner although her advantage is well within the margin of error and the number of undecided voters is large.
About Wisconsin’s history with socialist candidates:
Barry Burden, political science professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, told Newsweek that Hong’s style, message and organization approach are working well in the primary, but her style of politics is “less tested in a general election environment.”
“Socialist and populist messages have had resonance in Wisconsin at various times, from the reforms of Robert La Follette a century ago, to several socialist mayors in Milwaukee, to a strong showing by both Bernie Sanders and Donald Trump in the last decade,” he said. “There are more conventional Democratic candidates in the field who fare just fine in a general election but could also fail to fully rally the progressive base.”
The DSA crowd are vicious nihilists. No police, no jails.
No police, no jails = no commies.
She bears no relation to the Progressive and Socialist Parties in Wisconsin ca. 1942. These were focused on good government issues, not striking poses in favor of malicious foreigners.
I get the feeling that younger voters see Socialist candidates as “new and exciting”, while both Democrat and Republican candidates are “more of the same.” While there is some truth that the Ds and Rs probably only offer more of the same, the Socialists/Marxists are a real throwback party — all the way back to the Nineteenth Century. Their policies truly offer nothing new. Class warfare and the politics of envy, with free stuff thrown in to pick up the slackers who are less interested in political theory and more interested in something for no effort. That free stuff is worth a few percentage points in every election.
I live in rural Appalachian Ohio, and although our township is seeing some gentrification, two of my daughters teach/taught in public schools with lots of the old families, and they have seen dozens of students every year who have no interest in getting an education because their ambition is to follow their parents onto public welfare, or better yet, disability welfare. Their parents did it, their aunts and uncles did it, and that’s their highest ambition. If a politician comes through here offering free stuff, they’re an easy audience. Socialist? Marxist? Who cares — they’re offering free stuff.
Combine that vote with the young students at the local university and this county will pull the D lever every time. And you can’t scare them by telling them a given candidate is Socialist, Marxist or Communist. It’s just not a threat.