Democratic socialists have tasted blood in recent weeks, winning high-profile races in New York, Washington and Los Angeles. Now they are testing whether that insurgent energy can carry them past a primary and into a general election in a state that has twice backed Donald Trump.
In Wisconsin, state Rep. Francesca Hong has emerged as an unexpected challenger in the crowded Democratic gubernatorial race. The Madison legislator has topped early polling and placed second at the state party convention last month, despite competing against better-known candidates like Lt. Gov. Sara Rodriguez and former Senate candidate Mandela Barnes.
Hong seized on a burst of socialist-backed victories on Tuesday, when three candidates supported by New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani won House primaries. "It's a great day to be a democratic socialist," she posted on social media Wednesday. "Wisconsin is next!"
But there is a critical difference between winning in deep-blue congressional districts and carrying a statewide primary in one of America's most politically divided states. The challenge facing Hong is whether the anti-establishment fervor that propelled democratic socialists in urban centers can translate to a swing state where the Republican nominee for governor, Rep. Tom Tiffany, represents a competitive threat.
Hong, 37, a single mother and former restaurant owner, argues her message resonates broadly. She points to support for universal childcare and healthcare as core appeals that cut across class and racial lines. "We're able to literally bring folks together to think about how consequential this election is," she said in an interview. "Working-class people and communities of color , folks who have been underserved , they're coming out."
Yet her record contains potential landmines for a general election fight. Hong has largely held firm on past calls to abolish the police, and she told reporters in May that "my perfect world would be a world without prisons." When confronted with these positions, she pivoted to attacking Republicans for defunding local governments that pay for law enforcement.
Rodriguez, the sitting lieutenant governor, has sidestepped direct criticism of Hong's ideology. Instead, she emphasizes electability and qualifications. "People are looking to November and making sure that we have the strongest candidate to beat Tom Tiffany," Rodriguez said. When asked directly about Hong's statewide viability, Rodriguez demurred: "I'm not really worried about Francesca Hong." Rodriguez, a nurse and former state legislator, countered that "public safety is important to me" and that law enforcement has a necessary role in Wisconsin.
The race remains genuinely unsettled. A Marquette University survey from March gave Hong 14 percent support, with 65 percent of voters undecided. The straw poll at the Democratic convention showed Rodriguez first, Hong second, and Barnes sixth among seven candidates. Other contenders include Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley, state Sen. Kelda Roys, and former administration official Joel Brennan.
Democratic strategists cautioned against reading too much into the straw poll results, but acknowledged Hong's showing was notable in a field dominated by candidates with higher name recognition. Andrew Mamo, a Democratic operative with Wisconsin experience, said the socialist label itself has become less of a liability. "People are often choosing them as a rejection of the status quo," he said. "But the landscape in Wisconsin is different. We're talking about going for a statewide win in a state that Trump won twice."
Mandela Barnes, who lost narrowly to GOP Senator Ron Johnson in 2022, is also running. His previous defeat came after his positions on police and immigration drew sustained attack. Barnes focused his convention speech on affordability and took aim at Trump, but his narrow 26,000-vote loss lingers as a question mark over his viability in another statewide race.
Hong is drawing historical parallels to shore up her campaign. She has invoked Sen. Bernie Sanders, noting he won 71 of 72 Wisconsin counties in the 2016 Democratic primary. She also cited early 1900s progressive Robert La Follette, telling convention delegates that figures like him were called "unreasonable, impractical and unelectable," yet are now regarded as visionaries.
The primary contest enters its final stretch with candidates still avoiding direct public attacks. Instead, they have trained their focus on the Republican general election threat. Democrats at the state level are acutely aware that holding the governorship and potentially flipping legislative chambers for the first time since 2010 depends on nominating someone who can win statewide in November.
Author Sarah Mitchell: "Hong's momentum is real, but Wisconsin is not Berkeley. Whether democratic socialists can break through in a purple state where elections are genuinely competitive remains the unanswered question."
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