Francesca Hong has developed an unusual political talent: she keeps writing Republican campaign ads for them.
As Wisconsin votes today, the Madison state representative and self-described democratic socialist enters the Democratic governor's primary as the frontrunner.
Learn More: From ‘Cancel Thanksgiving’ to ‘86 Trump,’ Hong Keeps Telling Us Who She Is
Former Wisconsin governor Scott Walker told Fox News that Hong is trying to be a chameleon, changing anything and everything to get elected:
"Well one, I think it’s a sign she’ll say just about anything to get elected," Walker, who is now the president of Young America's Foundation, told Fox News Digital ahead of Tuesday’s primary. "And finally, as she’s getting close, thinking she might actually be the nominee, people are telling her you cannot have outrageously outlandish ideas."
"Not only on Thanksgiving. Doesn’t care for Christmas. Heck, in Wisconsin, doesn’t like Culver’s cheese curds," Walker said, in reference to another of Hong's old social media posts. "Those are all things that are wildly out of touch with the people that she’s going to need if she’s got a shot for the general election."
Walker warned Hong, however, that she could be hurting her campaign because primary voters had been attracted to her, in part, because of her bucking of the Democratic establishment.
"But I think she’s undermining one of her strengths," Walker said. "One of the reasons why she’s going to win today’s primary is because Democratic primary voters view her as not the establishment, not the traditional politician. Someone who will just tell it like it is, even if people don’t agree with her. So the more she backtracks on things she didn’t even say as a kid — she’s actually posted as an elected official — the more I think she starts to undermine her own base, and the typical voter can see right through her."
Rep. Tom Tiffany (R-Wis.) is the heavy Republican favorite. If both emerge, Tiffany will face a candidate whose own words, votes, and policies could fill months of television ads.
Hong once posted, "Cancel Thanksgiving. Should have done this in 1621," attacking the holiday as a celebration of colonialism. She also called for defunding and then abolishing police, closing prisons, and abolishing ICE.
Francesca Hong, 2020: Cancel Thanksgiving.
— Western Lensman (@WesternLensman) August 5, 2026
Hong, Two Days Ago: Thanksgiving is a time that's incredibly painful for many people in our communities.
Hong, Today: My favorite holiday is Thanksgiving. I love it. pic.twitter.com/cA5Qg9Lm4S
She has since described some old social media comments as "bad takes" and says she has evolved.
Her legislative record raises a harder question.
Hong was one of only six Assembly Democrats who voted against AB 677, legislation making it a felony to groom a child for sexual activity. The bill passed 93-6; 39 Assembly Democrats joined Republicans in supporting it.
Democratic Gov. Tony Evers signed it into law as 2025 Wisconsin Act 88.
Hong argued existing laws already addressed coercive behavior and warned the new law could be used against the alphabet mafia. Voters can consider her reasoning; they can also consider why 39 members of her own party reached the opposite conclusion.
The grooming vote deserves attention, but Hong has given Tiffany plenty more.
Her campaign supports a $20 minimum wage tied to inflation. She backs expanded government health coverage, local income taxes, higher taxes on wealthy households and corporations, an estate law, universal childcare financed partly through a 0.75% payroll tax, repeal of right-to-work, and abolishing ICE at the federal level.
From her website:
Guaranteed paid leave
Nobody should have to decide between paying the bills and taking care of themselves or a sick family member. Fran’s universal paid leave bill would provide fully insured paid leave for all workers — including the self-employed.Expanded, improved BadgerCare for all
The only health finance model that can address the core issues of our healthcare system is federal Medicare for All. Until the federal government does its job, we have to use every tool at our disposal to make healthcare as affordable as possible for every Wisconsinite. This is a multi-prong effort. We will:
- Expand Medicaid.
- Develop new kinds of BadgerCare programs that include more kinds of people — like a Basic Health Plan.
- Establish a robust public option that competes with private insurance plans — proven in other states to lower insurance premiums.
LGBTQ healthcare access
Everyone deserves to live safely in their own body. Fran recognizes gender-affirming care as medically necessary and would veto bills like AB 104 that intrude on personal healthcare issues and prevent families from seeking the healthcare they need.
The significance reaches well beyond Madison.
Hong could become a national test of whether democratic socialism can move from deep-blue districts into competitive statewide government. A July national Marquette Law School poll found Democratic socialist candidates were favorably viewed by 31% of adults and unfavorably by 53%.
A new Marquette Law School Poll national survey finds inflation and the cost of living are rated the most important issue by 35% of the public. This has been the top issue for the public in each Marquette poll this year.
The national economy is the next highest rated, with 15% saying it is the most important issue. The war with Iran is chosen by 10%, a decline from April, when 24% said it was the most important issue. Medicare and Social Security is tied for fourth place with the proposed SAVE America Act dealing with voting procedures, at 9% each. A three-way tie then follows, at 5% each, among health care, immigration and border security, and affordability of housing; the rating of immigration and border security has declined from 14% in January. Rounding out the list, crime is most important to 2% and abortion policy to 1% of adults.
That puts Wisconsin near the center of the Republican midterm argument. Democrats can insist Hong represents only herself. Republicans can point to a candidate openly identified with the socialist movement who could carry a major swing state's Democratic nomination.
My PJ Media teammate Rick Moran hit the bullseye when writing about Francesca Hong:
State Sen. Francesca Hong, a member of the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA), is, in a word, wacko. The fact that she will probably win the Democrats' Wisconsin governor primary on Tuesday tells us a lot about the Democratic Party and where they are on the political suicide watch.
Hong is running on a platform that includes raising the minimum wage from $7.50 to $20 an hour. Her "tax the rich" plan includes raising state income taxes by 1% for couples making over $431,000 and individuals making over $323,000. She also espouses the usual panoply of DSA "freebies," including Medicare for All, free child care, and guarantees of universal free, healthy school meals; establishing universal childcare with capped or zero out-of-pocket costs; and anchoring public school teacher salaries to state legislators' compensation.
Standard socialist pablum. Those proposals aren't really the problem. Before she "evolved" and "learned" (her words), she called to "defund then abolish" the police, writing that law enforcement exists to "uphold white supremacy" and advocating for closing prisons. She also called to "cancel Thanksgiving" (arguing against celebrating colonialism) and criticized Valentine's Day as a product of capitalism.
She called for abolishing the U.S. Senate due to the distortion of representation. Thomas Jefferson also objected to the fact that small states had equal representation in the Senate, but the inclusion of a Senate was a critical compromise with small states that felt their interests were being shortchanged in the House. Hong doesn't want a Senate because it has historically been a brake on radical proposals.
Her campaign argued that she never formally introduced or campaigned on an official policy platform to abolish the Senate. She didn't have to. It's a prominent plank in the DSA platform.
Hong dismissed her toxic social media posts as "bad takes."
Tiffany shouldn't need consultants to invent a frightening version of Francesca Hong; he needs to introduce Wisconsin to the version already in the public record.
Read Rick's great look at Hong: Why the Wisconsin Governors' Race Will Define the Midterms for Republicans
If Tiffany gets this matchup and screws it up, Republicans won't be able to blame a shortage of material. Hong has supplied the quotes, votes, taxes, socialist policies, and campaign reversals herself.
Wisconsin is too close politically for Tiffany to coast; he'll have to connect those pieces and explain what a Hong administration would actually mean.
The evidence is sitting right there, plain as the eyes bulging from Hong's face.
He'd better use it.
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