Francesca Hong, a candidate for Wisconsin governor, is encountering scrutiny on the campaign trail regarding past statements she made, including calls to abolish and re-imagine police and prisons. During a get-out-the-vote event, Hong addressed her past views, describing some as "hot takes" from when she was "trying to become a sports journalist." She explained that she "let my feelings out into the world" during that period.
Hong's previous statements include demands in June 2020 to defund the police, followed by a November 2020 call for them to be "re-imagined and re-structured at every level." She has also reportedly called for the abolition of prisons and described Thanksgiving as a "colonizer holiday."
These remarks have drawn criticism, with opponents linking them to broader societal unrest and increased crime rates observed in some American cities between 2020 and 2021. Data cited from the Council on Criminal Justice indicates a 68% increase in homicides in a sample of 30 U.S. cities from April to July 2020. The FBI reported a national homicide rate increase from 5 per 100,000 people in 2019 to 6.5 in 2020 and 6.8 in 2021.
The article accompanying these notes suggests that such rhetoric has had consequences, citing instances of statues being removed and the proliferation of narratives such as the 1619 Project in educational systems. Other political figures, like Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, have commented on Hong's past statements, indicating that Hong has since clarified her present stances to her constituents and moved away from those earlier positions, humorously referring to them as "Woke 1 was crazy."
Hong's campaign platform has focused on issues such as "permanent affordability" and taxing the ultra-rich, alongside other "universal" proposals.