Wisconsin gubernatorial primary candidate Francesca Hong was asked about the absence of endorsements from U.S. Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Senator Bernie Sanders, as well as a comment made by Ocasio-Cortez regarding a past remark by Hong.
Hong, a member of the Democratic Socialists of America, stated her "so much respect" for both Ocasio-Cortez and Sanders, noting their work "to make sure that we can flip Congress and the Senate and get Democrats wins in the midterms." She added that she looks forward to future conversations with them on these efforts. When pressed on whether the lack of endorsement indicated a belief that she could not win the state, Hong distinguished between federal and gubernatorial elections.
During a Sunday interview on ABC's "This Week," Ocasio-Cortez stated she had not endorsed in the Wisconsin race, as her focus was on "winning back the Congress, winning back the House and positioning ourselves to have the best, ah, chance possible to, to win the Senate."
Ocasio-Cortez also addressed past comments made by Hong, telling interviewer Jonathan Karl that her "understanding is that... Francesca Hong has made clear her present stances to her electorate" and "moved away from" prior statements. Ocasio-Cortez then recalled a local city councilman saying, "'Woke 1 was crazy,'" and laughed, adding, "And I think that what's important is that we have to assess what a candidate is saying now."
Responding to Ocasio-Cortez's comment on Monday, Hong suggested that people are "opening their eyes to an economy that is deeply rigged against working class people." She outlined her platform, stating she will "deliver for working class people by taxing the ultra rich, ensure that we have a moratorium on data centers, that we're raising wages, fighting for universal childcare and that we fully fund our public schools."
Hong is running in the Wisconsin Democratic gubernatorial primary alongside Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley, state Senator Kelda Roys, and former secretary of the Wisconsin Department of Administration Joel Brennan.