Francesca Hong, a 37-year-old Democratic Socialist, is leading the Democratic field in Wisconsin's gubernatorial race, according to a recent State Navigate poll. The poll shows Hong with 44 percent support among Democratic voters, significantly ahead of her closest competitor, Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley, who garnered 15 percent.
Hong, who currently serves in the Wisconsin State Assembly, has drawn comparisons to New York's Zohran Mamdani due to her progressive platform. Her policy proposals include free school lunches, universal childcare, increased funding for school programs like special education, investments in higher education, living wages, affordable healthcare, and limitations on data centers. These positions align with a broader push for transformative change that Hong believes working-class people are seeking.
Despite her strong showing in polls, some Democrats are expressing concern that Hong's progressive stance may be too liberal for the Midwest electorate, potentially hindering her chances in a general election against a Republican candidate. This apprehension was echoed in a Marquette University poll conducted earlier, which showed Hong with 26 percent of the vote, trailing behind other potential candidates at that time.
"They’re asking, what is the strategy?" Karen DeSanto, a Democratic state representative, told The New York Times, reflecting concerns about the path to victory. Strategist Joe Zepecki also commented on the pressure felt by the left, suggesting it contributes to the recent disarray as "people are very afraid of missing the opportunity ahead."
Former Wisconsin Governor Jim Doyle, a centrist Democrat, has expressed surprise at Hong's momentum, noting that his own successful campaigns relied on a more moderate approach. "I was a pretty centrist candidate, and I think that that generally is how you win in Wisconsin, but that may be old-time thinking," he told The Times.
Hong's campaign has energized a segment of the Democratic base, but the Republican Governors Association has reportedly spent over $2 million on attack ads against her, indicating a belief that she would be vulnerable in a general election.
Hong previously worked in the restaurant industry for a decade, including as a private chef, before entering politics. She was elected to the Wisconsin State Assembly in 2021. Her campaign emphasizes her experience as a working-class single mother and her commitment to addressing the issues she believes are most pressing for ordinary Wisconsinites.
She asserts that her leadership style and focus on transformative change are what voters are signaling they are ready for. "voters are telling us that they are ready for a new type of leadership," Hong stated. "One that prioritizes the issues that working-class people care about and that requires transformative change from new leaders."