Wisconsin Assembly member Francesca Hong was one of six lawmakers who voted against an anti-child grooming law signed by Democratic Gov. Tony Evers earlier this year. The legislation was a response to the case of a former Kenosha teacher who pursued a relationship with a 14-year-old student.
The law prohibits adults from engaging in a pattern of behavior intended to condition, seduce, solicit, lure, or entice a child into sexual activity or pornography. This measure followed the conviction of Christian Enwright, a former Kenosha school teacher found guilty of misdemeanor counts for his actions toward a student.
A school district investigator noted that Enwright engaged in "classic grooming behavior," preying on a student's vulnerability under the guise of mentorship. Enwright began messaging the minor on Snapchat in June 2023, exchanging over 600 messages that included sexualized comments about her appearance and images of himself shirtless. Concerns about Enwright's behavior toward female students had been privately expressed by at least two school staff members, and he reportedly had a reputation for giving "long hugs."
An anonymous tip to the school district's human resources team in February 2024 led to Enwright's arrest and termination three months later. Prosecutors faced challenges in prosecuting Enwright due to the absence of direct sexual contact and the nature of the messages, which were not explicit enough for a felony charge under state law.
In April 2025, Enwright pleaded guilty to 15 misdemeanor counts of disorderly conduct and received a sentence of 15 months in jail and three years of probation in July 2025. The legislative response saw the Wisconsin Legislature pass the anti-grooming law with the Assembly approving it 93-6 and the state Senate passing it by voice vote.
It remains unclear why Hong, who is a leading Democratic candidate for Wisconsin governor ahead of Tuesday's primary, opposed the bill. Colleagues who voted against it suggested the measure might have been redundant within existing state law. Hong's campaign did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Previously, Hong expressed support for defunding and abolishing the police, posting on social media in October 2021 that "Police exist to uphold white supremacy. Defund then abolish. Reform can’t be an option." She has since attempted to distance herself from those statements, explaining to reporters that she was pursuing sports journalism in college and sometimes made "bad takes on Twitter."
Since the anti-grooming bill was signed into law in March, it has been used in the case of Joseph W. Cook, 36, of Janesville, who was charged with preying on a cognitively impaired girl. Prosecutors allege Cook and the girl communicated via the encrypted messaging service Signal for nearly three years, with the girl reporting that Cook planned for her to move in with him upon turning 18. The girl stated that Cook utilized a Signal setting to auto-delete messages and images after approximately 30 seconds and would react negatively when she tried to alter this option.
Following Cook's arrest, authorities discovered multiple knives, machetes, ammunition, and a Glock handgun with a laser attachment in his residence.
Should Hong win the Democratic primary, she is expected to face Republican Representative Tom Tiffany in the general election.