{"id":23432,"date":"2026-05-30T15:17:08","date_gmt":"2026-05-30T15:17:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bluelightnews.com\/category\/politics\/socialisms-next-test-swing-states\/"},"modified":"2026-05-30T15:17:08","modified_gmt":"2026-05-30T15:17:08","slug":"socialisms-next-test-swing-states","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bluelightnews.com\/category\/politics\/socialisms-next-test-swing-states\/","title":{"rendered":"Socialism’s next test: swing states"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

In the crowded Democratic field running to replace Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers, there\u2019s a surprising frontrunner for a battleground state: a democratic-socialist line cook who has called to abolish the police.<\/p>\n

Francesca Hong, a 37-year-old restaurant owner and single mother who became the state\u2019s first Asian-American assembly member in 2021, has surged to the lead in several early polls<\/a> after launching a long-shot bid on a deeply progressive platform.<\/p>\n

Hong is part of an array of lefty candidates with working-class credentials running in competitive states and districts up and down the ballot in this year\u2019s midterm elections \u2014 a crop emboldened by the popularity of New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani and a turn toward economic populism amid widespread cost-of-living concerns.<\/p>\n

Abdul El-Sayed is running from the left of Haley Stevens and Mallory McMorrow in the competitive Michigan Senate primary. Zach Wahls, who is backed by Elizabeth Warren, is locked in a tight contest against the Chuck Schumer-supported Josh Turek for Iowa\u2019s Senate nomination. In Colorado\u2019s 8th District, where Dems see a flip opportunity, Manny Rutinel is running against the more moderate Shannon Bird. And last month, Graham Platner got a boost when Schumer-endorsed Maine Gov. Janet Mills dropped out of the race to oust GOP Sen. Susan Collins.<\/p>\n

Establishment Democrats worry that these figures \u2014 whose platforms play well among primary voters but could bite them in a general election \u2014 might spoil the midterms at a time when the party has the wind at its back, desperate to claw its way out of the wilderness and still weary of the \u201cwoke\u201d allegations that Republicans effectively wielded against Kamala Harris. \u201cIf Democrats hope to beat Republican incumbents in red and purple districts, then they cannot run candidates who are far outside the mainstream of their district,\u201d the center-left think tank Third Way wrote in a memo<\/a> published last month.<\/p>\n

Hong says the party establishment just lacks imagination.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think they’re underestimating voters,\u201d Hong said in an interview. \u201cI think that has always been a problem for the Democratic Party \u2014 that we are not listening to how they are feeling.\u201d<\/p>\n

Her platform includes free child care, a $20 minimum wage and a full moratorium on data center construction. She is an outspoken critic of the Israeli government and helped lead Wisconsin\u2019s \u201cuninstructed\u201d pressure campaign<\/a> on the Biden administration\u2019s posture toward Gaza. She\u2019s faced backlash for past calls to \u201cabolish\u201d the police<\/a>. And she has suggested<\/a> as governor she would call the state National Guard to arrest federal ICE agents.<\/p>\n

But Hong doesn\u2019t think her far-left politics would pose a risk in a general election. \u201cThe liability is having someone who is the establishment and wants to maintain the status quo,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

There\u2019s still months to go before the Aug. 11 primary to decide who will face off against Tom Tiffany, the presumed GOP nominee endorsed by President Donald Trump. Still, Hong is leading early polls<\/a> among nine Democratic candidates \u2014 making her an unusual frontrunner to lead a state Trump narrowly won in 2024.<\/p>\n

Wisconsin has a deep history of socialism<\/a>, including three socialist mayors of Milwaukee between 1910 and 1960. The state boasts one of the Senate\u2019s most conservative members, Sen. Ron Johnson, but also one of its most progressive, Sen. Tammy Baldwin. And progressive Democrats in Wisconsin are quick to point out that Sanders, the country\u2019s democratic-socialist standard-bearer, won 71 out of Wisconsin\u2019s 72 counties in 2016.<\/p>\n

Hong isn\u2019t just running on a different platform than her competitors \u2014 she is also running \u201cthe most non-traditional race,\u201d said Gordon Hintz, who served in the Wisconsin state assembly with Hong when he was Democratic minority leader. While other candidates have been more reserved so far, Hong spent \u2014 and surged \u2014 early on to boost her name recognition. Hong\u2019s campaign says it has about 3,000 active volunteers and has already organized 250 events across the state, with an additional 230 planned for the coming months.<\/p>\n

\u201cShe has shown up, she’s the only candidate currently who has built any infrastructure down in Rock County,\u201d said Jim White, who leads Rock County Democrats. \u201cShe’s the only person who has active canvassers, has people showing up at events, at meetings, she’s the only one who seems to have increasing infrastructure to do outreach to voters, and that’s been something that I think we’ve all really noticed.\u201d<\/p>\n

But it\u2019s still an uphill battle for Hong \u2014 especially in the fundraising fight. Mandela Barnes, the former lieutenant governor and failed Senate nominee is polling in second place and has raised more than $2 million. Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley has brought in more than $850,000. Hong has raised about $635,000, according to Wisconsin campaign finance records.<\/p>\n

Hong said she is focusing on turning one-time donors into recurring donors and has leaned on nontraditional fundraising tactics, like streaming. She has appeared with the progressive Twitch streamer Mike from PA and with Mercury Stardust, a TikToker with more than 2.6 million followers<\/a> who describes herself as \u201cThe Trans Handy Ma\u2019am.\u201d Next month, Hong is planning to stream a DJ set and a cooking demo on Twitch, according to her campaign.<\/p>\n

Both White and Hintz noted they still have not decided who they\u2019ll vote for in the primary. But they both guessed part of Hong\u2019s appeal to voters \u2014 particularly those who are young and politically disengaged \u2014 was because she is \u201cfun.\u201d Hong is, for example, known to host fundraisers at karaoke bars.<\/p>\n

Her go-to song<\/a>? \u201cI Will Survive.\u201d<\/p>\n

Like this content? Consider signing up for Blue Light News’s <\/i>Playbook newsletter<\/i><\/a>. <\/i><\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In the crowded Democratic field running to replace Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers, there\u2019s a surprising frontrunner for a battleground state: a democratic-socialist line cook who has called to abolish the police. Francesca Hong, a 37-year-old restaurant owner and single mother who became the state\u2019s first Asian-American assembly member in 2021, has surged to the lead […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-23432","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-politics"],"amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/bluelightnews.com\/category\/politics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23432","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/bluelightnews.com\/category\/politics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/bluelightnews.com\/category\/politics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bluelightnews.com\/category\/politics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bluelightnews.com\/category\/politics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=23432"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/bluelightnews.com\/category\/politics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23432\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/bluelightnews.com\/category\/politics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=23432"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bluelightnews.com\/category\/politics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=23432"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bluelightnews.com\/category\/politics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=23432"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}