Francesca Hong has surged into the lead in Wisconsin's Democratic primary for governor, putting the 37-year-old chef, former restaurant owner and state lawmaker from Madison on the brink of a nomination that once looked far more open. By Tuesday, four candidates were still vying for the state's open governor's seat, but Hong's grassroots campaign had made her the frontrunner.
She built that campaign through hundreds of events across Wisconsin, a pace that helped turn a little-known run into a serious statewide bid. Hong has leaned on her record as a single mom and her pitch for universal childcare, fully funding Wisconsin's public schools and placing a moratorium on datacenters. In the final stretch, that message was giving her momentum in the places that decide primaries.
Hong's rise has also made her the target of a familiar kind of attack. Donald Trump mocked her old tweets, including a post in which she called for cancelling Thanksgiving, and Republicans seized on the same material. Major figures in her own party have also questioned whether a democratic socialist can win a general election in a battleground state like Wisconsin, even as her supporters argue that the crowded field and her organizing edge are exactly what lifted her into first place.
The race has remained fluid. Sara Rodriguez left after campaign finance irregularities. Mandela Barnes dropped out on 31 July. David Crowley exited and then re-entered the contest, and Tony Evers backed him, with a 5 August memo from the Crowley campaign suggesting polling may be off. That did not erase Hong's standing, but it showed how unsettled the primary remained as the final vote approached.
Hong has kept pressing the argument that she can win because she is speaking to voters who want something different. She said she got into the race because she believes Wisconsin voters are ready to fight for one another and for change, and because they are tired of decisions that do not improve lives and tired of the status quo. That is the case she now has to carry from a strong primary position into a general election fight that many in her party still do not trust her to win.
