Will Francesca Hong Cause Another Democratic Freak Out In Wisconsin?
Primary day is here!
The Wisconsin primary election is Tuesday, and most center-left Democrats that Francesca Hong, who’s leading in most polls, will win the gubernatorial nomination. The state assembly member is a Democratic Socialist who has a complicated relationship with Halloween and Thanksgiving, so center-left Democrats are terrified that if she’s the nominee, she’ll lose to Republican Tom Tiffany, a MAGA election denier who can’t be trusted to uphold a Democratic presidential victory in a key swing state.
Now, this is (still) a democracy, so instead of freaking out or complaining that progressives might vote for a progressive candidate, moderate Democrats could actively promote a moderate candidate for the gubernatorial nomination. Unfortunately, the moderate bench is pretty weak. Former Lieutenant Governor Mandela Barnes — who moderates considered too liberal for his Senate race back in 2022 — dropped out, likely because of an impending scandal, but Milwaukee county executive David Crowley re-entered the race after his wife saw a bird (no, really).
As the moderate “hail Mary” candidate, David Crowley is no Ryan Gosling. He’s seemingly wearing the same glasses frames I had in 1986, which did not help me win elections or impress girls. It’s been 40 years, and we have iPhones now. Get some better glasses if you’re running for governor in 2026.
Hong, a former restaurant owner, has appealed directly to voter concerns about affordability and their increasing struggles in an economy Donald Trump tanked through his ego-driven stupidity. Conversely, Crowley’s ads are stuck in that same 2018 alternate reality where Trump never wins re-election. Crowley started college in 2008 when Barack Obama won the presidency, and you can see how Obama inspired Crowley, who started his career as a community organizer. (Watch below.)
Unfortunately, the bright, optimistic future Obama’s election promised never materialized. That dream was instead consumed by Trump’s dystopian nightmare. If Hong beats Crowley, it’s because she’s actually running for governor in today’s reality. She calls out the “MAGA-controlled state legislature,” while Crowley has said “we have to listen to independents and Republicans because we [Democrats] don’t have a monopoly on good ideas.” This post-partisan sentiment might have fit well in Obama’s 2008-era stump speech but now it’s aged like spaghetti straps.
This race isn’t as simple, though, as establishment Democrat versus leftist insurgent. Hong has represented the 76th Assembly district in the Wisconsin State Assembly since 2021, and she’s reliably supported Democrats within the state. Crowley has a pretty progressive record. Yet, his campaign is actively taking positions primary voters are inclined to reject. For instance, Hong has proposed a moratorium on data centers in the state, but Crowley has defended their presence.
“If there are communities that want to have these data centers, and they found a pathway to protect the environment with guardrails, and their community says yes, then we should we should work with them to allow that to happen,” Crowley said last week. That passionless gibberish.
Rather than building genuine excitement for Crowley’s candidacy, moderate Democrats are still making the desperate appeal to “electability” that didn’t help them win in Michigan. Democratic consultant Neera Tanden, who runs the ironically named Center for American Progress, posted Monday on social media, “I have been on campaigns that were losing by 15 on Thursday and won on Tuesday. My friends in Wisconsin — holding the Governor’s mansion is crucial to democracy in 2028. Please vote for Crowley. Don’t risk the seat.”
Isn’t it convenient that the Republican candidate Tom Tiffany is a dangerous election denier so — for the sake of democracy! — we can’t risk nominating the progressive candidate Francesca Hong? People who can’t win elections on actual issues must instead run on a platform of fear. Deep down, do they even want MAGA to go away?
Moderate Democrats have whined about a supposed DSA “hostile takeover” of the party, but you’ll recall that it’s been almost 10 years since Donald Trump first won the presidency. If the Democratic Party was subject to a “hostile takeover,” why didn’t it come from the all those anti-Trump, “country over party” conservatives? Prominent Never Trump conservative Charlie Sykes is from Wisconsin. They’ve had a decade to accept that the modern GOP is irredeemably MAGA and finally join the Democratic Party, which despite the much-maligned “wokeness” and socialism is the only democracy game in town. Joining the party in sufficient numbers could lead to a true debate about the party’s direction. Instead, it seems as if Never Trumpers just want to kibbitz. It’s good for business, I guess
It is hard to imagine that the Democratic primary electorate has seemingly shifted to the left when mainstream Democrats spent the past decade opening their arms to anti-Trump conservatives. This effort should’ve moderated the party. Instead, most conservatives who wanted to stay in politics and advance their agenda remained Republicans. No humiliation was too great. Just ask Nikki Haley and Chris Sununu.
Of course, I can’t help but remember that Wisconsin is where Kamala Harris campaigned with Liz Cheney. The former Republican congresswoman was supposed to help Harris with right-leaning suburbanites. Harris did improve upon Joe Biden’s 2020 performance in the predominately white and Republican Waukesha, Ozaukee and Washington counties, but she underperformed Biden in key Democratic strongholds, including Milwaukee, Dane County, and most significantly the University of Wisconsin-Madison campus wards. A repeatedly demonstrated risk from chasing the center is that a Democratic candidate loses ground with key segments of their electorate.
Wisconsin is a purple state so it might seem unlikely that an avowed Democratic socialist could win but Hong could stand a change if she drives turnout and margins in the Democratic strongholds while holding her ground in the WOW counties. The latter isn’t a given. The bottom could still very much drop out, but with Trump’s below-freezing approval rating, it’s also possible voters could listen to a message that addresses the very real challenges they’re experiencing.
When I consider the motley collection of right wing, cowardly, blatantly xenophobic or out right racist nut jobs in the GOP who have been elected and re-elected, I think the need for Democrats trying to appeal to the blandest of the bland centrist candidates is an idea whose time is long dead.
It is a serious mistake to self-homogenize. It is also a mistake to pretend to be something you are not. Voters will accept a few outlying views if they perceive the candidate is real. For Democrats, the time is ripe for candidates who stand up proudly and advocate for the real needs of their voters, and also push back hard against the right wing rhetoric and grievance pushers. Show some spine, and let the chips fall.
", but you’ll recall that it’s been almost 10 years since Donald Trump first won the presidency. If the Democratic Party was subject to a “hostile takeover,” why didn’t it come from the all those anti-Trump, “country over party” conservatives? "
And over those 10 years centrist democrats have had every opportunity to become the opposition party...EVEN IF you don't 'like' Hong or the DSA or progressives, 10 years from now, seen in 20/20 hindsight, if we discovered that electing her (and her (and my) ilk)) was the wrong choice, ..It will STILL HAVE BEED THE RIGHT choice to make, SIMPLY BECAUSE it was different from doing the SAME GODDAMN THING that hasn't worked in 30 fucking years