Wisconsin: The Next Frontier for Socialists

First, they won in New York. Then they took Maine, Colorado, and Michigan. And now, the next battleground for the energized socialist movement infiltrating the Democratic Party is Wisconsin. Francesca Hong, a chef, state assemblywoman, and member of the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA), is running for governor, and the specter of a socialist in charge of a major swing state like Wisconsin should serve as a wake-up call for Republicans hoping to succeed outgoing Democrat Tony Evers. Hong has predictably made her bed with some of the left’s most prominent progressive figures, campaigning alongside Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN) and socialist streamer Hasan Piker among others. She is hoping to ride the progressive wave generated by Abdul El-Sayed, who just triumphed in the Michigan Democratic primary, sending party leaders scrambling to pretend that openly anti-establishment, antisemitic socialists such as El-Sayed are welcome in their party.  

A perfect indication of just how scared the Democratic leadership is of having El-Sayed attached to their brand is the funding that poured into the establishment candidate from out of state. Democratic-aligned interest groups contributed a whopping $60 million to the primary campaign of Rep. Haley Stevens, a progressive establishment figure, almost ten times as much as El-Sayed received from left-wing political action committees. But the voters simply didn’t see enough in the eccentric congresswoman to send her up against Republican Mike Rogers in November. And so they nominated a man with open animosity towards Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, and who supports government-run healthcare, defunding ICE, ending foreign aid to Israel, and most of the other pillars of the far-left agenda.

Thanksgiving on the Chopping Block

Most of the socialists making headlines these days speak boldly and unashamedly about their extreme views, and Hong is just as radical as the rest of them, if not more. But she does not possess the political skill of smooth operators like El-Sayed and Zohran Mamdani and has sputtered when trying to defend previous extreme statements. And one in particular is certain to be used against her from now to Election Day.

“Cancel Thanksgiving. Should have done this in 1621,” Hong wrote on Twitter in November 2020. “If it takes a worldwide pandemic for us to realize we should stop celebrating colonialism and the original superspreader event that killed indigenous folx and women, so be it.” Given the chance to retract that remark in a recent interview on CNN, she all but refused, saying: “I’m a chef, and one of the first meals that I made was for the community when I was 16 was a Thanksgiving meal. But Thanksgiving is also a time that’s incredibly painful for many people in our communities.” Wow, even Bernie Sanders, AOC, Graham Platner, and Abdul El-Sayed have not called for canceling one of America’s most beloved holidays. Tom Tiffany, the leading Republican candidate for governor, said in a post on X: “Just so everyone knows where I stand, I won’t cancel Thanksgiving as governor.” Naturally, Hong now says she “actually loves” Thanksgiving. Nice try, no shame. 

Hong also wrote in 2021 that “Police exist to uphold white supremacy. Defund then abolish. Reform can’t be an option.” It’s one thing to have a socialist as a mayor like Mamdani or even one of many members of the House or Senate. But imagine what would happen if the entire Badger State is run by a governor who hates white people, a frequent accusation against her, and seeks to abolish the police and prisons, central to the DSA platform? But some things you just can’t make up. At a rally for Hong last weekend, attendees were hilariously required to show photo ID, prompting immediate accusations of hypocrisy over the left’s opposition to the SAVE Act’s voter ID and citizenship verification provisions. 

Socialists Stage a Hostile Takeover  

Beyond ideology is the matter of competence, and Hong offered up a real knee-slapper about her suitability for running a state of six million people: “I think my background as a chef will actually help me become a better governor that’s able to bring more people to the table.” Right, someone who prepares meals for a living is the perfect choice for political chief of the entire state. This is what it’s come to in the socialist movement: any candidate will suffice as long as they say all the right things, regardless of their qualifications or lack thereof. After all, with leftist voters desperate to kick Donald Trump and establishment Democrats in the teeth, it’s easy to promise free healthcare for all, cheap food in government-run grocery stores, or abolishing ICE, defunding Israel, oh, and let’s not forget abolishing the Senate, presidency, and Supreme Court per the DSA platform. But what continues to amaze is the degree to which these leftist voters are providing oxygen to the socialist embrace of an essential teardown of the constitutional republic.

Gov. Evers, who has endorsed the more moderate David Crowley in the Democratic primary, said: “Wisconsinites can’t afford for November to come down to the most extreme things Tom Tiffany and Francesca Hong have said online.” Yet with voters going to the polls on Tuesday, August 11, Hong is blowing away four other candidates in the primary field with an average lead in numerous polls of close to or above 20%, so like their counterparts in Maine who chose to ignore the many transgressions of Graham Platner, Wisconsin Democrats appear intent on giving the establishment the one-finger salute and damning the torpedoes.  

Sticking it to society’s winners for the benefit of its losers is the prevailing theme of the Democratic primaries this election season. Come November, the question is whether this fashionable, cascading anti-Americanism will prevail, or more likely, a solid majority of rational voters recognize the peril and stick to their overwhelming historic rejection of socialism.