Can democratic socialism win a swing state? Wisconsin’s Francesca Hong is about to find out

Wisconsin state Rep. Francesca Hong, the first Asian American elected to the state’s Legislature, has become the Democratic party’s unlikely contender for governor in one of the nation’s most competitive battleground states.

Running as a Korean American democratic socialist, Hong has transformed what began as a long-shot campaign into a closely watched test of whether an openly progressive platform can win statewide.

Democratic socialists have recently been seeking to build on recent gains in liberal cities by competing in statewide races. Zohran Mamdani’s victory in New York City’s Democratic mayoral primary marked one of the movement’s biggest electoral breakthroughs, building on years of national prominence from Sen. Bernie Sanders’ presidential campaigns and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and other Democratic Socialists of America-backed lawmakers.

Unlike New York City, where Democrats dominate elections, Wisconsin has remained one of the country’s closest political battlegrounds. Should Hong be elected, she would likely become the first openly democratic socialist elected governor in U.S. history.

Recent polling illustrates Hong’s campaign’s growing momentum. A Marquette University Law School survey released this week found her leading the Democratic primary with 26% support, followed by former Lt. Gov. Mandela Barnes at 15%. The poll was completed before Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley reentered the contest and did not include him.

“We do this in Wisconsin, we’re going to change politics across the country,” Hong told The Associated Press. “People who are frustrated and have a lot more to lose, and I’m one of those people, are ready to coalesce around someone they can believe in.”

Born and raised in Madison to Korean immigrant parents, Hong worked as a dishwasher, line cook, bartender and restaurant owner before entering politics. She has said watching restaurant workers and small businesses struggle during the COVID-19 pandemic motivated her to run for office. In 2020, she would become the first Asian American to serve in the Wisconsin Legislature and later help establish the Assembly’s first Asian Caucus.

As a lawmaker, Hong authored legislation requiring Wisconsin public schools to teach Asian American and Hmong American history. She also helped lead Wisconsin’s “uninstructed” movement protesting former President Joe Biden’s handling of the war in Gaza during the 2024 Democratic presidential primary.

When she launched her gubernatorial campaign, Hong described herself as a progressive “wild card” challenging Wisconsin’s Democratic establishment. Her platform calls for higher taxes on millionaires and large corporations, universal child care, free school meals, expanded affordable housing, stronger labor protections and paid family leave. She has also pledged not to accept corporate PAC contributions.

Hong’s growing profile has given Republicans an early opportunity to define the race around her democratic socialist identity. Hoping that an openly democratic socialist would be easier to defeat in a general election, a Republican-aligned super PAC spent millions of dollars on television advertising aimed at boosting Hong in the Democratic primary.

Much of the Republican criticism has centered on Hong’s past positions rather than the affordability agenda she has emphasized on the campaign trail. This includes her support for abolishing police following the 2020 killing of George Floyd. “Defund then abolish,”she wrote in a 2021 post. “Reform can’t be an option.” She was also heavily criticized for her support for repealing Wisconsin’s anti-BDS law while attacking proposals to raise taxes on millionaires and large corporations.

Hong has rejected the argument that Democrats should moderate their agenda to compete in swing states. She argued that voters are demanding candidates willing to confront economic inequality.

“I think regardless of generation, but especially for young people, they are demanding a different type of politics and a different type of politician,” she told ABC News. “One that is not funded by billionaires and corporations, one that isn’t trying to appeal to every person because you have to stand for something.”