Wisconsin Democrats are on the verge of nominating one of the most left-wing gubernatorial candidates in the country. Democratic Socialist State Rep. Francesca Hong has built her political brand around the Democratic Socialists of America, championing calls to abolish the Senate, defund and abolish the police, and eliminate school choice.

But under the debate stage lights Tuesday night, Hong suddenly tried to distance herself from her own record. After years of publicly advocating to “defund then abolish” the police, she claimed, “the governor cannot defund police.” She also refused to give Milwaukee families a clear timeline for ending Wisconsin’s school choice program, instead offering only vague promises of a “responsible” phaseout.

If Francesca Hong is now the face of the Wisconsin Democratic Party, where do the rest of the party’s leaders stand? Do Wisconsin Democrats support Hong’s past calls to defund and abolish the police and the broader Democratic Socialist agenda she has championed, or do they reject those positions?

“Francesca Hong has spent years embracing one of the most radical agendas in American politics, and now she’s trying to pretend voters didn’t see any of it,” said RSLC Deputy Communications Director Holden Sczerba. “Calling to defund and abolish the police, flirting with abolishing the Senate, and pushing to eliminate school choice aren’t ancient history, they’re her record. Wisconsin Democrats now have a choice: stand with Hong’s Democratic Socialist agenda or explain why they’re nominating someone whose own positions they can’t defend.”

Background:

  • Asked directly on the debate stage Tuesday about her 2021 “Abolish the Senate” post, Hong would only say she does not back the full platform of the national DSA; her campaign separately told Fox News Digital she does not recall writing the post.
  • Hong wrote on social media in 2020 that she supported “defunding the police as a first step towards abolishing the police,” and said in 2021 that policing itself upholds white supremacy, adding, “Defund then abolish. Reform can’t be an option.”
  • At the same debate, Hong endorsed ending Wisconsin’s private school voucher program without committing to a firm timeline, calling only for a “responsible” process to wind it down.