SOUTH MILWAUKEE — Francesca Hong, a democratic socialist who is cementing her frontrunner status in the Democratic primary for governor, walked into her Sunday afternoon rally Aug. 2 wearing her signature blue pantsuit and grooving to Wisconsin anthem “Jump Around.”
At the podium, Hong could barely get any words out over the cheers of attendees. “That’s my governor!” one shouted, with 10 days to go before the Aug. 11 primary that will decide which Democrat will challenge Republican Tom Tiffany in November.
Throughout the two-hour event, Hong and other speakers sought to challenge the question looming over her campaign: Can Hong translate her grassroots fervor into beating Tiffany?
“When people want to fight for something together, when they see something they believe in, and they start to believe in one another, I think the Dems are going to have to write a new playbook here,” Hong said.
“Regardless of where your political home may be or how you identify, this is the moment where we must convey and win power for the majority, and that’s working-class people,” she said.
Hong’s on-stage guests included U.S. Rep. Ilhan Omar from Minnesota, who endorsed Hong in April, and left-wing commentator Hasan Piker, who has divided Democrats for previous comments that critics call antisemitic and anti-American.
But the crowd was fired up for Piker, with some attendees seated in chairs rising for a standing ovation. He alluded to the state’s sewer socialist history, saying Wisconsin is where the American socialist movement began “long before Zohran [Mamdani] and Bernie Sanders.”
“The good people of Wisconsin always knew that this wasn’t about scary ideas, and it was just about a working-class movement that wanted to help out one another,” Piker said. “A Republican will never be elected in this state ever again, once our movement is done.”
Hong joined Piker in his Los Angeles studio in June to appear on his Twitch stream. She raised around $60,000 from that event. Piker indicated at the time that he could travel to Wisconsin to campaign for Hong; Piker said Aug. 2 he campaigned for U.S. Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed in Michigan the day prior.
Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley, who is now running in second place behind Hong, was the first Democrat in the race to say he would not appear with Piker, calling Piker’s comments “beyond the pale.”
Hong, asked by reporters after the event if campaigning with Omar and Piker was a risk, said the risk is instead “not building the broadest coalition possible.”
“Francesca Hong choosing to campaign with individuals who said America ‘deserved 9/11,’ called communism the ‘honorable end goal,’ and believe capitalists should be killed is certainly a choice,” Tiffany said in a statement.
Tiffany previously tied Omar’s endorsement to his argument that Hong “would turn Wisconsin into Minnesota.”
“Ilhan Omar has built a career trashing our country and representing the worst elements of the Democrat Party. Francesca Hong is proud to stand right beside her. Wisconsin voters see it for what it is: insane,” Republican Governors Association communications director Kollin Crompton said in a statement.
Piker, introducing Omar, said she was framed as a villain “far before I ever got on the scene.” Omar said that like her, Hong would become a “first” – the first woman and Asian American elected Wisconsin governor.
“[Hong] is not running to make history, but because she knows people in Wisconsin need a relentless fighter in their corner,” Omar said.
Crowd skews young, including first-time voters and rally goers
Inside the gymnasium at South Milwaukee High School, attendees skewed young and mostly under-40. In the latest Marquette University Law School poll, 66% of voters ages 18 to 29 supported Hong. Her campaign counted 1,300 RSVPs.
Supporters flocked to the merch table for blue-and-green T-shirts and took selfies in front of a neon sign that read “Hong: Proudly Serving Wisconsin.” Malik Johnson, a local, Grammy-nominated cellist, performed Hall & Oates’ “You Make My Dreams Come True.” The pre-rally playlist included plenty of dance hits and M.I.A.’s “Bad Girls.”
“Looking around this rally, I see students, first-time voters, I see young organizers, people who refuse to accept that politics has to stay the way it’s always been,” said Wisconsin Muslim Civic Alliance executive director Fauzia Qureshi, the first speaker.
Aliyah Hemaidan, who just graduated from high school and will vote in her first election this fall, said she’s excited “that the first vote I ever do is for somebody that I actually believe in,” citing Hong’s policies on data centers, childcare and higher education.
“[Gov.] Tony Evers, he was really good for the time, but the times are shifting,” Hemaidan said. “To have him step down and have somebody continue the road into progressiveness, it’s huge.”
Cassandra Harlan, who was attending her first political rally, said Hong showing signs of moderating her message on the debate stage and in interviews is “a formula that happens with politicians” and “they can meet somewhere in the middle.”
“I just like the fact that she’s kind of antagonizing the right people,” Harlan said. “I feel like any woman who wants to make history, she can’t be well-behaved.”
Rally comes as Hong cements frontrunner status, moderates message
Hong’s rally outside the state’s largest city comes just 10 days before the Aug. 11 primary election. Amid chaos in other Democratic campaigns, Hong has only expanded her lead and momentum.
Mandela Barnes, who was running in second place behind Hong in the latest Marquette poll, dropped out of the race late last week. His decision came amid reporting by the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel into allegations that Barnes was taking advantage of his role in the party to have sexual encounters with young adult women.
Hong’s lead in that poll, conducted in late July, was 38%. Just over a third of voters were undecided, including nearly half of voters 60 or older. When undecided voters were pushed to choose a candidate, Hong’s lead grew to 46%.
Crowley, who has moved into second place since Barnes dropped out, is hitting the trail with Evers. Crowley is backed by Evers and on Friday was endorsed by U.S. Rep. Gwen Moore, a veteran congresswoman from Milwaukee.
“While Francesca Hong is rallying people who are already in her corner, David Crowley is traveling across the state to meet undecided voters where they are,” a Crowley spokesperson said Aug. 2. “David will continue to reach them this week with a message centered on experience, results, and winning in November.”
Hong, meanwhile, recently appeared on Fox News. She has shown signs of moderating her message, including backing away from previous comments on defunding police during the primary’s only televised debate. Her campaign has pushed back on the idea that she’s shifting her message.
Hong called on her supporters to be “radically welcoming” to people who aren’t ready for democratic socialism but otherwise didn’t cater to the middle in front of her base. At one point, Hong said she would “meet [U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement] with the force and fury required to keep us all safe.” The crowd responded with a “F— ICE” chant.
Hemaidan, the first-time voter, said she doesn’t see Hong as shifting on policy but shifting in how she addresses voters. She said Hong going on Fox News is exactly “what she should be doing right now.”
“The fact that she is able to code switch and talk in a different way to maybe help them understand what she’s doing is really good,” Hemaidan said. “Hopefully, she’s going to get a lot more national attention after the Michigan elections are done … I want the national eye to be on this movement.”
Early, in-person absentee voting is underway through next Sunday in the Aug. 11 election, which features the party primaries for governor and some state Legislature and congressional seats. Polls will be open 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. Aug. 11.
Hope Karnopp can be reached at HKarnopp@usatodayco.com.
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Francesca Hong rallies with Ilhan Omar, Hasan Piker in South Milwaukee
Reporting by Hope Karnopp, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel / Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
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By Hope Karnopp, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel | USA TODAY Network
