Democratic gubernatorial candidate Francesca Hong said during Tuesday’s primary debate that she would not sign legislation or a budget cutting police funding, marking a shift from her repeated past calls to defund and abolish police departments.
Asked by moderators whether she would approve a bill or budget that reduced police funding, the Madison state representative replied, “No.”
“The governor cannot defund police, and I’m not here to govern by slogan. I’m here to make sure that I am the governor that is most serious about public safety,” Hong said.
The exchange came amid scrutiny of her earlier statements. In 2020, Hong wrote that she supported “defunding the police as a first step towards abolishing the police.” In 2021, she posted that “Police exist to uphold white supremacy. Defund then abolish. Reform can’t be an option.”
Hong, a democratic socialist leading recent polls in the crowded Aug. 11 primary, has described abolition as a long-term vision while emphasizing investments in crime prevention through housing, mental health care and schools. The debate was the only televised forum among the five Democratic candidates ahead of the primary.
