As Francesca Hong attempts to broaden her appeal beyond the Democratic primary electorate, Tom Tiffany’s campaign says the Democratic Socialist is now walking back some of the very positions that defined her political rise.
The Tiffany campaign on Wednesday highlighted three statements Hong made this week that it says are contradicted by her own words, legislative record, and public advocacy, arguing the Madison lawmaker is attempting to soften her image ahead of the general election.
“Francesca Hong can flip-flop all she wants, but she can’t hide who she is,” Tiffany said in a statement. “She’s a card-carrying socialist who called to abolish the police, abolish the U.S. Senate, and introduced a bill to make Wisconsin’s top income tax rate the highest in America. Now her campaign is trying to rewrite her record because they know her ideas are too radical for Wisconsin, but they can’t rewrite her own words.”
The first example involves Hong’s past calls to abolish the U.S. Senate. Earlier this week, Hong’s campaign told Fox News that “Rep. Hong has never called for abolishing the U.S. Senate,” insisting Tiffany could not produce evidence because “it doesn’t exist.” But Tiffany’s campaign pointed to a February 13, 2021 social media post from Hong consisting of just two words: “Abolish the Senate.”
The campaign also took aim at Hong’s attempts to distance herself from the “defund the police” movement. During Tuesday night’s WISN 12 gubernatorial debate, Hong said she would not cut funding for police departments. Tiffany’s campaign argues that claim is difficult to reconcile with both her voting record and years of public advocacy. In 2021, Hong voted against legislation that would have reduced shared revenue payments to municipalities that defund their police departments. The campaign also highlighted multiple public statements in which Hong called for defunding police, including one in which she advocated to “defund then abolish” law enforcement altogether. Asked after Tuesday’s debate whether she still supports abolishing the police, Hong declined to give a direct answer.
Finally, the Tiffany campaign challenged Hong’s comments on taxes. During the debate, Hong said the highest income tax rate she supports is Wisconsin’s current top rate of 8.65 percent. However, earlier this year she introduced Assembly Bill 1209, legislation that would raise Wisconsin’s top marginal income tax rate to 17.3 percent for tax year 2025 and 17.7 percent thereafter. If enacted, the proposal would give Wisconsin the highest top income tax rate in the nation.
The three issues have become central to Tiffany’s effort to define Hong before she has a chance to redefine herself. As the general election campaign ramps up, Republicans are betting that Hong’s own past statements will prove more persuasive than her recent attempts to moderate them.
