Wisconsin state Rep. Francesca Hong on Monday highlighted her campaign’s commitment to transparency as rival Sara Rodriguez’s gubernatorial bid faced a campaign finance scandal that led to the firing of its manager.
“I’m staying focused on our campaign, but we’ve shown we’re a campaign focused on transparency and accountability,” Hong said in a statement. “Especially with the next finance reports coming out this week, I think it’s vital that everyone running for this position is creating a standard of trust, honesty and accountability.”
The remarks come one day after Rodriguez, the state’s lieutenant governor and a leading Democratic candidate for governor, announced she had terminated her campaign manager over “serious mismanagement and inaccuracies” in campaign finance filings.
Rodriguez’s campaign said an internal review found the manager filed inaccurate and incomplete reports. The campaign planned to contact the Wisconsin Ethics Commission on Monday to correct the issues ahead of a Wednesday deadline for January-through-June activity.
Hong, a Democratic socialist running in the crowded Aug. 11 Democratic primary for governor, has positioned her bid as a grassroots effort centered on working families. She did not name Rodriguez directly but appeared to reference the unfolding controversy.
Rodriguez has been viewed as a frontrunner in the primary. Her campaign recently made a major television ad buy as it seeks the nomination to challenge presumptive Republican nominee Rep. Tom Tiffany in the November election.
