Seven weeks after Francesca Hong lost the Democratic primary for governor, she has finally resurfaced. On WISN 12’s “Upfront,” the Madison socialist told Matt Smith that David Crowley still has an assignment. “I think it’s important that David lets our supporters know that he shares our values.” She added that “it’s not about one individual” and launched a statewide “trifecta tour” through Milwaukee, Beloit, Stevens Point, Menomonie, Green Bay, Oshkosh, Madison, and Ashland.
Does Hong want Crowley to embrace her socialist values, or does he still disavow the movement he and the party just spent a month trying to keep off the November ballot? Crowley has not answered. He is too busy begging California elites for cash, selling $20,000 tickets to hang out with him and Kamala Harris in Santa Monica.
So the question is not abstract. What values is Hong talking about?
She has been a dues-paying member of the Democratic Socialists of America since 2020. Her platform included abolishing ICE and prisons, a moratorium on data centers, and higher taxes on corporations and “billionaires.” She once wrote that police exist to uphold white supremacy and that defunding them was “a first step towards abolishing the police.” She posted “Cancel Thanksgiving.” She said tipping was racist. She talked up public grocery stores and free child care and called incrementalism “irresponsible.” She claimed to have an anxiety attack at a Culver’s due to white customers. Those are not vibes. Those are her values, in her words.
Wisconsin Democrats spent July dragging Crowley out of the discard pile because they were terrified those values would be on the ballot against Tom Tiffany. Hong led the polls. Crowley had already quit. Tony Evers pulled him back in. He won by less than half a point. Now Hong is touring the state as if the primary was a misunderstanding, and Crowley is supposed to tell her base he was with them all along.
He cannot have it both ways. Either he shares Hong’s values, in which case the “moderate, pragmatic” pitch is a con, or he does not, in which case he should say so out loud instead of nodding along for turnout. Independent voters should not wait for Crowley to pass a DSA loyalty test. They are waiting to see whether the man who beat the socialist will govern like one.
Hong already told Crowley what her people need to hear to vote for him. Crowley should tell Wisconsin if that’s a price he’s willing to pay.
