Newz(AP) — A democratic socialist is trying to rise above the party establishment’s chosen candidate, who revived his campaign after another leading contender dropped out in Wisconsin’s chaotic primary race for governor on Tuesday. The winner will advance to take on Republican U.S. Tom Tiffany in November in an open race that could test the limits of progressives’ appeal in a critical battleground state.
Democrats are hoping to capitalize on low approval ratings for President Donald Trump in a state he won in 2016 and 2024 to retain control of the governor’s office and flip both chambers of the Legislature to earn full control of Wisconsin state government for the first time since 2010. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy’s 26-year-old son-in-law Michael Alfonso is trying to win a five-way primary in Duffy’s old seat in the U.S. And Democrat Rebecca Cooke is looking to emerge from the primary to force a rematch with Republican U.S.
Derrick Van Orden in the state’s most hotly contested and narrowly divided congressional district. Democratic socialist shakes up Wisconsin race, fueled by national movement Single mother and former line cook Francesca Hong, a democratic socialist, has tapped into Democratic anger with the party’s mainstream and Trump’s “Make America Great Again” movement. The 37-year-old known for sprinkling her comments with profanity and leaning into her edgy and sometimes humorous social media profile excited the liberal wing of the party.
Hong called for free childcare and healthcare and a moratorium on artificial intelligence data center construction. But she also wrestled with her past support for defunding the police, saying at the race’s only debate that she would not support cutting law enforcement funding. She also drew criticism for past social media posts in which she called for canceling Thanksgiving because “we should stop celebrating colonialism” and disparaged Valentine’s Day as “another day capitalism tells you how to show love.” Hong has since downplayed the posts as her attempt at making jokes.
Hong supporter Dan Jakubek, 44, of Marshall, dismissed concerns over Hong’s past statements and said her message of affordability is resonating across generations. “I’ve never seen so many young, out of high school, college students revved up for change,” he said. Primary elections are taking place in six U.S.
states on Tuesday — Alabama, Connecticut, Minnesota, South Carolina, Vermont and Wisconsin.Minnesota voters will settle a moderate-versus-progressive Democratic U.S. Senate primary between centrist U.S. In the race for governor, Mike Lindell, known as the MyPillow Guy, leads a crowded Republican primary with President Donald Trump’s endorsement, while Sen.
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