Francesca Hong lost Wisconsin’s Democratic primary by just 0.5%, but her working-class campaign proved that statewide progressive politics has real power.
, publisher of the Substack Newsletter “The Journey Man,” and , Publisher of “Egberto Off the Record,” discussed Francesca Hong’s loss in the Wisconsin primaries on their new program “The Reality Check.” Francesca Hong’s loss is both a good and bad one for progressives.
Summary
Francesca Hong’s razor-thin defeat in Wisconsin’s Democratic gubernatorial primary delivered progressives a painful loss—but it also demolished the claim that working-class progressive politics cannot compete statewide. David Crowley prevailed by approximately 3,800 votes, roughly half a percentage point, after receiving establishment support and Governor Tony Evers’s endorsement. The Associated Press reported that Hong nevertheless built a formidable coalition around universal childcare, stronger wages, healthcare reform, and economic justice.
- Hong’s narrow loss represents a tactical defeat, not a repudiation of progressive policies.
- Crowley won no mandate to ignore the nearly 40% of primary voters who supported Hong’s working-class agenda.
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Hong competed despite lacking endorsements from Bernie Sanders and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and facing an establishment newly consolidated behind Crowley.
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Media coverage magnified Hong’s provocative statements while giving insufficient attention to her substantive platform, leadership experience, and small-business background.
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Crowley must earn Hong’s voters by embracing their economic priorities—not by chasing a mythical mass of moderate Republicans.
Hong lost the nomination, but progressives demonstrated statewide power. The Democratic Party now faces a choice: incorporate that movement or risk suppressing the very voters it needs to defeat Trump-backed Republican Tom Tiffany.
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Francesca Hong Lost the Primary, but Progressive Politics Proved Its Power
Francesca Hong’s defeat in Wisconsin should disappoint progressives. She offered the clearest working-class program in the Democratic gubernatorial primary, yet David Crowley secured the nomination. But anyone portraying this result as a rejection of progressive politics has either ignored the numbers or chosen an establishment narrative over reality.
Crowley defeated Hong by approximately 3,800 votes—roughly half a percentage point. This was no ideological rout. It was a political squeaker. The Associated Press described Crowley’s victory as narrow and confirmed that Hong’s strong showing reflected continuing progressive momentum. A candidate does not come within a rounding error of winning a statewide primary because voters rejected her agenda.
That agenda addressed Americans’ material needs. Hong campaigned for universal childcare, paid family leave, stronger unions, a $20 minimum wage indexed to Wisconsin’s cost of living, and movement toward Medicare for All. Her published policy platform treated healthcare, childcare, wages, and worker protections as interconnected parts of economic security.
These policies are not fringe ideas. They answer the daily crises confronting families who work hard yet cannot afford childcare, medical treatment, housing, or retirement. Corporate interests call such proposals radical because they transfer power and resources away from executives and investors and toward workers. That makes them economically disruptive to oligarchs—not politically extreme to ordinary people.
Crowley benefited from a remarkable convergence of institutional advantages. He reentered the contest after suspending his campaign and quickly received Governor Tony Evers’s endorsement. AP reported that Evers and other establishment Democrats rallied behind him during the campaign’s final stretch. Meanwhile, the Republican Governors Association spent nearly $3.6 million promoting Hong’s liberal positions because Republicans believed she would make an easier general-election opponent. That cynical interference did not create Hong’s coalition, but it complicated the race and gave her critics ammunition to portray authentic progressive support as Republican manipulation.
Hong also faced the media machinery that routinely turns progressive candidates into caricatures. Commentators elevated controversial language about Thanksgiving and policing above her legislative record, policy proposals, business experience, and leadership. Her communications sometimes gave opponents openings, and candidates must prepare for a press corps that will exploit every imprecise phrase. A movement serious about governing must combine moral clarity with disciplined communication.
But the unequal standard remains unmistakable. Women—particularly women of color—must repeatedly prove that they possess enough experience, polish, temperament, and electability. Far less qualified men routinely receive permission to fail upward. Hong served in the Wisconsin Legislature, led the Asian American caucus, and operated a small business. Those qualifications deserved more serious consideration than the dismissive caricatures suggested.
Her loss, therefore, carries both good and bad news. The bad news is obvious: Wisconsin Democrats did not nominate the candidate offering the boldest economic transformation. The good news is more consequential than establishment pundits will admit: Hong came within half a point of prevailing despite institutional resistance and without endorsements from several nationally prominent progressives.
Crowley must now recognize what the results demand. He cannot treat Hong’s supporters as guaranteed votes while governing from the center-right. He must earn them by advancing affordable childcare, living wages, union rights, accessible healthcare, and tax fairness.
Progressives should help defeat Trump-backed Republican Tom Tiffany. They should also insist that unity requires policy commitments, not silence from the left. Hong lost one election. Her coalition proved that progressive politics can compete statewide—and that movement is not going away.
