Meet Democrats’ New Socialist Frontrunner Vying To Become Midwestern Governor

Socialist Democratic Wisconsin State Assemblywoman Francesca Hong is rising in the polls in her bid to become the next governor of Wisconsin.

Hong, a chef and restaurant owner who has the backing of Democratic Minnesota Rep. Ilhan Omar, is one of the major candidates for her party’s nomination to succeed retiring Democratic Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers. Multiple recent polls have shown her narrowlyleading the race’s other Democratic frontrunner, former Wisconsin Lt. Gov. Mandela Barnes.

The candidate’s policies include implementing free childcare, a $20 minimum wage, publicly-owned grocery stores and a tax hike on the rich as well as supporting sex changes and banning the construction of data centers, according to her campaign’s website.

“Communities across the state are suffering as America’s largest grocery corporations close stores that serve low-income and rural populations,” Hong’s website states under its “Public groceries” section. “Fran wrote a bill to create publicly-owned grocery stores to serve Wisconsinites with universal access to healthy, affordable, food.”

Democratic New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani, a fellow socialist, has supported some similar policies, including wealth redistribution and city-owned owned grocery stores. Mamdani and Democratic Seattle Mayor Katie Wilson — also a self-proclaimed socialist with similar policies — both won election on left-wing platforms in November 2025, defeating more moderate Democrats.

Mamdani has advocated for free childcare, a $30 minimum wage, and city run grocery stores. He promised to implement free childcare for children up to five years of age. Mamdani has also proposed the construction of five city-owned grocery stores.

During Wilson’s campaign she stated that she supported a public option for groceries, and grocery chains should not be allowed to sell food only to those who can afford it. Similarly, her campaign has stated, “Seattle has been a national leader in passing a $15 minimum wage, (now $20.76 with cost-of-living adjustments).”

Hong believes on a federal level, ICE should be abolished and has said her “perfect world would be a world without prisons,” according to CBS 58.

The Wisconsin socialist told Politico’s Playbook in an interview that she thinks the Democratic establishment is “underestimating voters.”

“I think that has always been a problem for the Democratic Party — that we are not listening to how they are feeling,” she added.

Consultants for Republican Wisconsin Rep. Tom Tiffany, the leading GOP gubernatorial candidate endorsed by President Donald Trump, said that ignoring Hong’s “strengths would be a strategic error,” in a late April leaked memo reported by the Auburn Wire.

“We have the tools to defeat her, but only if we respect the Mamdani-like threat she poses today,” the memo added.

Hong has been fundraising for her campaign in unique ways by using Twitch streams. She has appeared streaming with progressive twitch streamer Mike from PA and Mercury Stardust, a biological male who is a self-described “Trans Handy Ma’am,” Politico reported.

In June, Hong is planning to stream a DJ set and a cooking demo on Twitch, according to the outlet.

Trump narrowly won Wisconsin’s electoral votes by less than a percentage point in 2024, making it the closest swing state of the election cycle.

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