Holiday-hating Democratic Socialist (DSA) Francesca Hong was upset by establishment candidate David Crowley in Tuesday’s Democrat gubernatorial primary Tuesday, stemming the tide of socialist wins across the country.
Crowley’s narrow win (39.8% versus 39.4%) was still large enough to prompt Hong to concede, because her campaign would have to pay for a recount, if she requested one. The upset defied both polls and prediction markets, which had Hong winning by a double-digit margin.
The upset is even more striking given that Crowley had previously dropped out of the race, but reentered July 18, just three weeks before the August 11 vote.
Hong became increasingly controversial as her past was brought to light, particularly her comments condemning holidays, such as Thanksgiving, Christmas and Valentine’s Day. Hong even went so far as to claim that, on Valentine’s Day, “the worst of humanity comes out.”
After Hong’s past comments calling for abolishing police departments resurfaced, the Democratic Socialist disavowed that stance.
“Hong’s record on Israel and antisemitism has been of concern to Wisconsin Jews, as well as Democratic figureheads more broadly,” The Jerusalem Post reported Wednesday, noting that Hong had encouraged her constituents to fundraise for those on the “front lines in Gaza.”
Hong, The Post reports, also fundraised with progressive extremist Michael Beyer, who characterized Jewish identity as a “demonic ethnicity.”
