As Democratic Socialists celebrate the recent win of Zohran Mamdani in the New York mayoral campaign, fellow Democratic Socialist Rep. Francesca Hong, D-Madison, said she’s picking up on that excitement for her gubernatorial bid.
“[Mamdani’s win] was a clear message to the establishment that folks are ready for transformational change,” Hong said. “Grassroots organizing and running a campaign by the people, for the people can net wins.”
Hong is the sole Democratic Socialist candidate in the gubernatorial race and is a daughter of immigrants, causing some to draw comparisons to Mamdani’s platform and background, dubbing her “Wisconsin’s Mamdani.”
Her campaign is rooted in movement politics and grassroots organizing, with a platform centering affordability and rooted in care, Hong said.
Part of the success of Hong’s grassroots campaign comes from meeting every type of Wisconsinite where they are at, instead of expecting them to come to her, Hong said.
“We are committed to showing up in spaces where folks haven’t always seen a candidate, especially a candidate for governor, show up and be willing to ask the question of ‘What do you want in your next governor,’” Hong said.
The strategy Hong’s campaign has employed is ensuring they reach disengaged voters who haven’t interacted with state politics before or have tuned out of politics due to its current state, she said.
One year following the 2024 general election, which revealed an increasing urban-rural divide in politics, Hong says her campaign will focus on affordability, an issue each subset of Wisconsin has expressed concern over.
“This is about a movement that’s powered by working class people, for working class people,” Hong said. “That movement transcends beyond just Madison or Milwaukee.”
The movement Hong hopes her campaign creates is an opportunity to bring Wisconsinites of all walks of life together to create a government no longer lopsided in who has the power and who that power answers to, she says.
Hong said her platform addresses the need for capping utility costs, quality public education, paid leave for all, universal childcare and union bargaining rights.
“I’m talking about policies that people [say] can’t happen here, but fascism wins when we can’t imagine better,” Hong said. “It takes political will and political courage in making sure that power is answering to the people and not special interests.”
A Marquette Law School poll revealed Hong is currently the second most recognized Democratic candidate, with 22% of respondents recognizing her name.
Though 81% of Democratic respondents have not decided who they will vote for in the spring primary this February, Hong is the most popular candidate amongst those who have already decided their vote, according to the poll.
“Polls aren’t always a great indicator of where campaigns are,” Hong said. “So we’re staying full force, no complacency.”
