by David Shephard, ©2026
(Aug. 13, 2026) — Every once in a while it is good to be reminded that the polls can be wrong. We found this out Tuesday night in Wisconsin. State Representative and member of the Democratic Socialists of America Francesca Hong was the front runner to win the nomination for governor; at one point during the campaign she was up by 22 points, but Tuesday night she narrowly lost to Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley.
Every once in a while it is good to be reminded that the polls can be wrong. We found this out Tuesday night in Wisconsin. State Representative, and member of the Democratic Socialists of America, Francesca Hong was the front runner to win the nomination for Governor, and at one point during the campaign she was up by 22 points, but last night she narrowly lost to Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley.
Her loss should come as no surprise, certainly not to me, and her defeat no doubt also comes as a great relief to Wisconsin Democrats. With her as their nominee, they’d almost certainly lose the governor’s mansion, and for that same reason I bet many Republicans are also sorry she was defeated. Why were the polls so wrong? Well, my guess is that Democrats overwhelmingly wanted her to be their nominee, and told pollsters so, but when they had to cast their ballot, they didn’t vote for her because they knew she would lose in the general election. Their hearts were with Hong, but their heads were with Crowley.
Even if we overlook the fact that Hong is young and inexperienced, that she ran a small restaurant and it went bust and that in no universe would she be considered qualified to run a state, still she had three insurmountable problems, problems that primary voters couldn’t overlook.
First, outside of Milwaukee and Madison, Wisconsin is a sane state which Trump carried twice. Hong’s (who represents Madison in the state legislature) positions are too far to the left for Wisconsin. Some examples: She is in favor of taxpayer-subsidized childcare, a new high tax bracket for millionaires, the elimination of all college debt, Medicare for All, a 32-hour workweek with the possible pay cut covered by taxpayers, government-run grocery stores, abolishing the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency, and automatic restoration of voting rights for felons. These positions are too far to the left for Wisconsin, and Democratic primary voters know it.
Second, Hong is crazy. She once proposed doing away with Thanksgiving because of its identification with the American colonies. She publicly fretted about her proximity to whiteness and how she could cope with having a half-white baby. These are just two examples of her Madison craziness. Try as she might, she wasn’t going to be able to explain away her past woke statements. Let’s put it this way: if you are running for governor and you have to explain that you have changed your mind and now favor keeping Thanksgiving, you are going to lose.
Third, and most important, Hong is a socialist, and Wisconsin is not going to elect a socialist governor. In fact, I would say that no state in our great Union is going to elect a socialist to run their state. No one who has a business, makes a good salary or owns a home is going to want his state run by a socialist.
One of the main jobs of a governor is to attract businesses and investment into their state. A socialist governor will repel both, and many businesses already in the state will be inclined to leave. This will lead to less revenue coming into the treasury and less money for social services, which will lead to even more people leaving the state, and a state that elects a socialist governor is giving a competitive advantage to the neighboring states.
Sadly, I will agree that it is possible to elect a socialist to Congress. There are 435 members of the House, and having a few socialists in that body probably won’t do too much harm or carry too much risk. But a governor is far more important. A governor is the CEO of the state, and a governor pushing socialism could destroy a state. For that reason, for now at least, I can confidently say that no state will allow a socialist to sleep in their governor’s mansion.
David Shephard is a native and very proud Virginian. Raised in Fairfax County, David graduated from George Mason University and majored in Government and Politics. He spent decades in politics, campaign consulting, raising money and lobbying. He is also a longtime conservative blogger writing for numerous blogs. He is also the host of “The Virginia Gentleman Podcast.”
David is the author of Elections Have Consequences, A Cautionary Tale, and his latest book, Norton’s Choice: An Inside Politics Exposé.