Wisconsin Democratic Gov. Tony Evers expressed skepticism Thursday about socialist gubernatorial candidate Francesca Hong’s general election prospects, questioning whether her social media-driven strategy and outlandish statements can keep the governor’s mansion in Democratic hands.
Evers, who has endorsed and is campaigning for Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley, seemed discouraged when asked whether Hong could win a general election.
“I think she&#8217;s in a tough place. She has spent her entire campaign dealing not with the issues, but what&#8217;s on the Twitter, and I just find that that&#8217;s not a good way to beat Tom Tiffany,” Evers <a href="https://x.com/mattsmith_news/status/2085418136094822499?s=20">told local reporters.</a> “It&#8217;s going to be tough. I mean, do I think that it&#8217;s possible she can win? But I think she&#8217;s at a real disadvantage, especially since she spends a lot of time talking about Twitter.” 
He’s not alone. 
Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/dsas-anti-thanksgiving-governor-candidate-is-even-too-far-for-bernie">declined to endorse</a> the leftist gubernatorial candidate who generated national headlines in recent days over her previous calls to cancel one of America&#8217;s most treasured holidays. 
“I don’t think so. I met Francesca a couple of years ago, [when] I was in Wisconsin. And she was very, very nice. But, again, this is a race I just am not that familiar with,” Sanders said on the “Pod Save America” podcast.
Hong, holding a commanding lead in the Democratic primary, sparked a political firestorm this week over an unearthed November 2020 post where she <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/socialist-governor-hopeful-has-kamala-moment-when-asked-about-canceling-thanksgiving">said</a> Thanksgiving should be scrapped from the American tradition. 
“Cancel Thanksgiving. Should have done this in 1621,” she said. “If it takes a worldwide pandemic for us to realize we should stop celebrating colonialism and the original superspreader event that killed indigenous folx and women, so be it.”
That particular comment appeared to bother Evers, who argued it was evidence that the DSA-backed leftist is focused on issues Wisconsin voters don&#8217;t care about.
“She was on CNN, I think, or someplace for a couple days in a row, talking about things that, frankly, are irrelevant. Yeah, it was Thanksgiving. She was talking about Thanksgiving, and yeah, she really likes it, but she doesn&#8217;t like it,” Evers said. “Come on! This is about making sure the people of Wisconsin get what they need to be successful.” 
The 37-year-old dues-paying member of the Democratic Socialists of America is campaigning on a sweeping expansion of government, including abolishing ICE, imposing a one-year moratorium on data centers, creating government-owned grocery stores, and providing universal childcare and paid leave.
Hong also supports legalizing marijuana to fund high-speed broadband and backs a state-run development bank, a 32-hour workweek with no reduction in pay, restoring voting rights to felons, and dramatically reducing the role of prisons and police, <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/a-new-socialist-bartender-is-giving-democrat-elites-headaches?author=Jacob+Wheeler&amp;category=News&amp;elementPosition=26&amp;row=0&amp;rowType=Vertical+List&amp;title=A+New+Socialist+Bartender+Is+Giving+Democrat+Elites+Headaches">The Daily Wire</a> reported. 
Hong&#8217;s campaign is the latest test of democratic socialist candidates in competitive statewide races following recent victories in New York City, Washington, D.C., Denver, and, most recently, Michigan. <a href="https://polymarket.com/event/wisconsin-governor-democratic-primary-winner" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Prediction markets</a> overwhelmingly favor Hong to win the primary.
“The system is rigged. I’m running for governor to fix it. For years, we’ve been told that doing better is impossible. Well, let me tell you, that’s bullsh*t,” she said in her campaign launch video.

Gubernatorial Candidate Francesca Hong Holds A Campaign Rally In Milwaukee

Wisconsin Dem Gov. Says Socialist Candidate Is ‘In A Tough Place’ After Thanksgiving Uproar

2026 elections

Democratic socialists

Democratic Socialists Of America

Democrats

Francesca Hong

Midterms

News

Politics

Tony Evers

Wisconsin

Moderate Democrats are bracing for &#8220;the next war&#8221; inside the party.
Jonathan Cowan, president of the group Third Way, said his organization is launching a $15 million effort running through 2028 to discredit democratic socialism, The New York Times <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2026/08/06/us/politics/democratic-party-socialists-moderates.html">reported</a> on Thursday. 
“We are preparing for the next war that is coming,” Cowan said. 
The money will fund opposition research on the Democratic Socialists of America, polling, social media programs, and work to educate Democratic activists and leaders. 
The push gained urgency after Abdul El-Sayed’s narrow win in Michigan’s Democratic Senate primary on Tuesday. Polls before the election had pointed to a blowout. Instead, the leftist barely edged out the establishment&#8217;s pick, Rep. Haley Stevens (D-MI), in a swing state that will also host an early presidential primary in 2028. 
Democrats had hoped to keep such wins limited to more liberal areas. El-Sayed’s nomination raised concerns that a progressive could take the party’s presidential nomination and then lose the general election.
“It is deeply troubling to see radical, far-Left candidates winning in places that are potentially presidential swing states,” Cowan told the Times.
Party leaders including Michigan Democratic Governor Gretchen Whitmer, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY), and former Vice President Kamala Harris quickly backed El-Sayed after his primary victory.
Cowan criticized candidates who court Democratic Socialists of America organizers and energy while staying distant enough to avoid the formal label, a move he called the “DSA dodge.”
The next test for the Democratic Party comes next week. In Wisconsin, democratic socialist state Assemblywoman Francesca Hong has emerged as the party&#8217;s frontrunner for governor in another battleground state. The primary is August 11.
Moderate Democrats say the goal of their anti-socialist effort is to pinpoint radical parts of the official DSA platform, including defunding the Department of War, abolishing the police and prison system, reparations, and a 32-hour workweek. 
Liam Kerr, co-founder of the Welcome PAC, argued the far-Left has, so far, gained outsider energy and attention without the full weight of those positions.
Not every leftist won this week. Former Rep. Cori Bush (D-MO) lost badly in her bid to reclaim her seat. But socialist wins have stacked up, including in primaries in New York, Colorado, and now, Michigan. In Detroit, State Rep. Donavan McKinney’s primary <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/first-u-s-city-on-track-for-all-dsa-house-delegation?author=Leona+Salinas&amp;category=News&amp;elementPosition=1&amp;row=0&amp;rowType=Vertical+List&amp;title=First+U.S.+City+On+Track+For+All-DSA+House+Delegation&amp;trueLinkId=4d2V2zBlcQS1zDhX%2BwNpOBGRnqtp4hQ7WnYsK1Zu5oBepBe6k7mV0DR2RcVplB7zmG8llYrWfwJOk5%2BeUFsWPg%3D%3D&amp;trueLinkTs=1782495158&amp;trueLinkExpiry=43200">victory</a> over incumbent Rep. Shri Thanedar puts the city on track to have both House seats held by democratic socialists if he wins in November, joining Rep. Rashida Tlaib. 
El-Sayed campaigned with Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) and made opposition to the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) central to his race. 
Maurice Mitchell of the leftist Working Families Party, who campaigned in Michigan, rejected moderate Democrats&#8217; response to the rise of socialist candidates. 
“They’re missing the plot,” he said of the moderate Democrats, adding, “There is a populist insurgency taking place in this country.”

Michigan Senate Candidate Abdul El-Sayed Holds Rally In Detroit With Sen. Bernie Sanders And Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez

How Some Dems Are ‘Preparing For The Next War’ Against Socialists

2026 Midterms

Abdul El-Sayed

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez

Bernie Sanders

Democrat

Michigan Primary

Socialist Senator Bernie Sanders (I-VT) declined to endorse leftist Wisconsin gubernatorial candidate Francesca Hong, who has made headlines in recent days over her past calls to cancel Thanksgiving and abolish the police. 
Sanders was asked Wednesday on the &#8220;Pod Save America&#8221; podcast whether he planned to endorse Hong, the Democratic frontrunner in Wisconsin&#8217;s governor race. The leftist senator, who has endorsed other far-Left candidates this cycle like Abdul El-Sayed in Michigan, said he did not know much about the race and did not plan to get involved at this point. 
“I don&#8217;t think so. I met Francesca a couple of years ago [when] I was in Wisconsin. And she was very, very nice. But, again, this is a race I just am not that familiar with,” Sanders said. “We have not gotten involved in many governors races, and we did one in Maine with Troy Jackson. You know, obviously, my major concern right now is seeing that we have a Senate and a House that is going to stand up to Trump. That&#8217;s really where my focus is. So, as of now, we have not been involved in that race.”
Hong, who polling shows has a commanding lead in the Democratic primary, has faced scrutiny in recent days over her extreme rhetoric. In one post from November 2020, she <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/socialist-governor-hopeful-has-kamala-moment-when-asked-about-canceling-thanksgiving">said</a> Thanksgiving should be canceled. 
“Cancel Thanksgiving. Should have done this in 1621,&#8221; she said. &#8220;If it takes a worldwide pandemic for us to realize we should stop celebrating colonialism and the original superspreader event that killed indigenous folx and women, so be it.&#8221;
In other posts on social media, Hong said the police should be defunded and then abolished. 
“Police exist to uphold white supremacy. Defund then abolish. Reform can&#8217;t be an option,” she <a href="https://x.com/FrancescaHongWI/status/1446599006872801282">said</a> in October 2021. 
Hong also took aim at white people in one post, <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/dem-says-culvers-trip-gave-her-anxiety-attack-over-white-people">complaining</a> about how many “old white people” were dining at Culver’s, a popular Wisconsin fast food chain.
“I ate two bites of my kid’s cheeseburger at a Culver’s in black river falls [sic] and told him they ran out of ice cream. Mostly just wanted to leave bc I was on the verge of a anxiety attack…to [sic] many old white people who didn’t think we spoke english,” Hong posted on X. 
While Hong has distanced herself from some of her old posts, she has <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/swing-state-governor-candidate-doubles-down-on-radicalism-in-event-with-hasan-piker">doubled down</a> on her leftist priorities. On Sunday, she campaigned alongside Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN) and streamer Hasan Piker, who infamously said America “deserved” 9/11 and called for Senator Rick Scott (R-FL) to be killed. She is backed by Democratic Socialists of America chapters in Madison and Milwaukee. 
Establishment Democrats in the state have lined up behind Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley, who more than doubled Hong&#8217;s <a href="https://www.wpr.org/news/crowley-outraises-hong-july-2026-democratic-primary-governor">fundraising</a> in July. Despite the backing of Governor Tony Evers and his monetary advantage, Crowley still trails Hong in the polls. Republicans are set to nominate Rep. Tom Tiffany, who has raised more funds than any Democratic candidate. 
The Wisconsin primary is on August 11.

DSA’s Anti-Thanksgiving Governor Candidate Is Even Too Far For Bernie

Milwaukee

Thanksgiving

The &#8220;how dare we say Merry Christmas&#8221; <a href="https://www.facebook.com/DailyWire/videos/happy-holidayers-wont-know-what-hit-them/1643766333672768/">energy</a> of 2026 has a name, and it&#8217;s Francesca Hong. The seethingly socialist Wisconsin gubernatorial candidate <a href="https://x.com/greg_price11/status/2084316192659952060/photo/4">considers</a> Christmas trees oppressive, Thanksgiving cancelable, Valentine&#8217;s Day a capitalist con, and fireworks an imposition on her personal peace.
Give it time. She&#8217;ll be tweeting that puppies deserve a kickin’ next.
There is no anti-American sentiment too small for Hong to find and nurse into a grievance. She seems to be competing for a title: most aggrieved, most neurotic, most perpetually wounded candidate in the room. The competition among her communist comrades is fierce, but this week, she takes the cake.
The wannabe governor of Wisconsin has spent a decade building a paper trail of anti-American, anti-patriotic, anti-joy statements, and Thanksgiving is where it started. In 2020, Hong tweeted: &#8220;Cancel Thanksgiving. Should have done this in 1621. If it takes a worldwide pandemic for us to realize we should stop celebrating colonialism and the original superspreader event that killed Indegenous folx and women, so be it.&#8221; Do women not lump into the Indegenous folx category? Have we been removed from IF-only spaces? Maybe the Native Americans had a version of Title IX even back then.
Regardless, she’s wrong on the merits. The 1621 feast was a peaceful three-day alliance meal with the Wampanoag who had saved the starving Pilgrims, and epidemics had already emptied the region years earlier from prior European contact, not from shared turkey and gratitude. But if she wants to dine in silence at her local Korean restaurant on November 24th, fine by me; more turkey for the rest of us.
Christmas isn&#8217;t safe from Hong’s holiday chopping block either. She has a documented aversion to snow and Christmas trees, an allergy to the birth of Christ and, apparently, to tidings of good cheer. When an IT worker fixing her computer remotely swapped the background to snow and a Christmas tree, Hong said she felt &#8220;slightly attacked.&#8221; Probably because snow is white. I hope with the help of therapy, she&#8217;s found peace with that trauma.
Valentine&#8217;s Day fares no better: to Hong, it&#8217;s simply the day “the worst of humanity comes out from folks ‘celebrating’ on another day capitalism tells you how to show love.” Dare I suggest that a woman with this much contempt for a holiday built around romantic gestures might have found a Valentine&#8217;s card or two useful before the fireworks in her marriage fizzled out. Don&#8217;t invite her to your Fourth of July cookout either; she does “not enjoy fireworks” in the skies – or otherwise.
Speaking of that marriage: Hong has also spoken about her struggles with her own &#8220;proximity to whiteness&#8221; through her white ex-husband and their biracial son:
<blockquote>My proximity to whiteness continues, right… My son is biracial. He&#8217;s half white, half Korean, and I think navigating what his identity is and how people perceive him is always at the back of my mind.</blockquote>
Oh, how loved he must feel. “Sorry, mommy, for being only half Korean. Dad is the worst! I’ll stay with him so you don’t have to be within my snow-white vicinity. I’ll see you at Thanksgiving! I mean, day of Indigenous Folx mourning!”
But at least she’s not a violent person, right? Just a little cuckoo? Oh — she called for the assassination of President Trump? Never mind then.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
🚨 UNEARTHED
Wisconsin Democrat Francesca Hong: &#8220;In the restaurant industry, when we&#8217;re out of something, we say it&#8217;s 86&#8217;d. And I&#8217;d say it&#8217;s about fucking time we 86 Trump.&#8221; <a href="https://t.co/2H1La0Tfvi">pic.twitter.com/2H1La0Tfvi</a>
— Bobby LaValley (@Bobby_LaVallley) <a href="https://x.com/Bobby_LaVallley/status/2084439917048815679?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 4, 2026</a></blockquote>
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Lucky for her, in the Utopian Commie Sconnie she&#8217;s promising, there are no police or prisons. So someone can act on her behalf and be let off the hook. How comforting.
She&#8217;s running the standard DSA platform: defund the police, prisons, and ICE; eat the rich; abolish borders; Medicare for all; death to AIPAC; trans the kids; <a href="https://x.com/JayTC53/status/2084884280023400450">Inshallah4Life</a>. Those are the givens. What should actually alarm Wisconsin voters is what lies beneath the platform: a candidate who cannot identify a single American institution, holiday, or tradition worth defending. Increasingly, for candidates like her, that anti-Americanism isn&#8217;t a bug. It&#8217;s the whole pitch.
Francesca Hong is a second-generation Wisconsinite, the daughter of Korean immigrants who arrived in the United States in the 1980s. Her father is a sociologist. Her mother a teacher. She grew up playing soccer and co-captained her high school varsity team. So when, exactly, did she learn to despise this country? Was it after dropping out of the University of Wisconsin–Madison? Working as a line cook, sous chef, bartender? Was it after Morris Ramen, the restaurant she co-opened with her business-minded, white ex-husband, closed down? Was it when she was diagnosed with bipolar disorder after being placed in a psych ward? Who, or what, radicalized her?
Somewhere between the dish pit and the campaign trail, it all went wrong, and gratitude curdled into grievance. What remains is a candidate who has built an entire public identity out of resentment: toward the holidays, toward whiteness, toward the country her own parents crossed an ocean to join.
This is not some personality quirk. It is the oldest socialist tradition of all: the systematic hatred of the very civilization that sustains them. The Bolsheviks banned Christmas and turned churches into museums of atheism. Mao’s Red Guards burned ancestral tablets and forced the Chinese people to renounce their own history. Pol Pot emptied the cities in the name of Year Zero. Every time the ideology that calls gratitude “colonialism,” family “proximity to whiteness,” and national celebration “oppression” has taken power, it has not merely canceled holidays; it has canceled the people who still dared to celebrate them.
Francesca Hong is simply the latest American face of that same ancient impulse. She does not want to improve the country her immigrant parents chose. She wants to dismantle the cultural inheritance that made their success possible. And if Wisconsin hands her the keys, the turkey, the tree, the fireworks, and the very idea of a shared American identity will be the first things to go. Followed, as history has shown time and again, by everything else.
Bye, bye American Pie. Hello Year Zero.

Wisconsin Democrats 2026 Convention – June 14

Francesca Hong Is The Wisconsin Commie Candidate Drinking All The Resentment Kool-Aid

DW Opinion

<div>
Wisconsin democratic socialist gubernatorial candidate Francesca Hong is refusing to dish out a straight answer after getting caught trying to carve up one of America’s most beloved holidays.
</div>
<div>
In an appearance on CNN, Hong dodged the question when host Kaitlin Collins pressed her on a deleted 2020 social media post where the leftist politician declared that Americans &#8220;should cancel Thanksgiving&#8221; and claimed the nation &#8220;should have done this in 1621.&#8221;
</div>
<div>
Instead of giving a simple yes or no on whether she still wants to ax Turkey Day, Hong offered up a scrambled word salad about her history as a chef. She served up platitudes about &#8220;bringing folks around the table&#8221; while simultaneously validating Left-wing grievances, claiming the holiday is &#8220;incredibly painful for many people in our communities&#8221; and noting that &#8220;views can evolve.&#8221;
</div>
<div>
Hong also dodged the question when asked about her prior statement that prison should be abolished. Collins asked, &#8220;You said you don&#8217;t support abolishing prisons. Do you still hold the view that you laid out in May, which was that in a perfect world it would be a world without prisons?&#8221;
&#8220;I think talking about what may be aspirational and then understanding the role of the governor, what they can and cannot do, and what is implementable right now,&#8221; Hong answered. &#8220;These are different conversations.&#8221;
Hong&#8217;s fence-sitting dodge regarding Thanksgiving comes straight out of the modern leftist playbook, as Left-wing activists and media outlets have spent years trying to ruin the holiday for hard-working Americans. Rather than celebrating family and gratitude, the radical Left has consistently rebranded Thanksgiving as a monument to colonial oppression and violence.
</div>
<div>
Mainstream media outlets have repeatedly joined the anti-Thanksgiving choir. Headlines in Time Magazine <a href="https://time.com/5457183/thanksgiving-native-american-holiday/">explicitly branded</a> the holiday a &#8220;harmful lie,&#8221; while The Washington Post <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/outlook/2021/11/23/violence-root-our-thanksgiving-myth-has-been-hemispheric/">ran pieces</a> smearing the nation&#8217;s traditional gathering by highlighting &#8220;hemispheric&#8221; violence at the root of the &#8220;myth.&#8221; Leftist publication The Nation joined the fray by <a href="https://www.thenation.com/article/society/thanksgiving-debate/">insisting</a> the feast&#8217;s history is intertwined with colonial aggression, arguing that the holiday must be &#8220;decolonized.&#8221;
</div>
<div>
Meanwhile, far-Left outlets like the World Socialist Website have <a href="https://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2025/11/27/uynt-n27.html">trashed</a> the annual feast as a bitter symbol of economic inequality and capitalist rot. Activists have even taken to Change.org to <a href="https://www.change.org/p/end-the-wall-street-journal-s-thanksgiving-insult-to-native-americans">demand</a> major newspapers stop publishing historical Pilgrim accounts, labeling them inherently racist, while radical voices across social media continue to lecture families that serving a turkey honors historical oppression.
</div>
<div>
Hong&#8217;s refusal to disavow her past comments shows just how deeply these radical anti-American talking points have taken root among leftist politicians.
</div>

Socialist Governor Hopeful Has Kamala Moment When Asked About Canceling Thanksgiving

Chef

Holiday

Leftists

Socialists

The frontrunner to be the Democratic Party&#8217;s nominee for governor in Wisconsin appeared alongside a radical leftist streamer who has argued that America &#8220;deserved&#8221; 9/11 and called for a Republican senator to be killed. 
<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/dem-says-culvers-trip-gave-her-anxiety-attack-over-white-people">Francesca Hong</a>, who has called for the police to be abolished, campaigned alongside Hasan Piker and leftist Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN) during a rally in Milwaukee on Sunday. During the rally, Piker claimed that no Republican would ever be elected in Wisconsin ever again after the far-Left accomplished its goals. 
&#8220;The good people of Wisconsin always knew that this wasn&#8217;t about scary ideas, and it was just about a working-class movement that wanted to help out one another,&#8221; he <a href="https://www.jsonline.com/story/news/politics/2026/08/02/francesca-hong-rallies-with-ilhan-omar-hasan-piker-ahead-of-wisconsin-2026-primary-election/91140253007/?gnt-cfr=1&amp;gca-cat=p&amp;gca-uir=true&amp;gca-epti=z115249p116350l004450c116350e1104xxv115249d--44--b--44--&amp;gca-ft=87&amp;gca-ds=sophi">said</a>. &#8220;A Republican will never be elected in this state ever again, once our movement is done.&#8221;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
Thank you <a href="https://x.com/hasanthehun?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@hasanthehun</a> and <a href="https://x.com/IlhanMN?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@IlhanMN</a>! <a href="https://t.co/ArHYcPR3rs">pic.twitter.com/ArHYcPR3rs</a>
— Francesca Hong For Governor (@FrancescaHongWI) <a href="https://x.com/FrancescaHongWI/status/2083973366159986769?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 2, 2026</a></blockquote>
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Piker, who has millions of followers across his social media, previously said that America “deserved” 9/11, argued that “you would kill [Florida GOP Senator] Rick Scott” if “you cared about Medicaid fraud,” and called for the streets to “soak” in “red capitalist blood.” 
Hong, backed by local Democratic Socialists of America chapters in Madison and Milwaukee, has a commanding two-digit lead in the Democratic primary, according to polling from Marquette Law School. Hong has also called to abolish the Senate, and her platform includes restoring voting rights to felons, legalizing marijuana, and opening government-funded grocery stores.  
Her rise has concerned some establishment Democrats in the state who worry her far-Left views could alienate general election voters. 
Republican gubernatorial candidate and Rep. Tom Tiffany criticized Hong for appearing alongside Piker. 
“Francesca Hong choosing to campaign with individuals who said America ‘deserved 9/11,’ called communism the ‘honorable end goal,’ and believe capitalists should be killed is certainly a choice,” his campaign said in a statement. 
Hong <a href="https://x.com/mattsmith_news/status/2084059211151941932">defended</a> her choice to appear alongside Piker, claiming that she was running to represent a broad coalition.
&#8220;It would be a risk not to try to build the broadest coalition possible,” she said. “I think that one of the reasons we see Republicans or the Right attack leaders, like Representative [Omar] and Hasan, is because they know that they&#8217;re losing, that the people are powerful and want the issues that they fight for.”
She previously <a href="https://www.wpr.org/news/francesca-hong-hasan-piker-livestreams-antisemitism-governors-race-wisconsin">appeared</a> on Piker&#8217;s stream to raise money for her campaign. That appearance earned a condemnation from Democratic rival and Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley.
“I am open to all reasonable, pragmatic conversations about how to move our state forward, but Hasan Piker’s statements are beyond the pale and I would not appear with him if invited,” he said. “This race isn’t about who can generate the most viewers on their livestream by making outrageous and offensive statements.”
The Wisconsin primary is set for August 11.

Swing State Governor Candidate Doubles Down On Radicalism In Event With Hasan Piker

Hasan Piker

Ilhan Omar

The Democrat frontrunner for Wisconsin governor faced renewed criticism on Friday after social media users resurfaced a 2019 post in which she said she nearly had an &#8220;anxiety attack&#8221; because there were too many &#8220;old white people&#8221; at a Culver&#8217;s restaurant. 
Francesca Hong, a Wisconsin state representative backed by multiple Democratic Socialists of America chapters, became the clear favorite for the Democratic nomination Thursday after former Lt. Gov. Mandela Barnes <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/a-surprise-exit-leaves-wisconsin-democrats-with-a-dsa-frontrunner">dropped out</a> of the race.
“I ate two bites of my kid&#8217;s cheeseburger at a Culver&#8217;s in black river falls (sic) and told him they ran out of ice cream. Mostly just wanted to leave bc I was on the verge of a anxiety attack&#8230;to [sic] many old white people who didn&#8217;t think we spoke english,” Hong posted on X. 
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
I ate two bites of my kid&#8217;s cheeseburger at a Culver&#8217;s in black river falls and told him they ran out of ice cream. Mostly just wanted to leave bc I was on the verge of a anxiety attack&#8230;to many old white people who didn&#8217;t think we spoke english
— Francesca Hong For Governor (@FrancescaHongWI) <a href="https://x.com/FrancescaHongWI/status/1146100682589691905?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 2, 2019</a></blockquote>
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Recent Marquette Law School <a href="https://law.marquette.edu/poll/2026/07/29/marquette-law-poll-finds-expanded-support-for-hong-in-democratic-primary-barnes-sits-second-and-crowley-third/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">polling</a> found Hong with a commanding double-digit lead ahead of next month&#8217;s Democratic primary, raising concerns among some establishment Democrats that her left-wing positions could alienate voters in the general election. 
Hong’s campaign did not immediately respond to a request for clarification on her comments. In a Wednesday <a href="https://x.com/FrancescaHongWI/status/2082837349323464891?s=20">post</a> on X, Hong lamented that “folks are digging up old tweets in an attempt to shift the narrative in this race.&#8221;
“Here’s a Democrat gubernatorial candidate complaining about how she nearly had an ‘anxiety attack’ because there were too many ‘white people’ at a restaurant,” said Rep. Brandon Gill (R-TX). “Nothing unifies the Democrat Party more than vitriolic racial animus against white people. It’s evil and indefensible.”
Hong, who is backed by DSA chapters in Madison and Milwaukee and endorsed by leftist Reps. Ilhan Omar (D-MN) and Ro Khanna (D-CA), has also drawn attention for past <a href="https://x.com/FrancescaHongWI/status/1488133196025843718">statements</a> about policing and race. In 2021, she <a href="https://x.com/FrancescaHongWI/status/1446599006872801282">wrote</a>, “Police exist to uphold white supremacy. Defund then abolish. Reform can&#8217;t be an option.&#8221;
Hong has also advocated abolishing ICE, imposing a one-year moratorium on data centers, creating government-owned grocery stores, restoring voting rights to felons,  and legalizing marijuana. She has also previously advocated for abolishing the U.S. Senate. 
The Wisconsin Democrats will choose their nominee in the August 11 primary. Some state Democrats, including Gov. Tony Evers, are backing Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley.

Dem Says Culver’s Trip Gave Her ‘Anxiety Attack’ Over ‘White People’

anti-white

Brandon Gill

Elections

Mandela Barnes

White Supremacy

Former Wisconsin Lt. Gov. Mandela Barnes abruptly dropped out of the Democratic primary for governor Thursday, minutes after reports surfaced that party officials were bracing for a damaging media story about him.
“Last night I had a very difficult conversation with staff,” Barnes <a href="https://x.com/TheOtherMandela/status/2082894497839468849">said in a social media video</a>. “We’re incredibly proud of all the things that we’ve accomplished and all the resources that we have raised to spread our message. But it’s become very clear who our nominee is going to be.”
Politico reported Thursday that Wisconsin Democratic officials were expecting negative media coverage involving Barnes. Minutes later, Barnes announced he was suspending his campaign.
Republican political consultant Ryan Girdusky <a href="https://x.com/RyanGirdusky/status/2082897705769066937?s=20">responded</a> to the announcement by posting: “Woah…. They’re really trying to wrestle this away from Francesca Hong.” 
Hong, a 37-year-old state representative and dues-paying member of the Democratic Socialists of America, has emerged as the frontrunner in Wisconsin’s Democratic gubernatorial primary, a race Republicans believe presents an opportunity to flip the governor&#8217;s mansion. 
Often compared to Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY), Hong has campaigned on a <a href="https://francescahong.com/policy/">Left-wing platform</a> that includes abolishing ICE, imposing a one-year moratorium on data centers, creating government-owned grocery stores, and expanding government-funded childcare and paid family leave.
Hong also supports legalizing marijuana to fund high-speed broadband, creating a state-run development bank, establishing a 32-hour workweek without reducing pay, restoring voting rights to felons, and dramatically reducing the role of prisons and police, as The Daily Wire previously reported.
Hong&#8217;s rise has sparked concern from some establishment Democrats, who worry that nominating a Democratic socialist in a state President Donald Trump carried could improve Republican Rep. Tom Tiffany&#8217;s chances in the general election.  
<a href="https://www.realclearpolling.com/polls/governor/democratic-primary/2026/wisconsin">Recent polling</a> shows Hong holding a double-digit lead over established Democrats, including <a href="https://evers.wi.gov/Pages/Newsroom/About_Mandela.aspx">Barnes</a> and Milwaukee County Executive <a href="https://www.crowleyforwi.com/">David Crowley.</a> Crowley briefly suspended his campaign before reviving it two weeks later with the backing of outgoing Democratic Gov. Tony Evers. 
Asked about Barnes&#8217; surprise exit, Evers said he had learned of it only moments earlier. 
&#8220;I heard it about 30 seconds ago. Yeah, surprised,&#8221; he <a href="https://x.com/mattsmith_news/status/2082899728824508858?s=20">told</a> a local reporter before reaffirming his backing of Crowley. &#8220;He&#8217;s the best candidate running, even if Mandela was in.&#8221;
Wisconsin&#8217;s Democratic primary is set for August 11. The contest is expected to test the strength of Democratic socialist candidates in the industrial Midwest following a string of recent victories in New York City, Washington, D.C., and Denver. 
<a href="https://polymarket.com/event/wisconsin-governor-democratic-primary-winner">Prediction markets</a> overwhelmingly favor Hong to win the primary.

Democratic Senate Candidate Mandela Barnes Campaigns In Milwaukee

A Surprise Exit Leaves Wisconsin Democrats With A DSA Frontrunner

Socialism

Leftist agitators set up a “lawless” zone in Madison, Wisconsin, to protest the fatal police shooting of a knife-wielding felon, prompting local residents to lash out at city officials for not doing anything to restore order to the streets. 
Multiple blocks of a Madison neighborhood are blocked by barricades of wooden pallets, trash cans, and boards with nails sticking out of them to protest the <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/watch-how-police-react-as-screaming-protester-takes-over-briefing-on-fatal-shooting?author=Leif+Le+Mahieu&amp;category=News&amp;elementPosition=4&amp;row=0&amp;rowType=Vertical+List&amp;title=Watch+How+Police+React+As+Screaming+Protester+Takes+Over+Briefing+On+Fatal+Shooting">shooting</a> of Corey Ruiz, a man with an extensive criminal history. Tents were also set up in the zone by activists, and the homeless population has moved into the zone as city officials ignore calls from locals to clear the area. 
The city is even helping the agitators, bringing in portable toilets, trash cans, and even parked trucks to block off intersections, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel <a href="https://www.jsonline.com/story/news/crime/2026/07/29/madisons-corey-ruiz-protest-encampment-draws-frustration-as-it-persists/91084501007/?gnt-cfr=1&amp;gca-cat=p&amp;gca-uir=true&amp;gca-epti=z11xx48p004950n11----l116550c11----u003548e1124xxv11xx48&amp;gca-ft=282&amp;gca-ds=sophi">reported</a>. 
“As a resident trapped in the protest zone, I feel the protest turned into a very disrespectful occupation focused on punishing Willy Street for the incident,” one local <a href="https://www.wmtv15news.com/2026/07/28/madison-memorial-blocks-williamson-street-businesses-residents-nearly-week/">told</a> WMTV. “It is now a lawless zone and homeless encampment barricaded on all four sides with groups blocking local residences and businesses from surviving.”
The neighborhood has been plagued by people urinating in the streets, drinking, loud fights, and agitators stealing trash cans for their blockade. One sign put up in the zone reads, &#8220;There’s more of us than them. We must revolt.” 
“I feel like we are suffering and we shouldn’t be. Like [protesters] are claiming that they’re supporting the community by being down here, but they’re actually harming the community by shutting down major businesses on this stretch,” Jeff Schmidt, the co-owner of the Weary Traveler restaurant, told the Sentinel. 
The city of Madison did not immediately respond to a request for comment from The Daily Wire, but Mayor Satya Rhodes-Conway&#8217;s office previously said officials were “exploring many avenues to reach a successful resolution without further heightening tensions and causing more harm to impacted community members, including protesters.”
&#8220;A number of different City agencies are working to meet the needs of the neighborhood to the best of their ability,” she told the Sentinel. “We ask that everyone extend grace to each other in this difficult time.”
The unrest stems from an incident last week in which police say Ruiz pulled a knife on them. Ruiz had dozens of criminal convictions, including for robbery by force, strangulation, drug possession, vehicle theft and battery of a public safety worker, resisting law enforcement, and drug paraphernalia.
Other residents told the outlet that they are “very much upset with Madison leadership,” that the area is in a “state of fight-or-flight,” and that they described the situation as “extremely stressful.” 
Sentinel reporter Laura Schulte posted photos and videos from what she said people are calling the “Corey Ruiz Autonomous Zone.” 
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
I don’t usually enter the encampment this direction, but there are lots of boards with nails here to keep people out <a href="https://t.co/shoLPfWxeY">pic.twitter.com/shoLPfWxeY</a>
— Laura Schulte (@SchulteLaura) <a href="https://x.com/SchulteLaura/status/2082453985131168211?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 29, 2026</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.x.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
During the height of the widespread rioting following the death of George Floyd, leftist agitators set up the so-called “Capitol Hill Autonomous Zone” in Seattle that quickly turned into a violent drug den.

Madison Community Protests After Police Officer Fatally Shoots Man During Attempted Arrest

City Helps Leftist Agitators Secure ‘Lawless Zone’

George Floyd

Law Enforcement

Madison

Police

Protests

Leftists Can’t Make Up Their Minds About Body Cams. It’s Hilarious.

bodycam footage

bodycams

Corey Ruiz

Flock camera

Seattle

Surveillance

Ex-football star Tony Romo struggled to understand officers&#8217; instructions during a field sobriety test and refused to take a breathalyzer test, body cam footage released Tuesday by the Milwaukee County Sheriff’s Office shows.
Romo, who is now the NFL on CBS lead game analyst, was <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/former-cowboys-qb-tony-romo-arrested">arrested</a> last week and charged with his first offense of Operating While Intoxicated (OWI) — Wisconsin’s term for a DUI. He was stopped by an officer while driving on southbound Interstate 43 on a bridge and was subsequently taken to jail. He has since been released.
Bodycam footage from the arrest shows a female deputy with the Milwaukee County Sheriff&#8217;s Office stopping Romo for unsafe passing on the right, deviation on the road, and crossing the gore, the triangular safety zone splitting the highway and an entrance ramp.
When the deputy asked Romo where he was from, he <a href="https://www.foxnews.com/sports/bodycam-shows-tony-romo-arguing-officer-before-refusing-breath-test-during-dui-arrest">replied</a>, “Well, I live in Dallas, so I came to visit grandma and grandpa’s so we’re here. I played in the golf tournament of the Wisconsin Amateur Championship.” 

The deputy asked Romo, “How many drinks have you had?” to which he responded, “Zero.”
The officer then asked if Romo could undergo a field sobriety test.
“I’m gonna call my lawyer and I&#8217;m gonna see if it’s offensible [sic],” Romo said.
“Okay, step out of the vehicle,” she replied.
“I’m still allowed to call my lawyer, right?” Romo asked.
“You’re not,” the deputy said.
Romo stayed in the car as he looked down at his phone. 
“I’m gonna give him an additional ten seconds — he’s not stepping out of the vehicle,” the officer said into her walkie-talkie.
“I&#8217;ll do it. I&#8217;m just saying I&#8217;m not allowed to call my lawyer?” Romo interrupted as he finally stepped out of the car. The deputy stated that Romo was pending an OWI investigation.
&#8220;Because I&#8217;m coming from a golf course, you think I&#8217;m drunk?&#8221; Romo asked.
The deputy told Romo to step in front of the squad car and patted him down for weapons. She then told Romo to put his hands behind his back.
“I thought you’re taking me through [a field sobriety test],” Romo answered.
“So as of right now, we’re on a [uneven] ground, we’re on a bridge. I want to convey you somewhere that’s going to be an even surface free of debris,” she replied.
The officer cuffed Romo and put him in the back of the car. When asked if he was in the vehicle, the 6-foot-2-inch Romo replied, &#8220;I&#8217;m in, uncomfortably, yes.”
“Yeah, you&#8217;re a taller fellow,” the deputy said.
More body cam footage <a href="https://www.tmz.com/2026/07/28/tony-romo-owi-arrest-body-cam/">obtained</a> by TMZ shows the female officer with three other deputies in a parking lot with Romo doing field sobriety tests. Romo struggled to understand the instructions on how to do nine heel-to-toe steps, at one point going on all fours to stretch out.
“Sorry guys, two back surgeries — it does hurt me,” Romo said.
He was then asked to stand on one foot for 30 seconds. After 20 seconds, he fell off balance and said, “I know that was at least eight or nine seconds.” 
The deputy then asked Romo if he would be willing to go through a preliminary breath test. He responded, “Oh no, we’re not doing that. I’ve already heard from all the lawyers, ‘Don’t ever do that.’”
The officer <a href="https://people.com/tony-romo-bodycam-footage-arrest-alleged-owi-12029103">told</a> Romo that he had “red, glassy eyes” and an “odor of an intoxicating alcoholic beverage from your back.” She and other officers reported finding “a few shooters” in Romo’s backpack, which he denies drinking.
Romo <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/new-details-add-twist-to-tony-romo-arrest">retired</a> from the NFL following the 2016 season after spending his entire 13-year career with the Dallas Cowboys, where he remains the franchise’s all-time leader in passing touchdowns with 248. Since joining CBS Sports in 2017, he has become one of the network’s top NFL analysts and signed a reported 10-year, $180 million contract extension in 2020.

American Century Championship 2026 – Round Two

What Tony Romo Told Police Moments Before He Was Handcuffed

arrest

Drunk Driving

Football

Tony Romo

Another far-Left socialist bartender running for governor in the American heartland is giving Democrats a fresh headache as the party reels from deep ideological divisions and mounting financial woes.
Francesca Hong, a 37-year-old dues-paying member of the Democratic Socialists of America, is leading the crowded field in Wisconsin&#8217;s Democratic gubernatorial primary in a race Republicans see as ripe for a flip.
In the mold of Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY), the state representative&#8217;s <a href="https://francescahong.com/policy/">Left-wing platform</a> calls for a sweeping expansion of government into everyday life, including abolishing ICE, imposing a one-year moratorium on data centers, creating government-owned grocery stores, and providing universal childcare and paid leave for all.
Hong also supports legalizing marijuana to fund high-speed broadband and backs a state-run development bank, a 32-hour workweek with no reduction in pay, restoring voting rights to felons, and dramatically reducing the role of prisons and police, according to <a href="https://www.wsj.com/politics/elections/a-democratic-socialist-bartender-rattles-party-elite-in-run-for-wisconsin-governor-3fe159c0">The Wall Street Journal</a>.
“It&#8217;s so stressful to get by these days, and I know a lot about stress. I work in restaurants,” Hong said in a <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VMPU_oRquM8&amp;t=1s">campaign launch video</a>. “I&#8217;m a service worker, community organizer, and a mom. I work for a living, always have, still do.” 
“The system is rigged. I&#8217;m running for governor to fix it. For years, we&#8217;ve been told that doing better is impossible. Well, let me tell you, that&#8217;s bullsh*t,” she added. 
Hong also <a href="https://x.com/FrancescaHongWI/status/1360704499883536385?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">called</a> for abolishing the U.S. Senate in a February 2021 social media post. In a statement to <a href="https://www.foxnews.com/media/dsa-co-chair-mocked-proudly-confirming-socialists-want-abolish-senate-national-borders-prisons">Fox News</a>, Hong&#8217;s campaign denied that she had ever called for eliminating the upper chamber: &#8220;Rep. Hong has never called for abolishing the U.S. Senate. Tiffany cannot produce a single statement where she did, because it doesn&#8217;t exist.&#8221;
The leftist populist platform has resonated with much of the Wisconsin Democratic base, triggering a last-minute scramble among establishment leaders who fear that nominating a socialist in a state that President Trump won could hand the governor&#8217;s mansion to Republican Rep. Tom Tiffany, the expected GOP nominee.
<a href="https://www.realclearpolling.com/polls/governor/democratic-primary/2026/wisconsin">Recent polling</a> shows Hong with a double-digit lead over established politicians, including former <a href="https://evers.wi.gov/Pages/Newsroom/About_Mandela.aspx">Lt. Gov. Mandela Barnes</a> and Milwaukee County Executive <a href="https://www.crowleyforwi.com/">David Crowley</a>, who suspended his gubernatorial bid before reviving it two weeks later with the backing of outgoing Democratic Governor Tony Evers. 
“The Republican Governors Association is bankrolling millions right now, not to attack a Democrat, but to boost one, because they&#8217;ve decided which Democratic nominee they can beat in November,” Crowley <a href="https://www.crowleyforwi.com/">said</a>, explaining his decision to get back into the race. 
“That is a five-alarm warning sign. We cannot let the GOP choose the Democratic nominee for governor of Wisconsin,” he added. 
<a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/2026-election/wisconsin-democrat-david-crowley-dirt-mcgirk-twitter-rcna588646">NBC News</a> recently uncovered old social media posts linking Crowley to a pseudonymous X account called &#8220;Dirt McGirk,&#8221; which the outlet said featured racist, sexist, and homophobic posts between 2010 and 2014. Crowley insisted other people had access to the X burner account and condemned the derogatory posts. 
The August 11 primary will test the appeal of democratic socialists in the industrial Midwest, following a string of victories in New York City, Washington, D.C., and Denver. <a href="https://polymarket.com/event/wisconsin-governor-democratic-primary-winner">Prediction markets</a> overwhelmingly favor Hong to win the primary.  
A similar battle is playing out right next door in the U.S. Senate race in Michigan, where Democratic Congresswoman Haley Stevens is working overtime to fend off a stronger-than-expected challenge from leftist Abdul El-Sayed, who is leading in most polls.
The contentious race took an unexpected turn when a black Farmington school board member backing Stevens urged El-Sayed to <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/black-democrat-tells-muslim-senate-candidate-to-stop-speaking-arabic?author=Jacob+Wheeler&amp;category=News&amp;elementPosition=10&amp;row=0&amp;rowType=Vertical+List&amp;title=Black+Democrat+Tells+Muslim+Senate+Candidate+To+Stop+Speaking+Arabic">stop embracing</a> his Muslim identity on the campaign trail.
“The other candidate seems to be … doesn’t work a room. You have to know how to work the room. Don’t come out speaking only Arabic,” Angie Smith said at a Stevens campaign event. “Don’t come out with your Arabic music on. Represent everyone.”
“You know, I’m the mother of a lesbian. I’m Puerto Rican and Cherokee, with a grandfather that was a white man from Ireland. Represent us all. Don’t just represent one ethnicity or one race,” she added.
The Democratic Party&#8217;s heartburn, spilling out of deep-blue cities and into purple battleground states, comes as the cash-strapped DNC sinks <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/flat-broke-dnc-meltdown-sparks-panic-on-the-left?author=Jacob+Wheeler&amp;category=News&amp;elementPosition=4&amp;row=0&amp;rowType=Vertical+List&amp;title=DNC+Chair+Has+Phone-Hurling+Tantrum+As+Party+Melts+Down+Over+Midterm+Cash">deeper into internal turmoil</a>.
DNC chairman Ken Martin is descending into fear and “a growing sense of paranoia” about his job security, The <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/flat-broke-dnc-meltdown-sparks-panic-on-the-left?author=Jacob+Wheeler&amp;category=News&amp;elementPosition=4&amp;row=0&amp;rowType=Vertical+List&amp;title=DNC+Chair+Has+Phone-Hurling+Tantrum+As+Party+Melts+Down+Over+Midterm+Cash">New York Times reported</a> on Sunday. The chairman — responsible for fundraising, party operations, and campaign infrastructure — is “relying on a vanishingly small circle of people he trusts.” 
And for good reason. 
Heading into the midterms, the financial gap between the parties is striking. President Trump has amassed a $400 million war chest, the RNC has another $130 million available, and the DNC is reportedly about $2 million in debt, according to The New York Times.
“This is not sustainable,” said MS NOW host Joe Scarborough. “Anyone who cares about the Democratic Party — including Ken Martin — would say ‘Enough.’ The DNC is flat broke. This must change now.”

Untitled design – 2026-05-28T104054.501

A New Socialist Bartender Is Giving Democrat Elites Headaches

Democratic Party

Michigan

Rustbelt

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