Democratic state Rep. Francesca Hong announced her bid to become governor of Wisconsin on Wednesday.
Hong, an outspoken Democrat in the Wisconsin state legislature, framed her campaign around elevating the working class and affordability, touting her background in the restaurant industry.
“Working hard doesn’t always mean you can keep up. One wrong step can lay you out flat,” she said in a video announcing her campaign, adding, “We can fix a rigged system that puts oligarchs over workers and small businesses. We can do better.”
Hong has represented a Madison area district, one of the state’s Democratic strongholds, since being elected in 2020. She has been outspoken on progressive issues. During the 2024 Democratic primary, she backed the state’s “uninstructed” movement, which urged voters dissatisfied with the Biden administration’s stance on Israel to write in “uninstructed” over voting for then-President Joe Biden in the primary.
She called herself a “wild card” in the race. Like many progressives, she had also pledged not to take donations from billionaires or corporate PACs.
“I don’t think this is so much a left-right issue as it is working-class people recognizing that billionaires, oligarchs, folks at the top of the tax bracket are benefiting off our work. The policies that people care about and resonate with are things that help them take care of themselves and their loved ones,” she told Wisconsin Public Radio.
She joins a crowded field of Democratic candidates after Gov. Tony Evers (D-WI) said he would not run for a third term. Other Democratic candidates include state Sen. Kelda Roys, Lt. Gov. Sara Rodriguez, and Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley, who has the support of Milwaukee Mayor Cavalier Johnson. State Attorney General Josh Kaul is said to be considering a run.
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Republican candidates include Washington County Executive Josh Schoemann and businessman Bill Berrien. Rep. Tom Tiffany (R-WI) said he is considering a run and will decide later this year.
This is the first Wisconsin gubernatorial race since 2010 with no incumbent.