Wisconsin gubernatorial candidate Francesca Hong brought her Democratic socialist platform to a national audience when her campaign event, "Hang with Hong," aired live on the Fox News app—placing fresh scrutiny on past positions she has since reframed but not renounced.
Hong has used social media to advocate for defunding police departments, abolishing Immigration and Customs Enforcement and eliminating the U.S. Senate—stances that put her well outside the Democratic mainstream.
Her campaign has worked to soften her public image as she seeks the party's nomination for governor, leaning on national media appearances to reach beyond her progressive base.
At a June 14 debate in Milwaukee, Hong sidestepped direct questions about police abolition. She later appeared on "America's Newsroom" to defend her past tweets and socialist principles.
Allison Geyer, Hong's campaign communications director, said the candidate holds to her core values on police and prison abolition but now frames those positions in different language.
Republican strategists view Hong's media appearances as a gift. Her past statements, they say, are ready-made material for general election attacks regardless of how she repackages them now.
Fox News gives Hong a wide platform—and a wider target. Every national appearance resurfaces the record her campaign is trying to move past, complicating her pitch to voters beyond the primary.
