State Rep. Francesca Hong, a Democratic Socialist running for governor of Wisconsin, made her first campaign stop in Racine Thursday, May 21, at Tulip Tavern on 6th Street, drawing a crowd of supporters, curious voters, and members of the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) who came to hear her pitch for what she calls transformative change for working-class residents.
Hong, who represents a Madison assembly district and is the daughter of Korean immigrants, talked about public education, child care, utility costs, immigration protections, and taxing the ultra-wealthy to fund state services. She also did not shy away from the label she has embraced throughout her campaign.
“This moment demands a movement,” Hong said, “and this campaign is building that.”
Who came and why
Nate Pearson of Racine, a DSA member, said Hong stands apart from the field.
“Hong is the only candidate backing the American worker,” Pearson said. “She supports repealing Act 10 and strengthening unions, which will, in turn, make the state economy stronger. It’s important for Wisconsin workers to be taken care of.”
Leo Gomez, also of Racine and a DSA member, argued that her candidacy could represent a realignment within the Democratic Party.
“If they’re not also democratic socialists, they are dropping the ball by not working with the socialists in their party,” Gomez said. “Hong is establishing the way forward.”
Not everyone in the room arrived as a committed supporter. Paul Neuchterlein of Racine said he plans to vote Democratic but remains undecided.
“This was a good opportunity to start to get to know her,” he said.
Racine business owner Linea Anthony echoed a sentiment shared by many local voters.
“As so many in Wisconsin, I realize how important elections are,” Anthony said. “It’s important for me to take advantage of meeting candidates if I can.”
Jerrell Patterson of Racine said his support comes down to two core issues.
“I like Francesca because of where she stands on health care and child care,” Patterson said.
On the issues
After spending more than an hour of her two-hour event talking one-on-one with visitors, Hong took the last 45 minutes or so to talk to the room.
She focused on public education, framing it as a democratic institution under deliberate attack.
“Public education is one of our last remaining democratic institutions,” she said. “So if you want to attack democracy, you go after public education.”
She argued that repealing the manufacturing and agricultural tax credit, which she said allows mega-corporations to pay almost nothing in state taxes, would generate enough funding to provide healthy school meals for all Wisconsin students, public and private, for four years.
“That bill is written, it’s ready to go, and we have the funds for it if we actually did the right thing in making corporations pay their fair share,” Hong said.
She also outlined a proposal to ensure no family pays more than 7% of their annual income on child care, a cap she said would be achieved by increasing state subsidies rather than creating government-run programs.
On utilities and artificial intelligence data centers, Hong called for state action to lower energy costs for residents, framing the issue as one with bipartisan appeal.
“I don’t want this to control our communities,” she said. “I want communities to have control about what happens in their community.”
Hong also addressed immigration directly, saying that as governor she would use executive orders and legislation to restrict cooperation between local law enforcement and federal immigration agents, ban the use of state funds for detention centers, and require judicial warrants before ICE agents could enter schools, libraries, hospitals, or other community spaces.
“Immigrants are welcome here, immigrants belong here, and immigrant rights are human rights,” she said.
A candidate still punching her time card
Hong’s campaign operation reflects a grassroots financial model, and so does her personal life. A campaign staffer noted that Hong, a renter and single mother, is still working her regular job and picking up extra shifts when she can to cover her son’s summer camp enrollment.
Hong herself referenced the financial reality of running as a working-class candidate.
“I’m a renter in (Madison),” she said during her remarks, describing how she recently weighed which bills to delay while watching her rent increase. “How I’m going to be paying for my kid’s summer camp … I’m just keeping my fingers crossed that he got enrolled.”
The campaign has raised money from more than 8,000 unique donors across every county in Wisconsin, with no corporate PAC money, according to Hong.
Hong’s next Racine appearance is scheduled for June 11 at The Inclusive Bean. The primary is Aug. 11.
