The Socialist Electoral Project Still Hasn’t Hit Its Ceiling
Francesca Hong’s defeat was a setback for the Left. But lost in discussions of the campaign’s shortcomings is how much she actually accomplished. Hong may have opened the door to a new era of politics for Wisconsin and the Left more broadly.
In the space of a few years, Wisconsin socialists have gone from no state legislature representation, to two assembly members, to coming within half a percentage point of the Democratic nomination for governor. These are impressive accomplishments. (Scott Olson / Getty Images)
Last night was a sobering one for the Left. After months of exhilarating victories, including Abdul El-Sayed’s stunning Michigan Senate primary win just last week, the Left’s hopes for another high-profile Midwest triumph crashed in Wisconsin, where socialist gubernatorial candidate Francesca Hong saw her double-digit polling lead evaporate into a 0.5-point defeat to the Democratic establishment’s centrist choice, David Crowley.
That result is already being used to create the impression that this was a wholesale rejection of socialists up and down the ballot, which is not the case. Five of eight candidates endorsed by Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) chapters in Wisconsin and Minnesota won their races last night, while four more advanced to the general with no challenger, and a further five of seven DSA-backed candidates are moving on to the general election in Connecticut and Vermont. And one of those losing DSA-backed candidates lost to another, non-DSA-endorsed socialist.
But there is no doubt Hong’s race was by far the most coveted prize for the Left last night and the most important electoral test for socialists in particular, given it was a statewide race in the Midwest and that unlike the victorious El-Sayed in Michigan, Hong actually identifies as a socialist. What explains such a bitter, if narrow, defeat only one week after the broad Left was riding high in a neighboring state?
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