Wisconsin

Hong's Swan Song

Plus: Rebecca Cooke wins, possible Houthi attack, inflation rises, and more...

Liz Wolfe | 8.12.2026 9:37 AM

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David Crowley beats Francesca Hong: Why was the whole country watching Wisconsin's gubernatorial race? Because Francesca Hong seemed like an Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez-esque character: a socialist bartender and chef, with good political instincts, who seemed to come out of nowhere.

Now, she's out. The Milwaukee County executive, David Crowley, beat her and will now face off in the general with Rep. Tom Tiffany, "a Republican with close ties to President [Donald] Trump who easily won his party's primary," notes The New York Times.

Crowley is decently pro-business and comparatively moderate for a Democrat. He will certainly be a welcome improvement over Hong, who felt like a blast from the woke past (wanting to cancel Thanksgiving!) and was a legitimate class warrior who wanted to massively redistribute the wealth of the rich in her state.

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This is all a bit of a surprise: Polls did not anticipate this good of a performance from Crowley. When Hong had been surging, "Crowley had suspended his campaign in early July only to jump back in a few weeks later shortly after Wisconsin Lt. Gov. Sara Rodriguez was forced to leave the race amid a campaign finance scandal," reports Politico. 

So far this year, candidates from the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) have logged House primary wins in New York City, Detroit, Philadelphia, and Denver. But it's possible that this phenomenon is limited to really urban, really blue areas, and that more normal suburban and rural voters are freaked out by this rhetoric. We should take the DSA momentum seriously, but these candidates' appeal might be blessedly limited.

It had really seemed like Hong was going to win it all, but it's a huge relief that she didn't. With all due respect (to bartenders, but not to socialists), let's hope she goes back to bartending—no need for politics.

Wisconsin moderate wins: Rebecca Cooke won her primary in Wisconsin, vying for a seat in the U.S. House. Cooke is the daughter of dairy farmers, who worked as a waitress and now runs a small business. She describes herself,........

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