JTA — Meet Wisconsin’s Mamdani.

Francesca Hong is running for governor of Wisconsin, emphasizing affordability and opposition to US support for Israel.

Her message is one the Republican Governors Association hopes to boost ahead of the Democratic primary next month: The opposing party unveiled an ad on Thursday dubbing her “too liberal” for Wisconsin. The ad is set to run in liberal parts of the state.

The Republican calculus appears to be to make her appealing to a restive Democratic base that, in a number of races nationwide, has turned against the party establishment. That, in turn, could deliver the nomination to an unabashed left-winger who would likely lose in a crucial swing state.

New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani may take Manhattan, the thinking goes, but his policies would curdle cheese in Wisconsin.

Hong is a single mother and a former chef whose political recipe for appealing to voters has vaulted her to the front of the state’s crowded Democratic primary, bringing another democratic socialist within striking distance of victory.

“I’m State Representative Francesca Hong. I’m a service worker, community organizer, and a mom. I work for a living, always have, still do,” Hong said in a video announcing her candidacy as she wore an apron and strolled through a kitchen she had previously worked in. “Five years ago, my community sent me to the Capitol. The system is rigged. I’m running for governor to fix it.”

Hong’s campaign has centered on affordability issues, including housing, education and childcare. It highlights her personal story as the child of South Korean immigrants.

Her closest competitor is former Lieutenant Gov. Mandela Barnes. Another candidate aligned with the more centrist Democratic establishment, Lieutenant Gov. Sara Rodriguez, dropped out of the race on Friday, facing a funding shortfall.

Francesca Hong speaks at a rally on June 8, 2021, in Madison, Wisconsin. (Andy Manis/Getty Images for Green New Deal Network/AFP)

It is Hong’s record on Israel and antisemitism that has drawn scrutiny from some Wisconsin Jews. During her campaign, Hong has taken a more sharply critical stance towards Israel while maintaining that support for Palestinian rights should not be conflated with antisemitism. She has also said that Israel’s actions in Gaza constitute genocide.

Jeremy Tunis, the co-chair of the community relations committee of the Jewish Federation of Madison, said Hong has aligned herself with an ascendant wave of democratic socialist candidates who have gained ground in races across the country, including in New York, Pennsylvania and Colorado.

“In my view, she is trying to leverage the current far-left progressive zeitgeist that has swept through certain areas, namely in New York with Zohran Mamdani,” said Tunis, who explained that his personal views do not represent those of the federation.

For other Jews in the state, Hong’s bid for the Democratic nomination sparked concern about how she might fare in the November general election against presumptive Republican nominee Tom Tiffany.

“She’s probably the least electable of the candidates running,” Marc Herstand, a 74-year-old Jewish Madison resident, said. “Wisconsin is a purple state, very purple, and democratic socialism is not going to go over well outside of the liberal communities of Madison, Milwaukee, and … in some of the other cities.”

Tunis said Hong’s broader political record, including previous calls to defund the police, could make her a difficult Democratic nominee in a divided state.

“There’s probably an appetite for it in a lot of places, but … I feel strongly that she would be among the weakest general election candidates for a........

© The Times of Israel