Francesca Hong Sidesteps Police Abolition Questions Amid GOP Ad Blitz

Wisconsin State Representative Francesca Hong, a democratic socialist and frontrunner in the Democratic primary for governor, declined to confirm if she still supports the long-term abolition of police during a July 29 event at Marquette University. While Hong previously described police abolition as an aspirational goal in 2021, she has recently pledged to preserve law enforcement funding and asserted that a governor cannot defund the police.

Hong's campaign communications director, Allison Geyer, stated that while the candidate's values have not changed, her messaging on the issue has shifted. These developments occur as a Marquette Law School poll places Hong at 38% among Democratic primary voters.

Simultaneously, the Republican Governors Association has spent nearly $3.6 million on advertisements depicting Hong as dangerously liberal. Democratic strategist Joe Zepecki and gubernatorial candidate Joel Brennan characterize these ads as a strategic effort by Republicans to elevate a candidate they believe will be easy to defeat in the general election.