2026-08-02T16:00:26.061Z / 美国有线电视新闻网（CNN）
代表民主党竞选威斯康星州州长的民主党社会主义者弗朗西斯卡·洪，即将迎来一场考验：今年夏季在深蓝选区赢得初选胜利的进步派起义力量，能否在这个长期的总统竞选摇摆州拿下全州范围的胜利。
民调显示，来自麦迪逊的37岁州众议员洪，在8月11日的民主党州长提名初选中处于领跑位置，以接替即将卸任的民主党州长托尼·埃弗斯。胜出者几乎肯定会在11月与美国共和党众议员汤姆·蒂法尼展开对决。
洪早在7月就已是领跑者，但该月她的两大民主党对手的竞选团队接连崩盘。副州长萨拉·罗德里格斯因竞选财务丑闻退出，前副州长曼德拉·巴恩斯则于周四退选。
埃弗斯等人正试图在最后时刻拉拢一位更温和的替代人选——40岁的密尔沃基县行政长官戴维·克劳利。克劳利曾在7月初退选，10天后又重新参选。但即便克劳利的支持者也承认，洪显然是领跑者。
“威斯康星州是典型的摇摆州，但也是一个高度极化的州，”支持克劳利的希博伊根市市长瑞安·索伦森说道，“这将成为政治科学理论书籍中的新篇章：极左翼和极右翼候选人如何组建联盟并赢得选举。”
蒂法尼并未等到初选结果出炉就已开始攻击洪，将她与美国民主社会主义者（DSA）的纲领绑定，并指责她支持废除监狱、移民海关执法局（ICE）、美国参议院等机构。他还提及洪曾呼吁削减警察经费——这一议题势必会成为今年秋季大量共和党广告的核心内容。
从底层厨房工作一步步做到顶级厨师并与人合伙拥有餐厅的洪，试图与DSA纲领中一些政治上更具争议的条款保持距离。
“我不支持全国DSA的完整纲领，也没有得到全国DSA的背书，”她在最近的一场辩论中表示。洪还称自己“不是靠口号执政”，州长无权削减警察经费。
但在周五接受CNN记者达纳·巴斯采访时，当被多次问及她关于削减警察经费的观点是否改变时，洪没有直接回应。
洪表示，掌控威斯康星州议会的共和党人才是真正削减了警察经费的一方，他们大幅削减了拨给地方政府的资金。
“人们可以成长，”洪说，“我将成为一名明智务实的州长，确保公共安全是优先事项。”
此次选举正值民主党处于关键转折点，党内许多人将威斯康星州州长竞选、本周密歇根州参议院初选以及其他关键竞选视为2028年大选的潜在预兆——届时美国总统初选将全面开放。
过去一年的大部分时间里，民主社会主义者都在推进相关事业——去年纽约市市长佐赫兰·马姆达尼的胜选便是一个转折点。
民主社会主义者凯蒂·威尔逊去年当选西雅图市长，另一位候选人贾尼丝·刘易斯·乔治有望在今年11月赢得华盛顿特区市长竞选。在洛杉矶，民主社会主义者尼提亚·拉曼正在挑战现任民主党市长凯伦·巴斯。他们还赢得了一系列国会初选，包括击败纽约和科罗拉多州的现任众议院议员。
但洪有所不同：作为一名民主社会主义者，她并非在深蓝地盘参选，而是在真正的政治摇摆州。
她的支持者表示，洪的政治风格打破了民主党现状——民调显示，即便那些反对唐纳德·特朗普总统的选民，也对民主党不太待见。
“她为民主党带来了此前被拒之门外、被告知‘不属于这里’的群体，”代表密尔沃基部分地区、支持洪的州参议员克里斯·拉森说道，“他们持续到场投票，他们的面貌和行事方式与长期活跃在政坛的人截然不同，坦率地说，这很正常，因为政治体系从未为他们服务过。”
与此同时，共和党毫不掩饰他们打算如何攻击洪。共和党州长协会通讯主任科林·康普顿称洪是“中西部的马姆达尼”。
洪的崛起恰逢一个选举年，民主党人迎来了一代人以来首次真正有机会全面掌控威斯康星州州政府的机会。在埃弗斯任期内，该党赢得了州最高法院多数席位，并推动重新划分州立法选区，终结了共和党主导的选区划分不公。今年秋季，民主党希望保住州长职位，并拿下州参议院和州众议院的多数席位。
然而，随着洪在民调中攀升，州内焦虑不安的民主党领导层迟迟未能团结在更温和的替代候选人身后。
克劳利曾在7月初因民调低迷退选，但他于7月18日重新参加民主党初选，并获得了埃弗斯的背书。巴恩斯退选后，克劳利成为除洪之外唯一可能有竞争力的候选人。
但他仍远远落后：7月下旬进行的马凯特法学院民调显示，在民主党初选选民中，洪的支持率为38%，当时仍在参选的巴恩斯为16%，克劳利为7%，其他候选人支持率均未超过2%。民调发现，洪在年轻和极度自由派选民中支持率最高；巴恩斯和克劳利则在年长和温和派选民中表现更好。
为了团结担忧洪的民主党人，克劳利将在竞选最后几天与埃弗斯一同开展竞选活动。
“我不是来保护建制派的，我是来为全州威斯康星州民众带来切实成果的，”克劳利在最近的民主党辩论中说道。
洪在周五接受福克斯新闻采访时谈到了自己作为民主社会主义者的身份——她是麦迪逊地方分会的缴费会员。
“我认为，作为一名民主社会主义者，你知道，我不应仅由一个组织定义，但显然我们的两党合作 coalition（注：此处原文为bipartisan coalition，结合语境应为跨阵营联合）意味着，我更多的身份是一位合格的单身母亲，一名服务业工作者，我真心相信能帮助所有人的立法，”她说，“这些才是全州城乡民众真正想讨论的话题。”
她收回了部分此前的立场，比如支持废除美国参议院的呼吁，她在周五称这“在当前是荒谬且不切实际的”。
但蒂法尼在洪接受福克斯新闻采访后发布的社交媒体帖子，预示了她在大选中将面临的处境。
蒂法尼没有剪辑她的发言，而是在X平台上发布了福克斯新闻展示洪多年前社交媒体评论的静态画面。
该画面中的一条2021年帖子写道：“警察的存在是为了维护白人至上。先削减经费再废除。改革不是选项。”
“事实比竞选说辞更有说服力，”蒂法尼说道。
Democratic socialists face a prove-it moment in battleground Wisconsin
2026-08-02T16:00:26.061Z / CNN
Francesca Hong, the democratic socialist leading Wisconsin’s Democratic field for governor, could soon test whether the progressive insurgency that notched primary victories in deep-blue districts this summer can prevail statewide in a perennial presidential battleground.
Polls show Hong, the 37-year-old state assemblywoman from Madison, at the forefront of the field of Democrats vying for the nomination in the August 11 primary to replace outgoing Democratic Gov. Tony Evers. The winner is all but certain to take on Republican US Rep. Tom Tiffany in November.
Hong was already the frontrunner entering July. But the month saw her top two Democratic rivals’ campaigns implode. Lt. Gov. Sara Rodriguez exited amid a campaign finance scandal, and former Lt. Gov. Mandela Barnes dropped out Thursday.
Evers and others are attempting to rally at the last minute around a more moderate alternative in David Crowley, the 40-year-old Milwaukee County executive who dropped out of the race in early July and then re-entered 10 days later. But even Crowley’s supporters acknowledge Hong is the clear frontrunner.
“Wisconsin is the quintessential swing state, but it’s also a very polarized state,” said Sheboygan Mayor Ryan Sorenson, who is supporting Crowley. “This is going to be a new chapter in a political science theory book: how do far left-wing and far right-wing candidates build a coalition and win elections.”
Tiffany isn’t waiting for the primary votes to be counted: He has already started to tee off on Hong, latching her to the Democratic Socialists of America’s platform and accusing her of supporting abolishing prisons, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the US Senate and more. He has also highlighted her history of calling for the defunding of police — an issue sure to feature prominently in a slew of Republican advertisements this fall.
Hong, who worked her way up from low-level kitchen jobs to become a top chef and restaurant co-owner, has tried to distance herself from some of the more politically problematic planks of the DSA platform.
“I do not support the full platform of the national DSA and I am not endorsed by DSA National,” she said in a recent debate. Hong also said that she is “not here to govern by slogan” and that a governor cannot defund the police.
But in an interview with CNN’s Dana Bash on Friday, Hong wouldn’t directly answer when asked repeatedly if her views on defunding the police have changed.
Hong said Republicans who control the Wisconsin legislature are the ones who have defunded police by slashing dollars directed to local governments.
“People can evolve,” Hong said. “I am going to be a sensible and practical governor that is going to make sure that public safety is a priority.”
The election comes with the Democratic Party at a critical juncture, and many within it looking to the governor’s race in Wisconsin, a Senate primary this week in Michigan and other key races as potential signs of what’s to come in 2028, with a wide-open presidential primary looming.
For much of the last year, democratic socialists have been on the march — with New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s win last year serving as an inflection point.
Democratic socialist Katie Wilson was elected mayor of Seattle last year and another, Janeese Lewis George, is poised to win the mayoral contest in Washington, DC, this November. In Los Angeles, democratic socialist Nithya Raman is challenging incumbent mayor Karen Bass, a Democrat. They’ve also won a series of congressional primaries, including ousting House incumbents in New York and Colorado.
But Hong is different: A democratic socialist running not on deep-blue turf but in a true political battleground.
Her supporters say Hong’s brand of politics is a break from a Democratic Party that polls show isn’t popular among voters — even those who oppose President Donald Trump.
“She has brought a coalition into the Democratic Party that otherwise had been shut out and told, ‘You don’t belong within this.’ And they’ve been showing up continuously. They definitely look different and act different than folks who have been around for a really long time, and frankly they should, because the political system has not worked for them,” said state Sen. Chris Larson, who represents parts of Milwaukee and is supporting Hong.
Republicans, meanwhile, have made no secret of how they intend to run against her. Republican Governors Association communications director Kollin Compton called Hong “the Mamdani of the Midwest.”
Hong’s rise comes in an election year in which Democrats have their first real shot at winning full control of Wisconsin’s state government in a generation. Under Evers, the party has won a majority on the state Supreme Court and forced a redraw of state legislative districts that ended a Republican gerrymander. This fall, Democrats hope to retain the governor’s office and flip both the state Senate and Assembly.
However, as Hong climbed in the polls, the state’s jittery Democratic establishment struggled to coalesce behind a more moderate alternative.
Crowley had dropped out amid lagging poll numbers in early July. But he re-entered the Democratic primary on July 18, and received Evers’ endorsement. Barnes’ exit left Crowley as likely the only viable contender in the race aside from Hong.
Still, he’s far behind: A Marquette Law School poll conducted in late July found Hong with 38% support among Democratic primary voters to 16% for Barnes, who at the time was still in the race, 7% for Crowley, and no other candidate topping the 2% mark. The poll found Hong is strongest among young and very liberal voters; Barnes and Crowley performed better among older and more moderate voters.
In an effort to rally Democrats who are concerned about Hong, Crowley will campaign alongside Evers in the race’s closing days.
“I’m not here to protect the establishment. I’m here to deliver real results for Wisconsinites all over our state,” Crowley said in the recent Democratic debate.
Hong addressed her status as a democratic socialist — she’s a dues-paying member of the local Madison chapter — she said in a Fox News interview on Friday.
“I believe that as a democratic socialist, you know, I am less defined by just one organization, but clearly our bipartisan coalition means I’m more defined by being a good single mom, that I am a service industry worker, that I truly believe in legislation that helps everyone,” she said. “And these are the things that people want to talk about in rural and urban parts of the state.”
She walked back some of the stances she has taken, such as supporting calls to eliminate the US Senate, which she said Friday is “nonsensical and nonpractical at this time.”
But a social media post from Tiffany that followed Hong’s Fox News appearance offered a preview of what she would face in the general election.
Instead of clipping her comments, Tiffany on X posted a still image of Fox News displaying Hong’s years-old social media comments.
A 2021 post included in that image says: “Police exist to uphold white supremacy. Defund then abolish. Reform can’t be an option.”
“The facts speak louder than campaign spin,” Tiffany said.