Madison state Rep. Francesca Hong has launched a bid for governor, joining a growing primary field for the Democratic nomination.
A member of the Wisconsin Legislative Socialist Caucus, Hong told WPR her campaign is aimed at elevating working class priorities.
“I don’t think this is so much a left-right issue as it is working-class people recognizing that billionaires, oligarchs, folks at the top of the tax bracket are benefiting off our work,” she said. “The policies that people care about and resonate with are things that help them take care of themselves and their loved ones.”
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Hong said those priorities include universal child care, paid family leave and public school funding.
She argued her background in the restaurant industry, which has included working as a chef and bartender, and owning the now-shuttered Morris Ramen in Madison’s downtown, would inform her candidacy.
“I’m a restaurant worker. I’m a service industry worker through and through,” she said. “Work ethic, collaboration, rooting my values in servant leadership — I think that I would bring those qualities to the executive office.”
Hong is the second Madison legislator to announce her candidacy this week, along with state Sen. Kelda Roys.
They join Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley, Lt. Gov. Sara Rodriguez, Milwaukee-area beer vendor Ryan Strnad and student Zachary Roper in the Democratic field.
On the Republican side, Washington County Executive Josh Schoemann and New Berlin businessman Bill Berrien have declared their candidacies.
Hong is considered among the farthest left voices in the state Legislature, where she’s been outspoken on progressive priorities.
Like other Democrats in the race, she said she hopes Democrats will also flip the state Assembly and Senate from Republican to Democratic control, but she said she’d be “willing to work with folks who want to build a coalition and ensure that working class people are centered in all of our policy making.”
“I’ll be doing everything I can, working with fantastic candidates and ensuring that we have a Democratic trifecta in 2027,” she said. “There will be an expectation that it should be transformative progressive legislation that gets to my desk.”
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