In a 2023 interview with Meal Magazine, Wisconsin progressive Democrat Francesca Hong — the current frontrunner in the Democratic primary for governor of the critical battleground state — openly detailed a severe mental health crisis she had in high school. Hong said she suffered a mental breakdown that landed her in a psychiatric hospital for a week. She described intense numbness and emotional pain that led her to self-harm by cutting. Hong further stated she was diagnosed with bipolar disorder, was prescribed SSRIs, and overdosed on lithium. In typical liberal fashion, Hong tried to paint herself as a victim in the interview, blaming the crisis on feeling like an outsider as the daughter of Korean immigrants. Peter Bernegger was first to sound the alarm on X.
Hong, a self-described Democratic Socialist and DSA-endorsed candidate, has surged to the top of recent polls in Wisconsin’s crowded 2026 Democratic primary for governor. Wisconsin is a key swing state that has delivered razor-close elections and has shown strong support for Republican candidates in recent cycles. Despite her current efforts to soft-pedal her record while attempting to court working-class and even Trump voters, her past positions and legislative record paint a very different picture.
Old posts from Hong show her repeatedly calling to “Defund the police,” declaring “I support defunding the police as a first step towards abolishing the police,” and stating “Police exist to uphold white supremacy. Defund then abolish. Reform can’t be an option.” She also pushed to “Abolish ICE,” demanded “ICE out of Wisconsin” and “ICE out of the streets,” and even called to “Abolish the Senate.”
Watch Hong attempt to backtrack her radical views on defunding police and eventually abolishing police during an interview on Fox News:
🚨 WOW! Wisconsin Democrat socialist governor candidate Frencesca Hong was just CONFRONTED for pushing to abolish ICE, borders, defund the police and abolish the Senate
“How does defunding the police put working class people FIRST?!”
She’s now trying to win over TRUMP voters in… pic.twitter.com/DKzbNWe2IT
— Eric Daugherty (@EricLDaugh) July 31, 2026
On prisons, Hong has publicly stated that her “perfect world would be a world without prisons” because “we all see the humanity in one another and then we know nobody’s disposable.”
As a Wisconsin state representative, Hong’s record matches the radical rhetoric. She has sponsored and cosponsored legislation to restrict or prohibit state and local cooperation with federal immigration enforcement (including her “Keep Families Together” package and bills aimed at limiting assistance to ICE). She has backed efforts to raise the tipped minimum wage, allow local minimum-wage ordinances, and push for higher overall minimum wages. She supported an Economic Bill of Rights for Wisconsin, paid family leave, recreational marijuana legalization, a statewide moratorium on new data centers, medical debt abolition measures, and legislation requiring public schools to teach Asian American and Hmong American history. She has also advanced prison reform packages aimed at improving conditions in Wisconsin facilities.
The entire world needs to watch this video of socialist Francesca Hong, who is running away with the Democrat nomination for governor of Wisconsin. She is aggressively incoherent and utterly insane. In other words, the perfect socialist candidate! pic.twitter.com/Mec84FOfJ9
— Dan O’Donnell (@DanODonnellShow) July 29, 2026
X user “Patricia” also exposed Hong’s dislike for White people, her calls to “cancel Thanksgiving,” and her lack of experience in her failed business that her parents had to bail her out of and pay off her debt:
Francesca Hong has destructive views for America. Her Socialist policies are to destroy America and the Constitution. She’s a college dropout that worked as a dishwasher in a restaurant then started a business that failed and had her parents pay off the debt she was being sued for. To say her qualifications are lacking is an understatement.
A resurfaced 2020 tweet from Wisconsin state representative Francesca Hong. She’s the Democratic Socialist running for governor, and her tweet said, “Cancel Thanksgiving. Should have done this in 1621,” calling it a celebration of colonialism and an “original superspreader event” tied to the pandemic. It’s gotten mocked online, and her campaign hasn’t directly addressed if she still holds that view.
Beyond the Thanksgiving tweet, a few other things have come up. In 2019, she posted about getting anxiety at a Culver’s in Black River Falls because of “too many old white people,” which didn’t go over well in Wisconsin. She’s also repeatedly called for defunding the police as a step toward abolishing them, saying they uphold white supremacy. She was sued for nearly thirty thousand dollars in credit card debt from her closed restaurant, though her parents paid it off.
Her record’s thin for the governor’s office. No executive experience, no budget to manage, just six years in the state assembly. She pushed the Green New Deal for Wisconsin and police abolition bills that went nowhere. Her only real win was a minimum wage hike for tipped workers.
Does this sound like the future CEO of a critical swing state to you?
Democrat Socialist Party member
🚨 Socialists are targeting Wisconsin.
Their leading candidate for governor, Francesca Hong, wants to:
• Abolish the police
• Abolish prisons
• Abolish borders
• Raise your taxes for government-run grocery storesThis isn’t “progressive” — it’s radical, dangerous, and… pic.twitter.com/3wnP8nOvnK
— GRANDPA’s FREE ADVICE (@GOP_is_Gutless) July 16, 2026
Hong is now leading the Democratic field while attempting to rebrand. On recent national television appearances, she has claimed people can “evolve,” insisted public safety would be a priority, and argued a governor lacks the power to unilaterally defund police departments. There is a clear and sharp contrast between her now-more moderate comments and her earlier radical calls to defund and abolish police, abolish ICE, and her vision of a world without prisons — positions she advanced while building her public image as an open Democratic Socialist.
The leading Democratic candidate for governor in a purple-to-red-leaning battleground state carries a radical record that includes abolishing immigration enforcement, defunding and ultimately abolishing the police, dismantling the U.S. Senate, and treating the elimination of prisons as an ideal. Wisconsin voters deserve better and need to make sure they are aware of the dangerous policies Hong will fight for should she trick voters into placing her in the governor’s office.
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