We're not even sure why the Wisconsin Democrats (WisDems) held a debate last night. With two weeks to the primary, it's clear that Francesca Hong is running away with the race, and that bringing David Crowley back to maybe beat her was just a humiliation ritual for him.
Polls show Hong at 44 percent, almost 30 points ahead of Crowley and Barnes.
New - Governor Poll - Wisconsin
— Political Polls (@PpollingNumbers) July 28, 2026
🔵 Hong 44%
🔵 Crowley 15%
🔵 Barnes 14%
State nevigate #C - LV - 7/26 pic.twitter.com/8M4XlQAFGK
Good night, nurse.
But that doesn't mean there weren't some interesting tidbits from the debate worth hammering. First, we'll start with Hong and her lie about her tax plan.
Did Hong just lie about her own tax plan in this debate?
— Eric Bott (@EricJBott) July 29, 2026
Yes, she did. Hong's plan would increase the top bracket by 10 percent, to 17.7 percent.
Hong claimed in the debate to raise taxes rates by 0.9 percent but her website says she is going to raise the top rate by 10 percentage points to 17.7 percent.
— The Badger Pundit (@JamesBohnWI) July 29, 2026
Of course she's lying.
Hong lied
— RJ🧀🍺 (@WIdigregorysj) July 29, 2026
Said she would increase top tax rate to 8.65%
Bill creates 5th individual income tax bracket
$750k for single
$1M couples filing jointly ($500k if separate)
Sets bracket’s rate at 17.30% for tax year 2025 and 17.70% for subsequent years
Bill⬇️https://t.co/355sUHaWF9 pic.twitter.com/18O8MnKeuJ
She's getting hammered on it, too.
Fran Hong was not telling the truth about taxes tonight. She supports a 17.7% tax rate. Not just a 1% increase. Here's the law she proposed. @mattsmith_news https://t.co/1u7Q3CNnsQ
— Ann Jacobs (@AnnJacobsMKE) July 29, 2026
She also tried to distance herself from her fellow Democratic Socialists of America (DSA)
I'm a proud democratic socialist, but that doesn't mean I agree with the entire DSA platform. I'm running to create permanent affordability for working families in Wisconsin. pic.twitter.com/bg9ZykhJT1
— Francesca Hong For Governor (@FrancescaHongWI) July 29, 2026
But as we pointed out, Hong was calling for the abolition of the Senate—a major plank in the DSA platform—back in 2021.
Francesca Hong already trying to moderate herself.
— Megan Novak (@meganjnovak) July 29, 2026
Her team has realized that abolishing the police is wildly unpopular, radical opinion.
But will she lose support with her base by this moderating?
Leftists always do this. They run as moderates and rule as radicals.
Hong will be no different.
People keep asking if Wisconsin is ready to elect a democratic socialist governor. But in my conversations with voters, people care less about labels and more about ideas, values and solutions. There's only one majority in Wisconsin, and that's the working class. pic.twitter.com/bIORa3MNUd
— Francesca Hong For Governor (@FrancescaHongWI) July 28, 2026
Hong and the other Democrats also refused to give the state's surplus back to voters.
Francesca Hong just told you everything you need to know about her governing philosophy...
— Megan Novak (@meganjnovak) July 29, 2026
when asked her dream plan on the state's surplus, she didn't think twice about if she should spend it or return it to the hardworking taxpayers.
She'd spend every cent.
"Public safety" is expensive.
🚨 The Democrat Debate Tonight - Who Won, Who Lost and Who Underwhelmed
— Wisconsin Right Now (@wisconsin_now) July 29, 2026
Here are my winners and losers from the only televised debate in the #Wisconsin Democrat Primary
Mixed: Fran Hong
What does she stand for anymore? She threw her much vaunted principles under the bus at… pic.twitter.com/waEwcWZPQ9
Hong did throw her principles under the bus, and was questioned about it.
Francesca Hong:
— Jason Calvi (@JasonCalvi) July 29, 2026
-Perviously tweeted “Defund police”
-Once voted against a bill to punish local governments that cut funding for police
-Tonight, she said she wouldn’t sign a bill to defund the police.
-So I and then @jmart questioned her: pic.twitter.com/0VY9z75za7
"If anyone's been defunding the police, it's Robin Vos and Republicans who have not been adequately funding shared revenue," Hong said. "And you have seen that local governments have had to make very difficult decisions. And I believe that as governor, that we want to make sure that we're prioritizing public safety and I believe that those types of bills that could include more investments in things that prevent crime. If you want to be tough on crime, you better be tough on the causes."
"The reality of this moment, and the types of public safety systems that we have, I want us to be sensible and realistic," she continued, "we know now that billions invested in the criminal legal system is not working. We are spending on incarcerating an individual more than tuition at UW-Madison. This is about making sure local law enforcement is working with the community, that we are taking resources from the state and investing in things like public education, victim services, out-of-school programs for our kids to go ... these are things that data and facts have shown that prevent crime. Again, if you want to be tough on crime, you better be tough on causes."
She was once again asked about abolishing the police long term. "I believe that we have to be serious about public safety and I'm going to be a governor that is more serious than anyone else that we are building systems of care, that we are focusing on lowering crimes, getting guns off of our street, and making sure that folks who are incarcerated ... that we're lowering recidivism rates," Hong said.
"Folks who are working within our prisons, they have some of the highest suicide rates of any job and occupation. This system is not working," she added. "If we want to be serious we better be putting these billions into the things we know prevent crime."
School and housing and free socialist stuff does not prevent crime. Putting people in prison does.
It seems some Redditors were not impressed with Hong and found Joel Brennan and Kelda Roys more palatable.
Very odd, probably nothing, but maybe anecdotal? Majority of Redditors under this post are seemingly backing Roys or Brennan.
— Wisconsin’s Conservative Sponge (@wiz_political) July 29, 2026
Again, not helping Team D, but I still cannot believe Evers endorsed Crowley instead of shifting towards either of them while Hong surged. pic.twitter.com/kLoGnuhk0y
Because he knows he's losing, Mandela Barnes decided to take shots at David Crowley's height.
Dems taking shots one another. Barnes attacking Crowley’s height. Crowley needs to call out his unpaid taxes. https://t.co/RFVeD7oF52
— Wisconsin’s Conservative Sponge (@wiz_political) July 29, 2026
That's mature.
Debate Performances so Far:
— Eric Bott (@EricJBott) July 29, 2026
Brennan: F - Losing and doing nothing about it.
Barnes: F - Losing and doing nothing about it.
Crowley: F - Losing and doing nothing about it.
Roys: F - Losing and doing nothing about it.
Hong: B+ - Scored no points but didn’t make a huge mistake.
The primary is August 11, and Hong is basically a lock at this point.
Editor’s Note: The 2026 Midterms will determine the fate of President Trump’s America First agenda. Republicans must maintain control of both chambers of Congress.
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