Update: Mandela Barnes has withdrawn from the Democratic primary for governor (July 30, 2026) →
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← Governor of Wisconsin
Francesca Hong

Photo: Ballotpedia

Francesca Hong

Democratic

State Representative

ⓘ What do the party and ideology labels mean?

On the ballot, partisan candidates run under a party — in Wisconsin almost always Democratic or Republican, with the occasional third-party or independent candidate. Words like progressive, conservative, libertarian, or democratic socialist are labels people use to describe themselves, not separate parties on the ballot. A label is a starting point; each candidate's sourced positions show where they actually stand.

How we do this →

What is Francesca Hong running for?

Francesca Hong is on the ballot for Governor of Wisconsin in the August 11, 2026 Wisconsin partisan primary. 9 other candidates are on the ballot.

Also on this ballot

Who is Francesca Hong?

Wisconsin State Assembly member representing District 76 (Madison, since 2021); former chef and restaurant owner; born November 4, 1988; first Asian American elected to Wisconsin Legislature; single mother

Republicans spending $2.2M in ads targeting Hong, suggesting they view her as their preferred opponent

Where does Francesca Hong stand on the issues?

ⓘ What do these stance labels mean?

Each label describes how a candidate has spoken about an issue, drawn from a sourced statement — not our opinion. Support and oppose mean they've clearly taken that side. Mixed means their statements point both ways. Evolving means their stated position has changed over time. Unclear means we couldn't find a clear public statement. Every label links to the source it came from.

How we do this →
ⓘ Sourced position vs. campaign claim — what's the difference?

A sourced position is something we tied to a specific public statement, with a link. A campaign claim is what a candidate's own site says about their priorities. We keep them separate so you can see the difference between a documented stance and a self-description.

How we do this →
abortionsupport

Hong supports preserving abortion access and reproductive justice in the Wisconsin state constitution and expanding the definition of reproductive health.

Position sources (1)
agriculturesupport

Hong references backing litigation against federal tariffs she describes as harming Wisconsin farmers.

Position sources (1)
economy-jobssupport

Hong supports universal childcare and paid leave for all as policies to address the affordability crisis facing working-class people.

Position sources (1)
educationsupport

Hong supports increasing funding for public schools, including reimbursing 90% of special education costs and funding free universal school meals, financed through changes to the tax code.

Position sources (1)
elections-democracysupport

Hong proposes a voting rights and election reform package that includes overturning Citizens United at the state level, an independent redistricting commission, expanded early voting, automatic voter registration, free voter ID, permanent vote-by-mail, campaign finance transparency, and public funding of elections.

Position sources (1)
environment-energysupport

Hong supports a pause on building AI data centers until regulations can be implemented to hold polluters accountable and protect natural resources, and references a proposed 2% utility rate cap for ratepayers.

Position sources (1)
healthcaresupport

Hong supports expanding Medicaid, establishing a public option, cracking down on claim denials, and making large hospital corporations pay more while supporting small hospitals and clinics.

Position sources (1)
housingsupport

Hong supports financing affordable housing construction, zoning reform, community land trusts, renter protections, a statewide Right to Counsel program for eviction, and repair-and-deduct legislation.

Position sources (1)
immigrationoppose

Hong opposes ICE presence at polling places and pledges to sign a law making it a state felony for federal agents to be within 250 feet of a polling place.

Position sources (1)
public-safetysupport

Hong supports gun safety measures including background checks, red flag laws, and safe storage policies, as well as criminal legal reforms, crime prevention programs, and reducing recidivism.

Position sources (1)
taxes-budgetsupport

Hong proposes raising taxes on high earners and large corporations, adding a 1% increase to the top bracket, creating a new millionaire bracket, introducing an estate tax on non-farmland estates over $5 million, allowing local progressive income taxes by referendum, and closing the Manufacturing and Agriculture tax credit. She frames these as making the tax code fairer and funding public services.

Position sources (1)

The interview

Francesca Hong sat down with WisconsinEye and WisPolitics for a half-hour interview. Every candidate in this race sat for the same interview, so these answers are directly comparable. Each is transcribed verbatim, timestamped to the recording.

WisconsinEye · Campaign 2026Recorded 2026-07-13

  1. “We need to expand Medicaid. We have to look at pilot options,”

    At 1:50 · Watch on WisconsinEye ↗

  2. “It is important to put a responsible end to the voucher program,”

    At 6:24 · Watch on WisconsinEye ↗

  3. “Repealing Act 10 is the more sustainable and the right thing to do for our workers.”

    At 10:13 · Watch on WisconsinEye ↗

  4. “would be able to lower property taxes for families across Wisconsin by almost 40%”

    At 11:11 · Watch on WisconsinEye ↗

  5. “are supportive of a moratorium on the construction of new hyperscale AI data centers, and I have also introduced legislation,”

    At 11:49 · Watch on WisconsinEye ↗

  6. “that 2% rate cap bill will, support and help some of our most energy burdened families across the state by capping their utility bills at 2% of annual income or monthly divided by 12.”

    At 14:00 · Watch on WisconsinEye ↗

  7. “that 2% rate cap bill will, support and help some of our most energy burdened families across the state by capping their utility bills at 2% of annual income or monthly divided by 12”

    At 14:00 · Watch on WisconsinEye ↗

  8. “prohibit the cooperation of local law enforcement with federal agents and and two eighty seven gs agreements.”

    At 15:44 · Watch on WisconsinEye ↗

  9. “This is where a public option that both an employee or an employer can buy into is critical.”

    At 18:18 · Watch on WisconsinEye ↗

  10. “families who are making less than 400% of the federal poverty level,”

    At 29:19 · Watch on WisconsinEye ↗

Full program on wiseye.org ↗Support WisconsinEye ↗

Quotes are transcribed verbatim from the recording and checked against it before publication. Watching the video requires a free WisconsinEye account. WisconsinEye is a nonprofit that records Wisconsin government and campaigns gavel-to-gavel; this interview exists because they were in the room.

ⓘ What is a voting record showing me?

A roll-call vote is a recorded yes/no vote in the legislature; 'aye' means yes and 'no' means no. A 'deciding vote' is one that changed the outcome. These are the candidate's actual recorded votes, linked to the official record.

How we do this →

Voting record

Recorded floor votes Francesca Hong cast in the Wisconsin Legislature, newest first, across the 2025 session, 2023 session. Every entry links to its official roll call and the full bill. We don’t rate or score votes.

500

Recorded votes

133

Voted yes

364

Voted no

99%

Participation

3 did not vote

  1. Loading…

In their own words

“It turns out folks are pretty excited about taxing the rich, too,”

“I abhor political violence, continue to be the target of threats of political violence and have condemned violent rhetoric on multiple occasions”

“The person who wins the most votes is the most electable”

“Wisconsin voters care more about solutions than labels.”

“Republicans have made it so that we think government has to be dysfunctional, but the policies that we're running on make government a force of good”

Show all 7 quotes

“Families are getting crushed by the cost of living, and this campaign is meeting them where they are with real solutions. We’re just getting started.”

“Fran has introduced the “Keep Families Together” package — five bills that would use Wisconsin’s state authority to protect our communities from ICE’s unconstitutional tactics.”

ⓘ How do I read these campaign-finance numbers?

Individual contributions come from people; PAC (political action committee) money comes from organized groups. Cash-on-hand is what a campaign has left to spend. Money shows who is backing a campaign — it is not an endorsement by us, and more money does not mean a candidate is better.

How we do this →

Top reported contributors

  • Robert Clancy (Bradenton)$20,000
  • Christopher Llop (Boston)$20,000
  • Zachary Hoffman (Denver)$12,000
  • Ethan Schrag (Milwaukee)$11,276
  • Melody Hanson (Madison)$10,500
Show 5 more
  • Mohammad Javed (New York)$10,000
  • Nathan Condella (Madison)$9,600
  • Catherine Howley (San Francisco)$8,150
  • Thomas M. Neujahr (Madison)$8,000
  • Kathleen Chung (Madison)$7,488

Source: WI Ethics Commission (Sunshine) · non-commercial voter education use

Top organization & PAC donors

  • Southwest Airlines (Dallas)$1,015
  • Friends of Marsha Rummel (Madison)Unregistered$1,000
  • Friends of Dan Vogel (Grafton)Unregistered$800
  • Committee for Maiyoua Thao (Appleton)PAC/Committee$350
  • Mike Fong for Assembly (Encino)Unregistered$250
Show 5 more
  • Friends of John Duncan (Verona)Unregistered$250
  • Fun Time Bounces (Stoughton)$208
  • Friends of Jessica Seawright (Milwaukee)PAC/Committee$200
  • ERICK HANSEN FOR CITY COUNCIL (KENOSHA)PAC/Committee$150
  • Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (Roseland)$126

Source: WI Ethics Commission (Sunshine) · non-commercial voter education use

What it means. 12,899 donors gave under $200 — 47% of the total raised.

Where the money comes from

Funding mix by source type
Individuals99%$1,121,09113754 donors
Other1%$5,66844 donors
47% from donations under $200 (12,899 donors)
  • under $200$529,891 · 12,899 donors
  • $200–$999$243,459 · 724 donors
  • $1,000 and up$347,740 · 131 donors

Individual donors only, grouped by each donor's total

74% from Wisconsin
  • Wisconsin$770,524 · 8,616 donors
  • Out of state$270,791 · 3,328 donors
  • Unknown$81,486 · 1,825 donors

Individuals and businesses; committees excluded

Monthly fundraising

Jan
Feb
Mar
Apr
May
Jun
Jul
Monthly fundraising totals
2026-01$41,664
2026-02$46,171
2026-03$67,215
2026-04$69,891
2026-05$164,283
2026-06$326,076
2026-07$373,958

Itemized contributions, filings through Aug 3, 2026 · Source: WI Ethics Commission (Sunshine)

Political ads about Francesca Hong

Ads a BadgerBrief editor confirmed are about Francesca Hong, from the Meta Ad Library. Spend is the range Meta discloses.

Supporting ~$250 · 1 adAttacking ~$50 · 1 ad
  • Support$200–$299

    Francesca Hong for Wisconsin

    Paid for by Friends of Francesca Hong

    Fran has the momentum.

    View ad on Meta ↗
  • Attack$0–$99

    True North News

    Democratic gubernatorial candidate Francesca Hong says she regrets calling 911 over a Gaza protest display in Madison after previously backing efforts to defund police. Hong said she acted on incomplete information and later apologized.

    View ad on Meta ↗

In the news about Francesca Hong

Coverage a BadgerBrief editor reviewed and confirmed belongs here. We link out — we don’t summarize. How we handle coverage ↗

Sources

Last updated:

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