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Democratic socialists test Wisconsin primaries

August 11, 2026

Wisconsin primary races include candidates from the democratic socialist left, among them Assembly member Francesca Hong, as Democrats push for control of state government.

AP News reports that Hong, elected in 2020 as the first Asian American to serve in the Wisconsin state Assembly, would accept support from Evers once the primary is over. The Guardian carries the same account of Hong's position, and the two agree as well on Cooke, who came close to unseating Van Orden in 2024 and lost a Democratic primary two years before that. AP News also reports on a congressional bid by Alfonso, who is seeking to become the youngest member of Congress in the state's 7th District, a seat his father in law held for nine years until Duffy left it in 2019. Bloomberg, The New York Times and Politico carry that congressional account as well.

The framing shifts across the outlets. Bloomberg presents the Wisconsin primary as the next test of whether Democratic Socialists can add to a run of wins. The New York Times puts the question of Hong's positions in front of voters and lays out where she actually stands. Politico reads the state's politics against Illinois and asks whether Wisconsin is moving in that direction. Those are different angles on the same contest rather than conflicting facts, and nothing in the record sets one outlet's account against another.

What is settled is the record itself: Hong's 2020 election to the Assembly, her openness to Evers' support after the primary, Cooke's 2024 and 2022 results, and the 7th District seat's history. AP News reports voters in Marshall and Sun Prairie who back Hong and wave off doubts about her past statements and her chances against Tiffany, and reports that Democrats see Trump's approval numbers in a state he twice carried as their opening to hold the governor's office and take both legislative chambers. How broadly that reading holds among Wisconsin voters is still developing.

Still developing

The strength of Hong's support among Wisconsin voters is still forming, and the record so far captures individual backers rather than a settled account of the electorate. AP News reports both that voter response and the Democratic aim of winning full control of state government for the first time since 2010, and sourcing on that point was thin at the time of draft. The primary results have yet to test that aim.

How settled the reporting is

Reported 58% · Contested 0% · Developing 42%

Sources