Francesca Hong

Francesca Hong (born November 4, 1988) is an American politician, former chef, and business owner who has represented Wisconsin's 76th Assembly district in the Wisconsin State Assembly since 2021. She is a member of the Democratic Party and the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA). Hong's district includes the downtown and east side of the state capital, Madison, as well as Maple Bluff.

Multiple media outlets have described Hong as far-left. She is the first Asian-American member of the Wisconsin Legislature and formed the first Asian Caucus in the State Assembly in 2025; she is also a member of the Assembly Socialist Caucus. Hong was an unsuccessful candidate for governor of Wisconsin in 2026, narrowly losing the Democratic primary to Milwaukee County executive David Crowley in an upset.

Early life and culinary career Francesca Hong was born on November 4, 1988, in Madison, Wisconsin, to Korean-American immigrant parents. As a child, she attended public schools in Madison, graduating from Madison West High School in 2007. In 2011, she became executive chef of the American bistro 43 North in Madison, which closed in 2016. In 2016, Hong and her then-husband, Matt Morris, opened Morris Ramen in Madison. Also in 2016, Hong helped found the Culinary Ladies Collective, alongside fellow business owners Tami Lax and Laila Borokhim. Hong, who at the time did not reside in the district, announced that she would run to succeed Taylor in the 2020 election. Hong ran a progressive campaign, opposing the Madison police union and supporting allowing culinary workers to organize into unions, while also emphasizing her business experience as a chef and restaurant owner. She won the seven-person primary with 28% of the vote, a six-point margin over the second-place finisher, Madison police officer Tyrone Cratic Williams. In 2022, Hong was reelected unopposed. In the 2024 elections, Hong was again reelected unopposed. A supporter of environmental rights, she was among ten people to sign up for a "dunk tank" fund-raiser in Madison on August 1, 2021, to raise awareness about the importance of clean water. After her 2022 reelection, Hong was appointed to the Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation (WEDC) board of directors, to the seat controlled by the Assembly minority leader, Greta Neubauer.

In February 2024, Hong backed reforms to implement paid family leave in the state. As the state's first Asian American legislator, she was among those who introduced legislation to require that Wisconsin public schools teach Asian American and Hmong American history. She said increased anti-Asian hate during the COVID-19 pandemic and the emergence of Asian voting blocs motivated her colleagues in the Assembly to support the change to the law. During the 2024 Democratic Party presidential primaries, Hong backed the Uncommitted National Movement to protest President Joe Biden's policies in the Gaza war, and drafted a letter calling for a ceasefire in Gaza. Hong also joined the State Assembly's Socialist Caucus in 2024. She also co-sponsored a bill establishing an Economic Bill of Rights in the state, which she had previously introduced in the 2021–2022 and 2023–2024 legislative sessions. In May 2025, Hong formed the first Asian Caucus in the State Assembly with freshman representatives Angelito Tenorio and Renuka Mayadev.

In February 2026, Hong co-drafted a bill that would put a statewide moratorium on data centers. Later that month, she also introduced legislation to repeal a Wisconsin statute that banned boycotts of Israel by companies and individuals doing business with state government.

2026 Wisconsin gubernatorial campaign

After incumbent governor Tony Evers announced he would not run for a third term in the 2026 Wisconsin gubernatorial election, Hong expressed interest in seeking the Democratic nomination to succeed him. She formally launched her campaign for governor on September 17, 2025, making comparisons to Rosie the Riveter, calling to fund public education and universal childcare, and vowing not to take corporate PAC campaign donations. By the end of the 2025, the Democratic primary field included incumbent lieutenant governor Sara Rodriguez, former lieutenant governor Mandela Barnes, Milwaukee County executive David Crowley, Madison state senator Kelda Roys, former secretary of the Wisconsin Department of Administration Joel Brennan, and Missy Hughes, the former CEO of the Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation.

Hong was the only democratic socialist in the crowded primary field, In September, during a campaign stop in Green Bay, Wisconsin, Hong proposed the creation of a public bank in the state, modeled on the Bank of North Dakota. The proposed bank would provide affordable loans to small farms, butcheries, and bakeries; according to Hong, it would also promote competition and make goods more affordable. Hong also advocated for repealing Wisconsin's right-to-work law, reversing former governor Scott Walker's law denying public employee unions bargaining rights (2011 Wisconsin Act 10), and allowing union members to deduct their union dues from their income tax. In January 2026, Hong's campaign issued a press release calling for a moratorium on the construction of new AI data centers in the state; data centers had become a hot-button issue in many Wisconsin communities, and Hong's moratorium became a signature issue of her campaign.

After a year of campaigning, the race began to consolidate in June 2026 after the Democratic Party of Wisconsin state convention, in which Rodriguez won the informal straw poll. Hughes and Crowley withdrew from the race and endorsed Rodriguez. But in July, Rodriguez fired her campaign manager and announced significant errors in campaign finance reports, and on July 17, she withdrew from the race. Crowley reentered the race on July 18, whereupon Governor Evers ended his neutrality in the race and endorsed Crowley. Hong continued to rise in the polls in July, with several polls showing her in the lead; after Rodriguez's departure, many journalists and analysts began to call Hong the front-runner. Barnes ended his campaign on July 30 and acknowledged Hong would likely win the nomination. During this time, Hong also came under increased scrutiny for her past statements, with interviewers asking her about comments about "whiteness", "cancel Thanksgiving", "defund the police", and "abolish the Senate". She attempted to distance herself from the past comments and to put them in context, but the interviews resulted in a national media spectacle.

Hong lost the August 11 primary to Crowley by a margin of 0.5%. The next day, she endorsed Crowley and said she would work to help him win the general election.

Personal life Hong lives in Madison, Wisconsin, with her son. Hong is a supporter of the Milwaukee Bucks and Forward Madison FC. In 2021, she got a tattoo featuring the popular slogan "Bucks in Six" after the team's 2021 NBA championship.

Electoral history Wisconsin Assembly (2020–2024)

Wisconsin Governor (2026)