CHAMPAGNE SOCIALISM: Wisconsin Dem's Campaign Funded by Rich Republican in Gated Florida Community

Aug 05, 2026
Beth Brelje
Follow the Money | Socialism

Socialist wannabe-governor Francesca Hong hates the rich… unless they're bankrolling her campaign.

A top campaign donor to Wisconsin's socialist gubernatorial candidate Francesca Hong's campaign is a rich Florida Republican who lives in an ocean-front mansion in an exclusive gated community, Restoration News has discovered. 

It appears capitalism—the thing socialists hate the most—has been very good to Robert J. Clancy, yet he has given Hong $20,000 to turn Wisconsin into a communist state. 

Restoration News wanted to ask Clancy why he wants the nation that has allowed him to flourish financially to turn toward communism, but he could not be reached. The phone number and email address are out of service for his long-time investment business, Clancy Financial Group, Inc. 

In the past, Clancy has donated to Republican candidates and causes, including the Nikki Haley 2024 campaign for the Republican presidential nomination, some WinRed donations, a GOP Iowa Senate race in 2014, and to the Republican National Committee in 2008. 

So why is this large donor putting money toward an ideology that aims to dismantle his apparent wealth?

Perhaps he is just being a supportive dad. Robert Clancy, a registered Republican, appears to be Wisconsin state Rep. Ryan Clancy's father. And yes, Papa Clancy has donated to his socialist son's campaign too: $1,000, the donor limit for state representatives, given in December 2023, and $41.66 on July 18, 2026.

It's fair to assume Hong and Ryan Clancy are pals, since they are both committed to socialism and work together in the state Assembly.

Oh—and Hong's campaign manager, Becky Cooper, is Ryan Clancy's wife.

Hong and Ryan Clancy often co-sponsor radical policy ideas like a package of bills to make Wisconsin prisons more comfortable; a package of anti-ICE bills that would remove masks from ICE agents, make Wisconsin a sanctuary state like Illinois, and provide other protections for illegal aliens; and a plan to implement an estate tax on property over $5 million.

The Clancy Connection 

Wisconsin voters may know Ryan Clancy as the former Milwaukee County Supervisor who sued Milwaukee police after he was arrested during a May 30, 2020, Black Lives Matter protest when the city exploded in chaos after George Floyd died. Clancy made taxpayers pay to defend the police and the city for two years in federal court before the case was settled with only attorneys walking away richer.

Or they may know Ryan Clancy as the man who traveled to Iraq on Jan. 28, 2003, staying until March 7, 2003 to act as a "human shield"—protecting the government of Iraq's facilities from possible U.S. military action and protesting U.S. bombing during the war. 

The Office of Foreign Assets Control initially fined Hong's pal $10,000, then reduced the fine to $8,000, for engaging in prohibited transactions relating to Iraq outside the knowledge of the United States. Clancy was not licensed to act as a foreign asset and violated Iraqi sanctions regulations. 

One wonders how Clancy was able to pay his bills while he was in Iraq, or how he funded the fine at all. Perhaps—and this is only a guess—he has the type of dad who would sprinkle cash on any scheme, just to see his baby boy smile. 

Clancy is being challenged in the August 11 primary by Democrat Bridget Maniaci, a former Madison alderwoman, for the District 19 State Assembly seat. 

If Hong becomes Governor and Clancy stays in his current seat, their radical DSA influence will quickly change Wisconsin policies to communism under an imagined voter mandate. 

Hypocrite Hong is a Sellout 

It's weird that Hong accepted the $20,000 donation from Papa Clancy because she has been clear about her contempt for the rich, and she often boasts that she is running a grassroots campaign funded by small donations from many regular people, not the rich. 

To prove how serious Phony Fran is about collecting money from regular people, she put on a set of distressed overalls to capture that blue-collar-worker-look, underscoring that her campaign is funded by "people like you." Hong is selling the impression that she has the lowly workers' back—she owes them for bankrolling her campaign. Rich people are too greedy to care about you and she won't do their bidding, Hong wants you to believe. 

It's dumb. She doesn't have to make this blue-color claim to get elected. But like a good communist, Hong is addicted to class warfare and goes out of her way to attack the rich, while quietly partnering with them in the election. 

Hong-sure-as-hell.jpg

The fact is, Hong needs money, and, as her campaign website says, "She sure as hell isn't self-funding her campaign." Hong has to take it where she can get it—from everyone. 

If any blue-collar workers believe she will give them a break once elected, notice she is already leaning on you to fund her campaign. 

Clancy better get used to cutting checks. Hong has only begun to tell the rich, "Give me gobs of your money. I swear I'll spend it better than you could."

MORE FROM RESTORATION NEWS:

     ELECTION INTEGRITY: China’s Election Meddling Highlights the Need for Open Voter Data

     CRIME: California Is Hell-Bent on Removing Accountability for Violent Criminals

     EXCLUSIVE: I Sat Down With Kash Patel on the FBI's Future (INTERVIEW)

     WINNING: It Just Got Harder for Ballot Harvesters to Dupe Nursing Home Residents

Beth Brelje is a Senior Political Investigator for Restoration News, focusing on state and federal elections, laws, legislation and the effects policies have on us all. She has nearly 40 years of media experience. 

Email Beth here.

Related Articles

Get Involved

Join Restoration of America today and receive the latest updates, news, and ways to get involved with our efforts!

By  providing your phone number and checking this box, you are consenting  to receive calls and text messages, including autodialed and automated  calls and texts, to that number from Restoration of America. Message and  data rates may apply. Reply "STOP" to opt-out. Privacy Policy and Terms & Conditions apply.