DSA's Failed Bid for Wisconsin Governor Exposes Democrat Fracture—Not Unity

It’s hard to unify when you got skunked in the election. Just ask Francesca Hong.

A fault line has formed in Democratic socialist circles in the wake of the shock primary loss of Francesca Hong to David Crowley for Democratic nominee for Wisconsin governor. 

While many have expressed appreciation that Hong attended a unity meal with Crowley seated at the head of the table, and applaud her intention to campaign for him, there are rumblings that the establishment Democrat party rigged something somewhere because they didn’t want voters to give Hong the nod. 

Perhaps it was when establishment Democrats talked Crowley into getting back in the race after he quit and then blessed him with an endorsement from outgoing Gov. Tony Evers (D). Or perhaps it was the late-night stall in Milwaukee’s counting—oddly timed "human error" that took hours to resolve—that just felt off to voters. Maybe it was the razor thin margin that Hong lost by, after topping polls by a country mile for much of the campaign. 

David Crowley says he and Francesca Hong will campaign together as part of a "unity tour" pic.twitter.com/prlnYOKuIE

— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) August 12, 2026

Voters are not wrong to question the results. Strange things keep happening. But it is not comfortable or popular for Democrats—who are fond of declaring every election the "most secure" election ever. 

Finding a Safe Space to Grieve 

Voters who were disappointed in the results sought solace on social media and found a diversity of opinions on why Hong lost. 

There was applause on Bluesky and Reddit, two leftist bastions. Posters praised Hong for losing gracefully and getting behind Crowley. 

"It’s what good Democrats do," said one. "That’s what democracy is all about." Said another. 

"Wait, you mean Hong isn’t going to whine for 6 years that the election was "wigged"?"

And there was suspicion: 

"They need to install Crowley as a nominee so that the establishment Dems in Wisconsin can continue to cater to the wealthy and be perennial losers," one Reddit poster said. 

"Every election!" another Reddit reader wrote. 

"I spilled some coffee on the super computer. I’m just going to guess what people voted. It’ll probably be fine," said another.

"There’s potentially trillions of dollars at stake with data center construction. So yeah…plenty of financial incentive to mess with and influence this election."

Hong campaigned on putting a pause on data center construction. Crowley has been more accepting of these projects. 

 Some blamed Republicans. 

"Yes, everything is always some big scheme by the big bad boogeyman," one person wrote. 

"The confederate fascist party will stop at nothing to remain in power. They’ve said they’ll cheat. one should absolutely believe them. EndtheGOP,"another said on Reddit. And on Bluesky:

 "THE WISCONSIN ELECTIONS WERE RIGGED the moderates rigged it because they are afraid of repressions from Trump [if] progressives like Francesca Hong are elected Don’t ever forget that There is no reforming the democrat party of Wisconsin"

But talk like that gets an angry response. 

"That kind of BS is what Russian trolls, Trump, & daft Fox brainwashed MAGA [C*nts] spew to sow doubt in elections. Some human error in complex vote counts is standard, but doesn’t change the count. Before parroting bogus election fraud conspiracies, you damn well best have real evidence!"

And just like that, it is not safe for Democrats to say what Republicans have been saying for years: we would all benefit from more secure elections. Questioning election results, when they are unexpectedly close and the process was not routine should not be a Republican thing—all Americans need to feel confident in election results. Say it with us, Democrats. 

2020 Anomalies

Democrats must recall the failure of the 2020 Democratic Iowa Caucus when a then-new smartphone app glitched and the back-up hotline to call-in results was overwhelmed. The public was excited to get the results but the party could not produce them for weeks—when the results no longer mattered. Democrats got screwed and no one did anything about it because election integrity is death by a thousand cuts—many small problems rather than one big obvious fail. The primary continued without Iowa’s results. 

It turned out that Biden blew it in Iowa (came in fourth), New Hampshire, and Nevada, but he won in South Carolina. Still, Biden was quite beatable by any candidate with a pulse and a grasp of language. Yet before Super Tuesday 2020, Pete Buttigieg, Amy Klobuchar, and Beto O'Rourke who had all been beating Biden, abruptly dropped out and one by one, endorsed him. Sanders dropped out a month later and endorsed Biden too.

Not saying the establishment pulled some strings, just that it was odd.

And it was odd again when in 2024, Biden blew a debate with Trump, dropped out of the 107 days before the election, and with no prior campaigning, Kamala Harris was coronated to lead the party with no voter participation. Just another anomaly. 

The Democrat Party goes through the motions but in little ways, voter power is usurped by the party time and again. It’s unpopular for Democrats to call it out. The Hong loss exposes the party’s fractures. Unity is an illusion. 

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