A super PAC tied to Republicans is spending $2.2 million on television advertisements that appear to be aimed at boosting the chances of Francesca Hong, a Democratic candidate for governor in Wisconsin.
Some Democrats in the state have fretted over the prospect that Ms. Hong, a democratic socialist with unabashedly left-wing views in a distinctly purple state, might advance out of a crowded August primary — and then deliver the governor’s mansion to Representative Tom Tiffany, the likely Republican nominee, in November.
Republicans appear to agree. The PAC running a new ad about Ms. Hong, Right Direction Wisconsin, is tied to the Republican Governors Association. The 30-second ad, which will begin airing on Thursday in liberal parts of the state, including Madison and Milwaukee, criticizes Ms. Hong for being too liberal, in what appears to be a counterintuitive strategy to grow her appeal among Democratic primary voters.
Both parties have used similarly misleading tactics in the opposing party’s primaries around the country this year, seeking to boost candidates they perceive as weak in general-election matchups.
Joe Zepecki, a Democratic strategist in Wisconsin who is not backing anyone in the primary, decried the Republican effort as a “pathetic” attempt to paper over the party’s own challenges with voters in the state.
“Every Democratic campaign for governor — including Hong’s — should call this out for what it is: A sneaky, underhanded, blatant attempt to meddle in the democratic process,” he said.
Republicans, however, framed the ads simply as an effort to weaken the candidate they see as the favorite in the Democratic primary. Ms. Hong is competing with several more mainstream candidates for the nomination, including current Lt. Gov Sara Rodriguez and former Lt. Gov Mandela Barnes. (Ms. Rodriguez’s campaign has been rocked in recent days by the revelation that her bid has far less money than she expected after her campaign undercounted expenses and double-counted contributions.)
“It’s time that Wisconsin voters start to learn just how dangerously liberal Democrat front-runner Francesca Hong truly is,” Kollin Crompton, a spokesman for the Republican Governors Association, said in a statement.
As support for democratic socialism has surged, socialist candidates have won contests in deep-blue congressional and mayoral races. But Ms. Hong is attempting to prove that left-wing economic policies are popular even among swing voters in states like Wisconsin, which President Trump carried in 2024.
The new ad targets Ms. Hong’s immigration policy, noting that she supports abolishing the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency. Pulling from clips from her interview with Hasan Piker, a progressive livestreamer, it says that her agenda “opposes President Trump’s deportation policies, and she wants to abolish ICE.”
“That’s Francesca Hong. Too liberal for Wisconsin,” the ad says — a likely attempt at reverse psychology to persuade progressive voters to back her.
Ms. Hong’s campaign did not comment directly on the strategy of Republicans potentially boosting Ms. Hong’s chances.
“The RGA’s decision to attack Rep. Hong for protecting immigrant families during a week marked by three more ICE-related deaths is deeply disturbing,” Allison Geyer, a spokeswoman for Ms. Hong, said in a statement.
Ms. Hong added: “We will continue to work to surprise folks and defeat Tom Tiffany in a landslide in November.”
Ms. Hong’s Democratic rivals also decried the Republican interference.
“Right as the G.O.P. gets confirmation that this is a two-person race, they decide to meddle to pick the candidate Tom Tiffany wants to face in November,” said Darby O’Connor, the campaign manager for Mr. Barnes. “This race should be decided by Wisconsin voters, not billionaire MAGA donors.”
