{"id":30418,"date":"2026-08-07T00:07:29","date_gmt":"2026-08-06T19:07:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/?p=30418"},"modified":"2026-08-07T00:07:29","modified_gmt":"2026-08-06T19:07:29","slug":"francesca-hongs-cancel-thanksgiving-and-abolish-police-comments-explained","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/?p=30418","title":{"rendered":"Francesca Hong\u2019s cancel Thanksgiving and abolish police comments, explained"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><script>\r\n  atOptions = {\r\n    'key' : '644b717812d811d6a1c1fc5b6ccd6fa6',\r\n    'format' : 'iframe',\r\n    'height' : 90,\r\n    'width' : 728,\r\n    'params' : {}\r\n  };\r\n<\/script>\r\n<script src=\"https:\/\/www.highperformanceformat.com\/644b717812d811d6a1c1fc5b6ccd6fa6\/invoke.js\"><\/script>\r\n<br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div id=\"zephr-anchor\">\n<div class=\"duet--article--article-body-component\">\n<p class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _10sa9omi itxwjq1 itxwjq0 pn04iq1\">Francesca Hong is the frontrunner to win the Democratic nomination for governor of Wisconsin next week. If she goes on to win the general election, she\u2019ll become the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.vox.com\/politics\/495808\/francesca-hong-socialist-platform-policies-wisconsin\">first democratic socialist governor<\/a> in American history.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"duet--article--article-body-component\">\n<p class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _10sa9omi itxwjq1 itxwjq0 pn04iq1\">But, when Bernie Sanders, the most famous democratic socialist in the country, was asked Wednesday if he\u2019d endorse her, <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/jonfavs\/status\/2085143804798218544?s=46\">he said<\/a>: \u201cI don\u2019t think so.\u201d He said he\u2019d met her a few years ago, and that she \u201cseems very very nice\u201d \u2014 but said he wasn\u2019t familiar with her race.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"duet--article--article-body-component\">\n<p class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _10sa9omi itxwjq1 itxwjq0 pn04iq1\">Indeed, while leftists and socialists who\u2019ve long been eager to overthrow the Democratic establishment are excited about Hong\u2019s campaign, some are increasingly sounding a bit wary of her chances \u2014 and wondering whether she\u2019s the best representative the movement has to offer given the electoral stakes in this swing state.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"duet--article--block-placement _13j8zv42 _13j8zv40 duet--article--article-body-component\">\n<div class=\"duet--article--highlight _10sa9oml _1a70pe0\">\n<div class=\"_1a70pe6\">\n<ul class=\"duet--article--unordered-list _10sa9omi uyby7v0 pn04iq1 _1a70pe7\">\n<li class=\"uyby7v1\"><span class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup\">Some on the left want to downplay or quietly renounce some of the identity-related social justice activist language and causes that were popular a few years ago, and jokingly distance themselves from what they now call \u201cwoke 1.0.\u201d<\/span><\/li>\n<li class=\"uyby7v1\"><span class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup\">Their preferred approach is embodied in Zohran Mamdani\u2019s mayoral campaign, in which he prioritized affordability while renouncing police defunding \u2014 but Francesca Hong, running for governor in Wisconsin, sometimes doesn\u2019t seem to be following that playbook.<\/span><\/li>\n<li class=\"uyby7v1\"><span class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup\">The deeper divide is between left activists who\u2019ve long been uncomfortable with some of the arguments and priorities of the identity-focused left, versus those who still believe in those causes quite strongly.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"duet--article--article-body-component\">\n<p class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _10sa9omi itxwjq1 itxwjq0 pn04iq1\">For instance, when Hong was asked this week about an <a href=\"https:\/\/www.forbes.com\/sites\/conormurray\/2026\/08\/04\/wisconsin-gov-candidate-hong-faces-backlash-over-cancel-thanksgiving-comment-even-from-democrats\/\">old deleted tweet<\/a> in which she called to cancel Thanksgiving due to its celebration of colonialism, she didn\u2019t exactly disavow it. Instead, she <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/Acyn\/status\/2084456363061924260\">told CNN\u2019s Kaitlan Collins<\/a> that \u201cviews can evolve\u201d while also stressing the holiday was \u201cincredibly painful for many people in our communities.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"duet--article--article-body-component\">\n<p class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _10sa9omi itxwjq1 itxwjq0 pn04iq1\">Moderate Democrats cringed, of course. But what was more notable was how many fellow leftists joined in \u2014 even to some of her biggest fans, the answer seemed like political malpractice. It also brought to the surface simmering tensions within the left over how to navigate social issues more broadly, a divide that\u2019s becoming more relevant now that their candidates are on the cusp of wielding actual power.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"duet--article--article-body-component\">\n<p class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _10sa9omi itxwjq1 itxwjq0 pn04iq1\">Left-wing streamer Hasan Piker, fresh off campaigning with Hong, <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/hasanthehun\/status\/2084505434598134082\">posted on X<\/a>: \u201clove fran, this was an opportunity to turn this back on how thanksgiving is about to be unaffordable due to trumps wars.\u201d (Two days later, Hong <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/politico\/status\/2085067906262438095\">tried a do-over<\/a> on the answer, claiming Thanksgiving was actually her favorite holiday.)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"duet--article--article-body-component\">\n<p class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _10sa9omi itxwjq1 itxwjq0 pn04iq1\">Another source of concern, for some, is Hong\u2019s tendency of <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/daveweigel\/status\/2082278104450383961\">giving<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.foxnews.com\/media\/wisconsin-dem-socialist-governor-hopeful-dodges-whether-she-still-wants-abolish-police\">elliptical answers<\/a> when asked about her old support for <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cnn.com\/2026\/05\/22\/politics\/kfile-francesca-hong-wisconsin-governor-race-defund-police\">abolishing police<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.jsonline.com\/story\/news\/politics\/2026\/05\/29\/democrat-francesca-hong-speaks-about-an-ideal-world-without-prisons\/90258710007\/?gnt-cfr=1&amp;gca-cat=p&amp;gca-uir=true&amp;gca-epti=z115347p118550n00----l001250c00----e1162xxv115347d--49--b--49--&amp;gca-ft=312&amp;gca-ds=sophi\">prisons<\/a> \u2014 saying <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/FrancescaHongWI\/status\/2083209794609954954\">she won\u2019t do it<\/a> as governor, but remaining reluctant to disavow the idea as a long-term goal.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"duet--article--article-body-component\">\n<p class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _10sa9omi itxwjq1 itxwjq0 pn04iq1\">Sanders has been a longtime critic of \u201cdefund the police\u201d rhetoric. And in the same interview where Sanders said he likely wouldn\u2019t endorse Hong, he <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/jonfavs\/status\/2085147495999615186\">said<\/a>, in response to a separate question: \u201cNo serious person that I know who is running for office believes in quote-unquote defunding the police.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"duet--article--article-body-component\">\n<p class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _10sa9omi itxwjq1 itxwjq0 pn04iq1\">Hong\u2019s rhetoric is reminiscent of how many people in progressive spaces talked about culture, identity, policing, and prisons back during the \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/www.vox.com\/2019\/3\/22\/18259865\/great-awokening-white-liberals-race-polling-trump-2020\">Great Awokening<\/a>\u201d era, peaking in the \u201cracial reckoning\u201d of 2020. But some on the left increasingly believe that those positions alienate voters \u2014 particularly the working-class voters they\u2019re trying to mobilize.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"duet--article--article-body-component\">\n<p class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _10sa9omi itxwjq1 itxwjq0 pn04iq1\">This new left conventional wisdom, <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/ettingermentum\/status\/2084520138171199942\">said to be embodied<\/a> in Zohran Mamdani\u2019s New York City mayoral campaign, is that socialist candidates for office should quietly downplay or even explicitly renounce those old causes \u2014 as Mamdani <a href=\"https:\/\/www.politico.com\/news\/2025\/07\/30\/mamdani-backs-away-from-out-of-step-defund-the-police-posts-00485172\">did for police defunding<\/a> \u2014 in favor of a laser focus on issues like affordability, stopping data centers, and opposition to Israel, where public opinion is on their side.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"duet--article--article-body-component\">\n<p class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _10sa9omi itxwjq1 itxwjq0 pn04iq1\">It\u2019s a sort of left-wing version of \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/www.vox.com\/future-perfect\/23041412\/popularism-election-voters\">popularism<\/a>\u201d \u2014 the center-left credo that Democrats should campaign on popular ideas that poll well, and abandon unpopular progressive stances. In other words: Don\u2019t scare the normies.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"duet--article--article-body-component\">\n<p class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _10sa9omi itxwjq1 itxwjq0 pn04iq1\">But not everyone on the left is so eager to jettison these stances for purportedly optimal campaign messaging: After all, a major organizing principle for many on the left is their willingness to stand up for what they believe in even when it <em>isn\u2019t<\/em> popular.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"duet--article--article-body-component\">\n<p class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _10sa9omi itxwjq1 itxwjq0 pn04iq1\">For instance, Darializa Avila Chevalier, the Mamdani ally who successfully challenged a House Democratic incumbent this year, stood by <a href=\"https:\/\/wjla.com\/news\/nation-world\/mamdani-backed-house-candidates-deleted-posts-called-for-abolishing-police-borders-democratic-socialist-nyc-adriano-espaillat-primary-blm-bernie-sanders-aoc-joe-biden\">her old calls<\/a> to abolish policing and borders \u2014 though, unlike Hong, she\u2019s running in extremely blue terrain.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"duet--article--article-body-component\">\n<p class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _10sa9omi itxwjq1 itxwjq0 pn04iq1\">\u201cFive years ago, the left was collectively making the case for abolition &amp;\/or defund, &amp; gaining public opinion wins,\u201d leftist podcaster <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/briebriejoy\/status\/2082605172648182214\">Briahna Joy Gray wrote<\/a>. \u201cToday, they\u2019re making the case for why elected progressives are justified in abandoning this agenda.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"duet--article--article-body-component\">\n<p class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _10sa9omi itxwjq1 itxwjq0 pn04iq1\">All this is symptomatic of a deeper divide on the left, not just about today\u2019s political strategy, but about race, class, and gender more broadly, and how 2020-era cultural issues fit into their movement today.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"duet--article--article-body-component\">\n<p class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _10sa9omi itxwjq1 itxwjq0 pn04iq1\">Many class-focused leftists view the period they now jokingly call \u201cwoke 1.0\u201d or \u201cwoke 1\u201d as a cringey mistake, and seek to blame <a href=\"https:\/\/jacobin.com\/2024\/11\/democratic-elites-identity-politics-sanders\">Democratic<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/jacobin.com\/2025\/01\/elite-identity-politics-professional-class\">elites<\/a> for it. But others on the left still think and talk about race, identity, and social justice causes just like they did in 2020 \u2014 indeed, to them, these issues might be why they joined the left in the first place.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"duet--article--article-body-component\">\n<p><h2 class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup\">Some on the left now want to move on from \u201cwoke 1.0\u201d<\/h2>\n<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"duet--article--block-placement _13j8zv41 _13j8zv40 duet--article--article-body-component\">\n<div style=\"position:relative\">\n<div class=\"_10sa9omj\">\n<div class=\"\">\n<div style=\"background-image:none\" class=\"duet--media--content-warning _1wmfnm10\">\n<div class=\"duet--article--image-gallery-image _1hhpe710\" style=\"aspect-ratio:1.499813\" id=\"dngyOmltYWdlOjQ5ODM3NQ==\"><a class=\"_1hhpe711\" href=\"https:\/\/platform.vox.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/08\/GettyImages-2240518253.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;crop=0,0,100,100\" data-pswp-height=\"2667\" data-pswp-width=\"4000\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer\"><img alt=\"Chi Osse, New York City Council member behind a podium during a campaign rally\" data-chromatic=\"ignore\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" data-nimg=\"fill\" class=\"_1ssnpw50\" style=\"position:absolute;height:100%;width:100%;left:0;top:0;right:0;bottom:0;color:transparent;background-size:cover;background-position:50% 50%;background-repeat:no-repeat;background-image:url(&quot;data:image\/svg+xml;charset=utf-8,%3Csvg xmlns='http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg' %3E%3Cfilter id='b' color-interpolation-filters='sRGB'%3E%3CfeGaussianBlur stdDeviation='20'\/%3E%3CfeColorMatrix values='1 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 100 -1' result='s'\/%3E%3CfeFlood x='0' y='0' width='100%25' height='100%25'\/%3E%3CfeComposite operator='out' in='s'\/%3E%3CfeComposite in2='SourceGraphic'\/%3E%3CfeGaussianBlur stdDeviation='20'\/%3E%3C\/filter%3E%3Cimage width='100%25' height='100%25' x='0' y='0' preserveAspectRatio='none' style='filter: url(%23b);' href='data:image\/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAAEAAAABCAQAAAC1HAwCAAAAC0lEQVR42mN8+R8AAtcB6oaHtZcAAAAASUVORK5CYII='\/%3E%3C\/svg%3E&quot;)\" sizes=\"(max-width: 639px) 100vw, (max-width: 1023px) 50vw, 700px\" srcset=\"https:\/\/platform.vox.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/08\/GettyImages-2240518253.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;crop=0%2C0%2C100%2C100&amp;w=256 256w, https:\/\/platform.vox.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/08\/GettyImages-2240518253.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;crop=0%2C0%2C100%2C100&amp;w=376 376w, https:\/\/platform.vox.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/08\/GettyImages-2240518253.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;crop=0%2C0%2C100%2C100&amp;w=384 384w, https:\/\/platform.vox.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/08\/GettyImages-2240518253.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;crop=0%2C0%2C100%2C100&amp;w=415 415w, https:\/\/platform.vox.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/08\/GettyImages-2240518253.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;crop=0%2C0%2C100%2C100&amp;w=480 480w, https:\/\/platform.vox.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/08\/GettyImages-2240518253.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;crop=0%2C0%2C100%2C100&amp;w=540 540w, https:\/\/platform.vox.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/08\/GettyImages-2240518253.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;crop=0%2C0%2C100%2C100&amp;w=640 640w, https:\/\/platform.vox.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/08\/GettyImages-2240518253.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;crop=0%2C0%2C100%2C100&amp;w=750 750w, https:\/\/platform.vox.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/08\/GettyImages-2240518253.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;crop=0%2C0%2C100%2C100&amp;w=828 828w, https:\/\/platform.vox.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/08\/GettyImages-2240518253.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;crop=0%2C0%2C100%2C100&amp;w=1080 1080w, https:\/\/platform.vox.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/08\/GettyImages-2240518253.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;crop=0%2C0%2C100%2C100&amp;w=1200 1200w, https:\/\/platform.vox.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/08\/GettyImages-2240518253.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;crop=0%2C0%2C100%2C100&amp;w=1440 1440w, https:\/\/platform.vox.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/08\/GettyImages-2240518253.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;crop=0%2C0%2C100%2C100&amp;w=1920 1920w, https:\/\/platform.vox.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/08\/GettyImages-2240518253.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;crop=0%2C0%2C100%2C100&amp;w=2048 2048w, https:\/\/platform.vox.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/08\/GettyImages-2240518253.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;crop=0%2C0%2C100%2C100&amp;w=2400 2400w\" src=\"https:\/\/platform.vox.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/08\/GettyImages-2240518253.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;crop=0%2C0%2C100%2C100&amp;w=2400\"\/><\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><figcaption class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup pn04iq2 _1dh7zmha\">Chi Osse, New York City Council member, during a campaign rally with Zohran Mamdani in New York in October 2025.<\/figcaption><cite class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup pn04iq2 _1dh7zmh5\">Christian Monterrosa\/Bloomberg via Getty Images<\/cite><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"duet--article--article-body-component\">\n<p class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _10sa9omi itxwjq1 itxwjq0 pn04iq1\">In 2021, Chi Oss\u00e9, campaigning for New York City Council, tweeted: \u201cA cis white man should not be the next speaker of the Council.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"duet--article--article-body-component\">\n<p class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _10sa9omi itxwjq1 itxwjq0 pn04iq1\">When a critic of his on X unearthed that old post earlier this year, Oss\u00e9 \u2014 now a council member \u2014 gave <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/OsseChi\/status\/2057879171108376970\">a pithy response<\/a>: \u201cWoke 1 was crazyyyy\u201d.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"duet--article--article-body-component\">\n<p class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _10sa9omi itxwjq1 itxwjq0 pn04iq1\">The citation of \u201cwoke 1.0\u201d or \u201cwoke 1\u201d is a now-common shorthand among parts of the online left to describe \u2014 and distance themselves from \u2014 what they now view as the more dated or inconvenient aspects of the impassioned social justice activism they participated in during the late 2010s and early 2020s.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"duet--article--article-body-component\">\n<p class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _10sa9omi itxwjq1 itxwjq0 pn04iq1\">Typically, this doesn\u2019t necessarily mean rejecting causes like racial justice altogether. Rather, it is often intended to acknowledge that the tactics used a few years back didn\u2019t work, and that a new approach is necessary to try and achieve those goals. (Indeed, \u201cwoke 1.0\u201d implies that \u201cwoke 2.0\u201d is either coming or already here.)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"duet--article--article-body-component\">\n<p class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _10sa9omi itxwjq1 itxwjq0 pn04iq1\">Among those who use the term, there isn\u2019t a consensus about what\u2019s an outdated relic worth abandoning, and what\u2019s a worthy cause worth preserving. However, there\u2019s probably the most consensus that the sweeping, totalizing identity-related rhetoric and assertions that were common at the time haven\u2019t aged well. Not only did they repel winnable voters, but they fueled constant arguments <a href=\"https:\/\/theintercept.com\/2022\/06\/13\/progressive-organizing-infighting-callout-culture\/\">inside progressive organizations<\/a>, to the point that some activists likened the discord to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2019\/08\/17\/opinion\/sunday\/cancel-culture-call-out.html\">undercover federal plots to disrupt left-wing groups in the 1960s<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"duet--article--article-body-component\">\n<p class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _10sa9omi itxwjq1 itxwjq0 pn04iq1\">Take it from Chevalier. The victorious congressional primary challenger has stood by her old tweets about police and borders being fundamentally wrong. But when <a href=\"https:\/\/nyeditorialboard.substack.com\/p\/darializa-avila-chevalier-on-housing\">the New York Editorial Board<\/a> asked her about \u201cwoke 1,\u201d she said it was \u201cindeed crazy\u201d \u2014 because there was too much \u201cdivisive rhetoric\u201d that hurt the left\u2019s effort to build solidarity.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"duet--article--block-placement _13j8zv41 _13j8zv40 duet--article--article-body-component\">\n<div style=\"position:relative\">\n<div class=\"_10sa9omj\">\n<div class=\"\">\n<div style=\"background-image:none\" class=\"duet--media--content-warning _1wmfnm10\">\n<div class=\"duet--article--image-gallery-image _1hhpe710\" style=\"aspect-ratio:1.499813\" id=\"dngyOmltYWdlOjQ5ODM3Nw==\"><a class=\"_1hhpe711\" href=\"https:\/\/platform.vox.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/08\/GettyImages-2283506635.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;crop=0,0,100,100\" data-pswp-height=\"2667\" data-pswp-width=\"4000\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer\"><img alt=\"Darializa Avila Chevalier, US Democratic House candidate for New York, speaks during a rally\" data-chromatic=\"ignore\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" data-nimg=\"fill\" class=\"_1ssnpw50\" style=\"position:absolute;height:100%;width:100%;left:0;top:0;right:0;bottom:0;color:transparent;background-size:cover;background-position:50% 50%;background-repeat:no-repeat;background-image:url(&quot;data:image\/svg+xml;charset=utf-8,%3Csvg xmlns='http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg' %3E%3Cfilter id='b' color-interpolation-filters='sRGB'%3E%3CfeGaussianBlur stdDeviation='20'\/%3E%3CfeColorMatrix values='1 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 100 -1' result='s'\/%3E%3CfeFlood x='0' y='0' width='100%25' height='100%25'\/%3E%3CfeComposite operator='out' in='s'\/%3E%3CfeComposite in2='SourceGraphic'\/%3E%3CfeGaussianBlur stdDeviation='20'\/%3E%3C\/filter%3E%3Cimage width='100%25' height='100%25' x='0' y='0' preserveAspectRatio='none' style='filter: url(%23b);' href='data:image\/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAAEAAAABCAQAAAC1HAwCAAAAC0lEQVR42mN8+R8AAtcB6oaHtZcAAAAASUVORK5CYII='\/%3E%3C\/svg%3E&quot;)\" sizes=\"(max-width: 639px) 100vw, (max-width: 1023px) 50vw, 700px\" srcset=\"https:\/\/platform.vox.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/08\/GettyImages-2283506635.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;crop=0%2C0%2C100%2C100&amp;w=256 256w, https:\/\/platform.vox.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/08\/GettyImages-2283506635.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;crop=0%2C0%2C100%2C100&amp;w=376 376w, https:\/\/platform.vox.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/08\/GettyImages-2283506635.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;crop=0%2C0%2C100%2C100&amp;w=384 384w, https:\/\/platform.vox.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/08\/GettyImages-2283506635.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;crop=0%2C0%2C100%2C100&amp;w=415 415w, https:\/\/platform.vox.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/08\/GettyImages-2283506635.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;crop=0%2C0%2C100%2C100&amp;w=480 480w, https:\/\/platform.vox.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/08\/GettyImages-2283506635.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;crop=0%2C0%2C100%2C100&amp;w=540 540w, https:\/\/platform.vox.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/08\/GettyImages-2283506635.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;crop=0%2C0%2C100%2C100&amp;w=640 640w, https:\/\/platform.vox.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/08\/GettyImages-2283506635.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;crop=0%2C0%2C100%2C100&amp;w=750 750w, https:\/\/platform.vox.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/08\/GettyImages-2283506635.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;crop=0%2C0%2C100%2C100&amp;w=828 828w, https:\/\/platform.vox.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/08\/GettyImages-2283506635.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;crop=0%2C0%2C100%2C100&amp;w=1080 1080w, https:\/\/platform.vox.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/08\/GettyImages-2283506635.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;crop=0%2C0%2C100%2C100&amp;w=1200 1200w, https:\/\/platform.vox.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/08\/GettyImages-2283506635.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;crop=0%2C0%2C100%2C100&amp;w=1440 1440w, https:\/\/platform.vox.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/08\/GettyImages-2283506635.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;crop=0%2C0%2C100%2C100&amp;w=1920 1920w, https:\/\/platform.vox.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/08\/GettyImages-2283506635.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;crop=0%2C0%2C100%2C100&amp;w=2048 2048w, https:\/\/platform.vox.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/08\/GettyImages-2283506635.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;crop=0%2C0%2C100%2C100&amp;w=2400 2400w\" src=\"https:\/\/platform.vox.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/08\/GettyImages-2283506635.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;crop=0%2C0%2C100%2C100&amp;w=2400\"\/><\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><figcaption class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup pn04iq2 _1dh7zmha\">Darializa Avila Chevalier, US Democratic House candidate for New York.<\/figcaption><cite class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup pn04iq2 _1dh7zmh5\">Michael Nagle\/Bloomberg via Getty Images<\/cite><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"duet--article--article-body-component\">\n<p class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _10sa9omi itxwjq1 itxwjq0 pn04iq1\">\u201cAt the core of what it means to organize is to bring people together behind a vision,\u201d Chevalier said. \u201cAnd you can\u2019t do that when you are spending time trying to show who\u2019s more progressive or who\u2019s more woke. That actually causes more division, and it makes folks feel that there is no space for them in our movements.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"duet--article--article-body-component\">\n<p class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _10sa9omi itxwjq1 itxwjq0 pn04iq1\">To others, the true core of \u201cwoke 1.0\u201d is unpopular, fringe-sounding cultural causes \u2014 like, say, calling Thanksgiving problematic. In response to the Thanksgiving clip, independent journalist <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/kenklippenstein\/status\/2084509201536033055\">Ken Klippenstein posted<\/a>: \u201cHong has a lot of strengths but this woke 1 stuff is a major weakness.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"duet--article--article-body-component\">\n<p class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _10sa9omi itxwjq1 itxwjq0 pn04iq1\">\u201cSocialists must practice effective communication,\u201d Nathan J. Robinson, editor-in-chief of the socialist publication Current Affairs, <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/NathanJRobinson\/status\/2084691354609734061\">wrote<\/a>. \u201cReply to a Thanksgiving question: The only thing threatening to cancel Thanksgiving is the rising cost of groceries.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"duet--article--article-body-component\">\n<p><h2 class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup\">The deeper disagreement inside the left on economics and identity issues<\/h2>\n<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"duet--article--article-body-component\">\n<p class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _10sa9omi itxwjq1 itxwjq0 pn04iq1\">Underneath some leftists\u2019 attempt to turn the page from \u201cwoke 1.0,\u201d there\u2019s a deeper and more longstanding divide on the left between those who want to prioritize economic issues \u2014 and those who care deeply about identity-related causes too.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"duet--article--article-body-component\">\n<p class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _10sa9omi itxwjq1 itxwjq0 pn04iq1\">To broadly generalize, we can think of the left as having three main strains, focused on economic justice (class politics), social justice (causes related to identity and culture), and foreign policy (war, empire, and \u2014 especially nowadays \u2014 Israel). But not everyone prioritizes them in the same way, or joined the movement because of the same issue.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"duet--article--article-body-component\">\n<p class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _10sa9omi itxwjq1 itxwjq0 pn04iq1\">Amid the rise of social media-powered identity related activism, some on the economics-focused left have expressed concern that progressives\u2019 language, approach, and tactics were hampering what should be the left\u2019s top priority: mobilizing the working class. The Marxist scholar Adolph Reed, for instance, has <a href=\"https:\/\/americanstudies.yale.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/files\/Adolph%20Reed%20-%20Marx%2C%20Race%2C%20and%20Neoliberalism.pdf\">criticized<\/a> \u201cleft identitarians\u201d as \u201cfundamentally antagonistic to working-class politics.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"duet--article--article-body-component\">\n<p class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _10sa9omi itxwjq1 itxwjq0 pn04iq1\">Some on the class-focused left go further, characterizing \u201cwokeness\u201d as essentially an op by their political enemies.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"duet--article--article-body-component\">\n<p class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _10sa9omi itxwjq1 itxwjq0 pn04iq1\">According to this <a href=\"https:\/\/jacobin.com\/2024\/11\/democratic-elites-identity-politics-sanders\">potted history<\/a>, it was Hillary Clinton who first opened the Pandora\u2019s box of weaponized identity politics, and she did this to defeat a Bernie Sanders campaign that was overwhelmingly focused on economic justice. Clinton <a href=\"https:\/\/www.politico.com\/story\/2016\/02\/hillary-clinton-racism-bernie-sanders-219356\">characterized Sanders<\/a> as insufficiently attentive to gender and racial issues, <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/LizKreutzNews\/status\/698598708674326528\">famously questioning<\/a> whether breaking up the big banks would solve racism and sexism. His record of more moderate positions on hot-button issues like <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nbcnews.com\/politics\/2016-election\/bernie-sanders-reverses-course-gun-immunity-vote-n498101\">guns<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nbcnews.com\/news\/latino\/2016-candidate-sen-bernie-sanders-some-immigration-hurts-latino-youth-n401216\">immigration<\/a>, which had helped maintain support with culturally conservative independents back in Vermont, also came under attack.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"duet--article--block-placement _13j8zv41 _13j8zv40 duet--article--article-body-component\">\n<div style=\"position:relative\">\n<div class=\"_10sa9omj\">\n<div class=\"\">\n<div style=\"background-image:none\" class=\"duet--media--content-warning _1wmfnm10\">\n<div class=\"duet--article--image-gallery-image _1hhpe710\" style=\"aspect-ratio:1.482102\" id=\"dngyOmltYWdlOjQ5ODM3OA==\"><a class=\"_1hhpe711\" href=\"https:\/\/platform.vox.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/08\/GettyImages-951769160.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;crop=0,0,100,100\" data-pswp-height=\"3464\" data-pswp-width=\"5134\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer\"><img alt=\"Hillary Clinton, with Senator Bernie Sanders\" data-chromatic=\"ignore\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" data-nimg=\"fill\" class=\"_1ssnpw50\" style=\"position:absolute;height:100%;width:100%;left:0;top:0;right:0;bottom:0;color:transparent;background-size:cover;background-position:50% 50%;background-repeat:no-repeat;background-image:url(&quot;data:image\/svg+xml;charset=utf-8,%3Csvg xmlns='http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg' %3E%3Cfilter id='b' color-interpolation-filters='sRGB'%3E%3CfeGaussianBlur stdDeviation='20'\/%3E%3CfeColorMatrix values='1 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 100 -1' result='s'\/%3E%3CfeFlood x='0' y='0' width='100%25' height='100%25'\/%3E%3CfeComposite operator='out' in='s'\/%3E%3CfeComposite in2='SourceGraphic'\/%3E%3CfeGaussianBlur stdDeviation='20'\/%3E%3C\/filter%3E%3Cimage width='100%25' height='100%25' x='0' y='0' preserveAspectRatio='none' style='filter: url(%23b);' href='data:image\/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAAEAAAABCAQAAAC1HAwCAAAAC0lEQVR42mN8+R8AAtcB6oaHtZcAAAAASUVORK5CYII='\/%3E%3C\/svg%3E&quot;)\" sizes=\"(max-width: 639px) 100vw, (max-width: 1023px) 50vw, 700px\" srcset=\"https:\/\/platform.vox.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/08\/GettyImages-951769160.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;crop=0%2C0%2C100%2C100&amp;w=256 256w, https:\/\/platform.vox.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/08\/GettyImages-951769160.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;crop=0%2C0%2C100%2C100&amp;w=376 376w, https:\/\/platform.vox.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/08\/GettyImages-951769160.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;crop=0%2C0%2C100%2C100&amp;w=384 384w, https:\/\/platform.vox.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/08\/GettyImages-951769160.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;crop=0%2C0%2C100%2C100&amp;w=415 415w, https:\/\/platform.vox.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/08\/GettyImages-951769160.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;crop=0%2C0%2C100%2C100&amp;w=480 480w, https:\/\/platform.vox.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/08\/GettyImages-951769160.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;crop=0%2C0%2C100%2C100&amp;w=540 540w, https:\/\/platform.vox.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/08\/GettyImages-951769160.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;crop=0%2C0%2C100%2C100&amp;w=640 640w, https:\/\/platform.vox.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/08\/GettyImages-951769160.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;crop=0%2C0%2C100%2C100&amp;w=750 750w, https:\/\/platform.vox.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/08\/GettyImages-951769160.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;crop=0%2C0%2C100%2C100&amp;w=828 828w, https:\/\/platform.vox.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/08\/GettyImages-951769160.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;crop=0%2C0%2C100%2C100&amp;w=1080 1080w, https:\/\/platform.vox.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/08\/GettyImages-951769160.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;crop=0%2C0%2C100%2C100&amp;w=1200 1200w, https:\/\/platform.vox.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/08\/GettyImages-951769160.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;crop=0%2C0%2C100%2C100&amp;w=1440 1440w, https:\/\/platform.vox.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/08\/GettyImages-951769160.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;crop=0%2C0%2C100%2C100&amp;w=1920 1920w, https:\/\/platform.vox.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/08\/GettyImages-951769160.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;crop=0%2C0%2C100%2C100&amp;w=2048 2048w, https:\/\/platform.vox.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/08\/GettyImages-951769160.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;crop=0%2C0%2C100%2C100&amp;w=2400 2400w\" src=\"https:\/\/platform.vox.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/08\/GettyImages-951769160.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;crop=0%2C0%2C100%2C100&amp;w=2400\"\/><\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><figcaption class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup pn04iq2 _1dh7zmha\">Hillary Clinton, with Sen. Bernie Sanders, at a November 2016 campaign event.<\/figcaption><cite class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup pn04iq2 _1dh7zmh5\">Melina Mara\/The Washington Post via Getty Images<\/cite><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"duet--article--article-body-component\">\n<p class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _10sa9omi itxwjq1 itxwjq0 pn04iq1\">But by 2018, the rising left \u2014 embodied by Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Ilhan Omar, Rashida Tlaib, and Ayanna Pressley, all first elected that year \u2014 had fulsomely embraced identity-related causes alongside economic ones, believing them to be compatible and interconnected.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"duet--article--article-body-component\">\n<p class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _10sa9omi itxwjq1 itxwjq0 pn04iq1\">All this built up to the 2020 racial reckoning, in which the murder of George Floyd by Minneapolis police Officer Derek Chauvin spurred massive nationwide protests and impassioned demands from the left for societal change. And some activists insisted this change had to include not just defunding but <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2020\/06\/12\/opinion\/sunday\/floyd-abolish-defund-police.html\">outright abolishing the police<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"duet--article--article-body-component\">\n<p class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _10sa9omi itxwjq1 itxwjq0 pn04iq1\">Yet the racial reckoning ended in disappointment, an \u201canti-woke\u201d backlash soon followed, and rising crime seemed to discredit the idea of doing away with police. And though the platform of the Democratic Socialists of America <a href=\"https:\/\/program.dsausa.org\/#demand-a-real-democracy\">still calls for<\/a> taking \u201csteps towards fully abolishing the police and prison system,\u201d there\u2019s an increasingly open debate on the left about whether it should.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"duet--article--article-body-component\">\n<p class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _10sa9omi itxwjq1 itxwjq0 pn04iq1\">\u201cThe idea that police\/prison abolitionism flow from \u2018core socialist principles\u2019 is pretty odd,\u201d Ben Burgis, a columnist for Jacobin magazine, <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/JacobinBen\/status\/2082634209617948948\">posted recently<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"duet--article--article-body-component\">\n<p class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _10sa9omi itxwjq1 itxwjq0 pn04iq1\">\u201cWe need to create a permission structure on the left that allows socialists to have normal socialist beliefs about police &amp; prisons (fairer, fewer, and more humane) instead of \u201cabolish\u201d which is flatly anarchist, and incompatible with any form of state socialism,\u201d the socialist Cassie Pritchard <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/hecubian_devil\/status\/2082791069150843337\">wrote<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"duet--article--article-body-component\">\n<p class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _10sa9omi itxwjq1 itxwjq0 pn04iq1\">Sociologist Alex Vitale, author of <em>The End of Policing<\/em>, <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/avitale\/status\/2082862556796837983\">fired back<\/a>: \u201cIn what fantasy land are police not the natural enemies of workers and their movements? There is no \u2018reforming away\u2019 that core truth.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"duet--article--article-body-component\">\n<p><h2 class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup\">How these tensions play out in Francesca Hong\u2019s campaign<\/h2>\n<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"duet--article--block-placement _13j8zv41 _13j8zv40 duet--article--article-body-component\">\n<div style=\"position:relative\">\n<div class=\"_10sa9omj\">\n<div class=\"\">\n<div style=\"background-image:none\" class=\"duet--media--content-warning _1wmfnm10\">\n<div class=\"duet--article--image-gallery-image _1hhpe710\" style=\"aspect-ratio:1.499813\" id=\"dngyOmltYWdlOjQ5ODM3OQ==\"><a class=\"_1hhpe711\" href=\"https:\/\/platform.vox.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/08\/GettyImages-2286526521.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;crop=0,0,100,100\" data-pswp-height=\"2667\" data-pswp-width=\"4000\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer\"><img alt=\"Francesca Hong, an Asian woman, sits in a church pew\" data-chromatic=\"ignore\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" data-nimg=\"fill\" class=\"_1ssnpw50\" style=\"position:absolute;height:100%;width:100%;left:0;top:0;right:0;bottom:0;color:transparent;background-size:cover;background-position:50% 50%;background-repeat:no-repeat;background-image:url(&quot;data:image\/svg+xml;charset=utf-8,%3Csvg xmlns='http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg' %3E%3Cfilter id='b' color-interpolation-filters='sRGB'%3E%3CfeGaussianBlur stdDeviation='20'\/%3E%3CfeColorMatrix values='1 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 100 -1' result='s'\/%3E%3CfeFlood x='0' y='0' width='100%25' height='100%25'\/%3E%3CfeComposite operator='out' in='s'\/%3E%3CfeComposite in2='SourceGraphic'\/%3E%3CfeGaussianBlur stdDeviation='20'\/%3E%3C\/filter%3E%3Cimage width='100%25' height='100%25' x='0' y='0' preserveAspectRatio='none' style='filter: url(%23b);' href='data:image\/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAAEAAAABCAQAAAC1HAwCAAAAC0lEQVR42mN8+R8AAtcB6oaHtZcAAAAASUVORK5CYII='\/%3E%3C\/svg%3E&quot;)\" sizes=\"(max-width: 639px) 100vw, (max-width: 1023px) 50vw, 700px\" srcset=\"https:\/\/platform.vox.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/08\/GettyImages-2286526521.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;crop=0%2C0%2C100%2C100&amp;w=256 256w, https:\/\/platform.vox.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/08\/GettyImages-2286526521.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;crop=0%2C0%2C100%2C100&amp;w=376 376w, https:\/\/platform.vox.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/08\/GettyImages-2286526521.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;crop=0%2C0%2C100%2C100&amp;w=384 384w, https:\/\/platform.vox.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/08\/GettyImages-2286526521.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;crop=0%2C0%2C100%2C100&amp;w=415 415w, https:\/\/platform.vox.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/08\/GettyImages-2286526521.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;crop=0%2C0%2C100%2C100&amp;w=480 480w, https:\/\/platform.vox.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/08\/GettyImages-2286526521.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;crop=0%2C0%2C100%2C100&amp;w=540 540w, https:\/\/platform.vox.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/08\/GettyImages-2286526521.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;crop=0%2C0%2C100%2C100&amp;w=640 640w, https:\/\/platform.vox.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/08\/GettyImages-2286526521.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;crop=0%2C0%2C100%2C100&amp;w=750 750w, https:\/\/platform.vox.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/08\/GettyImages-2286526521.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;crop=0%2C0%2C100%2C100&amp;w=828 828w, https:\/\/platform.vox.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/08\/GettyImages-2286526521.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;crop=0%2C0%2C100%2C100&amp;w=1080 1080w, https:\/\/platform.vox.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/08\/GettyImages-2286526521.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;crop=0%2C0%2C100%2C100&amp;w=1200 1200w, https:\/\/platform.vox.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/08\/GettyImages-2286526521.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;crop=0%2C0%2C100%2C100&amp;w=1440 1440w, https:\/\/platform.vox.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/08\/GettyImages-2286526521.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;crop=0%2C0%2C100%2C100&amp;w=1920 1920w, https:\/\/platform.vox.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/08\/GettyImages-2286526521.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;crop=0%2C0%2C100%2C100&amp;w=2048 2048w, https:\/\/platform.vox.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/08\/GettyImages-2286526521.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;crop=0%2C0%2C100%2C100&amp;w=2400 2400w\" src=\"https:\/\/platform.vox.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/08\/GettyImages-2286526521.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;crop=0%2C0%2C100%2C100&amp;w=2400\"\/><\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><figcaption class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup pn04iq2 _1dh7zmha\">Francesca Hong, a representative in the Wisconsin State Assembly, during a Sunday service at the St. Paul Baptist Church in Racine, Wisconsin, on July 19 2026.<\/figcaption><cite class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup pn04iq2 _1dh7zmh5\">Sara Stathas\/For The Washington Post via Getty Images<\/cite><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"duet--article--article-body-component\">\n<p class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _10sa9omi itxwjq1 itxwjq0 pn04iq1\">With Hong holding a large lead in recent polls, some Democrats \u2014 fearing what lies ahead for her in the general election \u2014 have essentially been trying to coach her into giving what they view as better answers on these \u201cwoke 1.0\u201d questions.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"duet--article--article-body-component\">\n<p class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _10sa9omi itxwjq1 itxwjq0 pn04iq1\">When Jon Favreau <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=oRA9yLCQOAs\">interviewed Hong<\/a> on <em>Pod Save America<\/em> this week, he asked about her old tweets \u2014 saying he was only focusing on this because Republicans would be sure to spend millions attacking her, and \u201cI just want to make sure you have the best possible answers to what\u2019s coming.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"duet--article--article-body-component\">\n<p class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _10sa9omi itxwjq1 itxwjq0 pn04iq1\">Asked about how her views on policing have evolved, Hong said: \u201cMy views have only become stronger in that I\u2019m serious about public safety and I will not abolish the police.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"duet--article--article-body-component\">\n<p class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _10sa9omi itxwjq1 itxwjq0 pn04iq1\">Favreau then asked if she still believed police exist to uphold white supremacy (as she tweeted in 2021), and Hong said, \u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"duet--article--article-body-component\">\n<p class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _10sa9omi itxwjq1 itxwjq0 pn04iq1\">But when Favreau asked specifically why she changed her mind on that, her answer was difficult to parse.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"duet--article--article-body-component\">\n<p class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _10sa9omi itxwjq1 itxwjq0 pn04iq1\">\u201cWhen you talk to people who are most justice-impacted \u2014 a mother who lost a child to police violence, people who have contended with injustices in historically marginalized communities \u2014 justice also looks like making sure that we are implementing solutions and helping to change the material conditions of people\u2019s lives,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"duet--article--article-body-component\">\n<p class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _10sa9omi itxwjq1 itxwjq0 pn04iq1\">Then, when asked how her long-term vision of a world without prisons would work, Hong said: \u201cWhat I know is attainable and the policies that actually meet the urgency of the moment and understanding the realities of it, means that we have to ensure that we\u2019re funding our local governments, that we\u2019re bringing justice to victims.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"duet--article--article-body-component\">\n<p class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _10sa9omi itxwjq1 itxwjq0 pn04iq1\">She added, more succinctly: \u201cWhat may have been aspirational is not primary.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<script async=\"async\" data-cfasync=\"false\" src=\"https:\/\/pl30214220.effectivecpmnetwork.com\/9ab3d4df8a7e1a6171e16ddbf732cc19\/invoke.js\"><\/script>\r\n<div id=\"container-9ab3d4df8a7e1a6171e16ddbf732cc19\"><\/div>\r\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Francesca Hong is the frontrunner to win the Democratic nomination for governor of Wisconsin next week. If she goes on to win the general election, she\u2019ll become the first democratic socialist governor in American history. But, when Bernie Sanders, the most famous democratic socialist in the country, was asked Wednesday if he\u2019d endorse her, he&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":30419,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/platform.vox.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/08\/GettyImages-2288055477.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&crop=0%2C10.732984293194%2C100%2C78.534031413613&w=1200","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[17],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-30418","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-political-news"],"brizy_media":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30418","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=30418"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30418\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/30419"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=30418"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=30418"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=30418"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}