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Bill Berrien on Francesca Hong's Socialism
One of the Republicans running for Wisconsin governor is making a big deal out of socialism.
Businessman Bill Berrien on Wednesday drew a clear line over Madison state Rep. Francesca Hong’s membership in the Democratic Socialist of America, and the Wisconsin Assembly’s Socialist Caucus.
“Francesca Hong’s socialist ideology gives Wisconsin voters a clear choice in the battle between the builders and the bureaucrats. I’ll build a world of prosperity driven by better skills and higher wages, while socialists like Hong will drive Wisconsinites into poverty with higher taxes and increased spending,” Berrien said in a statement.
Berrien is making his business experience, along with his time as a Navy SEAL, a centerpiece of his campaign.
Hong launched her campaign with several nods to her socialist beliefs.
“This campaign won’t be funded by billionaires or corporate PACs. It’s powered by working people—just like the Wisconsin we believe in,” she wrote on X. “We don’t have the billionaire class behind us. We have something stronger: people who believe Wisconsin should work for all of us—not just the wealthy few. Because together, we make better possible.”
Berrien’s campaign launched featured his business in New Berlin, and his promise to continue to keep his business in Wisconsin.
It remains to be seen, however, how other Democrats will deal with Hong’s socialist ties.
Hong is one of four members of the Wisconsin Assembly’s Socialist Caucus. Though she told Wisconsin Public Radio there’s likely more support among other Democrats at the Wisconsin Capitol.
“It’s not so much a tension as it is that they aren’t sure yet if that’s what their communities want them to identify as,” Hong told WPR back in August. “I think, when we speak clearly to the working class values and the current needs of working class people, we’re speaking to the policies that are rooted in socialism.”
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