Wisconsin Democratic gubernatorial candidate Francesca Hong ran into a problem Friday that every radical eventually meets.

Her record followed her onto live television, and Fox News host Dana Perino did not let her simply sprint past it.

Hong appeared on America’s Newsroom as her campaign tries to pitch a softer, more voter-friendly message.

The trouble is that her past comments on police, ICE, and even the United States Senate are not exactly small footnotes.

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Perino pressed Hong on old statements backing defunding police, abolishing police, eliminating ICE, and taking aim at core American institutions.

For a candidate now trying to look ready for statewide office, that is a lot of socialist baggage to drag into a governor’s race.

Hong is a state representative and a dues paying member of the Democratic Socialists of America.

She confirmed that she has belonged to the Madison chapter since 2020, which is not ancient history no matter how much campaign consultants may wish it were.

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When Perino asked why voters should not take her at her own word on abolishing police, Hong tried to pivot to economics.

“As a Democratic Socialist, what that means is I want to put working class people first,” Hong said.

Perino did not let the talking point float away untouched.

“How does defunding the police put working class people first?” Perino asked, cutting straight to the obvious question many Wisconsin families would probably like answered before handing Hong the keys to the governor’s office.

WATCH:

Hong’s record is not vague.

In a 2020 post first reported by CNN, she wrote that she supported “defunding the police as a first step towards abolishing the police.”

She went even further in 2021 with rhetoric that sounded like it came straight from an activist meeting rather than a serious public safety debate.

“Police exist to uphold white supremacy,” Hong wrote in 2021.

“Defund then abolish. Reform can’t be an option.”

On Friday, Hong tried to inch away from that record without actually repudiating it.

She told Perino she believes “people can evolve,” which is the kind of phrase politicians reach for when the old posts are too toxic to defend but too ideologically precious to disown.

Hong then offered a carefully worded assurance about what she would do as governor.

“The governor cannot defund the police, and I won’t defund the police,” Hong said.

“But I will invest in the things we know prevent crime.”

That answer may sound neat in a studio, but voters are allowed to notice the maneuver.

Saying a governor lacks the power to defund police is not the same as admitting the original idea was reckless, destructive, and insulting to law abiding communities.

Hong also tried to create distance between herself and some of the Democratic Socialists of America’s more sweeping demands.

She rejected the idea of abolishing the United States Senate as impractical for now and declined to endorse eliminating the Supreme Court.

For conservatives, that is hardly comforting.

When the moderation pitch is that abolishing the Senate is not practical at the moment, the bar has been buried somewhere deep under the Capitol lawn.

Republican Rep. Tom Tiffany, the GOP front runner in the governor’s race, has been hammering Hong over the same record.

His campaign argues that Hong is not being newly reasonable, she is simply trying to clean up a paper trail that does not play well outside the activist left.

Hong currently leads recent polling in the crowded Democrat primary, which is scheduled for August 11.

That says plenty about where the party’s energy is right now, and it is not exactly in the neighborhood of law and order.

The police issue is not the only radical marker on her record.

Hong has called ICE the “enforcers of fascism” and has reportedly floated using the National Guard to arrest federal agents, a position that would make even some hardened leftist strategists reach for the aspirin.

Days before the Fox interview, Hong reportedly dodged repeated questions from a Politico reporter about whether she still supports abolishing police.

Instead, she offered winding answers about building “systems of care,” which sounds lovely until someone calls 911 and needs an officer, not a slogan.

Perino’s interview put the matter in plain view.

Hong wants voters to focus on her polished campaign message, but her own words keep pointing back to a much more radical agenda.

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