Another take on the governor’s race in Wisconsin, from TPM Reader BC …
Just listened to this week’s podcast and read the reader’s commentary on the race, which I largely agree with and mostly want to add on to. Like JB mentioned, Francesca Hong is really hustling in a way the other candidates are not. I live in the Madison area and at first thought that was the reason why I only noticed her campaign. Our kids even attend the same taekwondo studio, which I only learned in the last week. So I live on her home turf.
However, I think it’s more than her dominating Madison. She is all over the state, hanging out at bars, hitting the fish fry circuit. My sense is that she also has an authenticity to her that has real appeal. I was skeptical of Platner not because of Nazi tattoo, but something always felt a little off with his presentation/style. That is a little vague and impressionistic. Nevertheless, when I learned about his background, it felt like things clicked. I met a few revolutionary trust fund dudes back in college and that was the vibe. Hong quit UW, worked her way up in the restaurant world, started a restaurant that failed. She seems comfortable hopping behind a bar making an old fashioned or flipping some pancakes. In some ways her restaurant experience reflects the typical working-class experience. I worry about how she ultimately will translate to the larger purple state, although Wisconsin did elect Russ Feingold multiple times. Crowley has a reputation as a guy who can get along with folks and could still pull it out. Barnes seems out of the picture. My impression of Hong as a candidate is that she has run a nimble and better campaign.
