Scott Walker Says GOP Crossover Vote for Francesca Hong Could Backfire

Former Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker is warning Republicans not to get cute in Tuesday’s Democratic gubernatorial primary.

With Wisconsin’s open-primary system allowing voters to choose which party’s contest they participate in, Walker urged GOP voters not to cross over and cast ballots for socialist state Rep. Francesca Hong in hopes of saddling Democrats with a weaker general-election candidate.

“Crossing over to vote for Francesca Hong is a big risk because she would be VERY dangerous if she was Governor,” Walker wrote Sunday on X.

Crossing over to vote for Francesca Hong is a big risk because she would be VERY dangerous if she was Governor.

— Scott Walker (@ScottWalker) August 9, 2026

Hong, 37, has emerged as the Democratic frontrunner over Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley and three other candidates, even as a string of past comments has returned to haunt her campaign.

A member of the Democratic Socialists of America, Hong said in 2021 that Thanksgiving should be scrapped because of what she described as the holiday’s colonialist roots.

Pressed on CNN last week, she initially defended the criticism by arguing Thanksgiving can be “incredibly painful” for some communities before insisting she does not actually want to eliminate the holiday.

Collins: Do you still believe that Thanksgiving should be canceled?

Hong: I’m a chef, and one of the first meals that I made was for the community when I was 16 was a Thanksgiving meal. But Thanksgiving is also a time that’s incredibly painful for many people in our communities.… pic.twitter.com/Kd5kBZMxZS

— Acyn (@Acyn) August 4, 2026

Hong has also retreated from past rhetoric about policing.

After previously calling for abolishing police, she recently said she “would not abolish the police.”

And during a viral Fox News interview last month, Hong stood by several elements of the DSA platform while declining to disavow left-wing streamer Hasan Piker, who infamously said in 2019 that “America deserved 9/11.”

Still, some of the biggest names on the socialist left have kept their distance.

Neither Sen. Bernie Sanders nor Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez has endorsed Hong, despite her ideological alignment with the DSA.

Outgoing Democratic Gov. Tony Evers has instead rallied behind Crowley, warning Democrats that nominating Hong could make Republicans’ job much easier in November.

On the Republican side, Rep. Tom Tiffany is heavily favored to win the nomination and currently holds a narrow edge over Hong in the RealClearPolitics polling average.

Walker made clear he wants Republicans focused on their own ticket.

He said he plans to vote for Tiffany for governor, Will Martin for lieutenant governor and Eric Toney for attorney general.

“It will not be easy, but @TomTiffanyWI can defeat either Hong or Crowley if he stays on message: cutting red tape, limiting spending & lowering property taxes will help push down costs while the radical views of the others will drive up costs,” Walker wrote.

It will not be easy, but @TomTiffanyWI can defeat either Hong or Crowley if he stays on message: cutting red tape, limiting spending & lowering property taxes will help push down costs while the radical views of the others will drive up costs.

— Scott Walker (@ScottWalker) August 9, 2026

For Walker, the message is simple: Republicans may think helping nominate Hong is clever.

He thinks it could be playing with fire.

More over at The New York Post:

Ex-Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker warns Republicans against backing ‘VERY dangerous’ DSA-backed Francesca Hong in Dem primary https://t.co/popnIMcsAE pic.twitter.com/W2rGgarxlr

— New York Post (@nypost) August 10, 2026