this man made crisis that he has created.
>> All right, Missy Hughes, thanks for your time.
>> Thank you. >> Many elected officials
in higher office come from the state legislature.
State Representative Francesca Hong of Madison
hopes she becomes one of them. Here she is with Zac
Schultz Francesca Hong. >> Thanks for joining us.
>> Happy to be here. >> For voters who don't
know you, give us an introduction of who you are
and why you're running for governor.
representative for the 76th district here in Madison. I
am a proud single mom to my son George, and I'm a
service industry worker. And so I owned a restaurant
for seven years and worked as a chef. And I still work
as a bartender and line cook. And I'm running for
governor because we are in a moment of crisis and
chaos. But we're also in a movement moment. And as an
organizer and as a working class candidate, I think
that it's the right thing to do to fight alongside
working class people who are demanding change.
>> Is there a single issue that drives you, or perhaps
a lane within the Democratic Party, that may
define you. >> Fully funding public
education, universal child care, and expanding
BadgerCare for all? These are universal policies
addressing universal issues for Wisconsinites all
across the state. And I think this moment demands a
visionary, bold action and not incrementalism.
>> Running for governor is very expensive. How much do
you think you need to run to be competitive? And
what's going to happen after the primary if you
make it through that? >> We are proud to be a
people powered grassroots campaign, and we have
thousands of donors who have given from all across
the state. And in fact, 48 out of 50 states here in
the country. And so raising has been less of a
challenge that because we have so many volunteers and
folks across the state who are committed to being a
part of our movement. >> When it comes to a
competitive primary for you, what's where do you draw
the line between negative campaigning against a
member of your own party versus defining differences
between candidates? >> No. Crowded primaries
are good for democracy, but I think in this moment
people are stressed and demanding bold change. And
so we're really focused on making sure that the issues
that we see folks struggling with, with
affordability and, you know, living in times of fascism,
we want to make sure that we are naming the
billionaires and the culprits of these issues,
and then how the state is responsible for presenting
and delivering solutions to help people live a life of
dignity. >> When primary voters are
looking at all the candidates, should they be
focusing more on who's more aligned with an issue that
they support or electability?
>> Electability is subjective, and I think
that we need leadership, and the people are
demanding leadership where politicians aren't going to
say one thing and do another. We want leadership
with folks who are committed to moral courage
and willing to do the hard thing, and not the
politically expedient or politically comfortable
thing. >> Most of the Democrats
running in this campaign are either aligned with
Milwaukee or Madison. What's your plan to get out?
Introduce yourself to the rest of the state,
especially those rural areas who feel unheard.
>> I've had the privilege of traveling across the
state for the last five years, since I was elected
into the legislature. Whether it's helping other
candidates campaign in this for the state Assembly, or
being invited to speak at and meeting farmers and
educators and people across the state, I'm going back
to those communities and also meeting new ones. And
I think that when we go to rural areas, suburban areas,
urban areas, I've been so heartened by the diversity
of people who are attending our events. Republicans,
independents, Democrats. It's been and it's
multigenerational. I have learned so much from young
people who are attending our events, and we're going
to continue to meet those communities where they are,
regardless of what part of the state they're in.
>> What do you think the impact of Donald Trump will
be on this primary? >> The fascist,
authoritarian regime in the federal government is
really creating a lot of chaos and uncertainty for
working class people. And so beyond, you know, what
is happening at the federal government. I think it's
important to stay focused on how we can deliver for
working class people, meeting the urgency of this
moment with universal policies that are actually
going to change the material conditions of
people's lives at a pace and deliver, you know, as