AOC Knows a Lemon When She Sees One

Last night, Francesca Hong lost the race to be the Democratic candidate for governor of Wisconsin.

This is great news for American democracy.

Sorry if that seems harsh—she certainly ran an energetic campaign and came close to winning the nomination—but Hong was a profoundly flawed candidate in an important race.

Even the leaders of her own faction of the Democratic Party recognized it, and stayed away: Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Bernie Sanders apparently know a lemon when they see one.

Her narrow loss is a positive reflection on the progressive luminaries’ judgment, as well as a demonstration that the party mainstream eventually managed to sort out a messy and dispiriting primary.

The Democrats now have a better chance of winning a crucial swing state’s governorship, against a Republican nominee who, while in Congress, went along with Donald Trump’s efforts to overturn the 2020 election.

Hong’s loss yesterday was unexpected.

Two weeks ago, the 37-year-old state legislator was the front-runner in the polls, largely because the Democratic primary had turned into a clown show.

One mainstream candidate, Lieutenant Governor Sara Rodriguez, suspended her campaign in mid-July because of financial irregularities.

By the end of the month, with less than a fortnight to go before Election Day, former Lieutenant Governor Mandela Barnes bowed out too.

At the time he did so, one poll had Hong 22 points ahead .

In the interim, another candidate, Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley, had returned to the race after previously withdrawing because of a lack of momentum.

All the hopes of the Democratic establishment rested on Crowley’s Hail Mary pass.

Why were they so scared of Hong? Partially because she is a member of the Democratic Socialists of America, an organization that calls for public ownership of large corporations, looser immigration laws, and the abolition of prisons.