What can we learn from Francesca Hong’s loss in Wisconsin? | Ben Davis

A fairly overtly radical socialist winning about 40% of the vote in a primary like this was unthinkable even a few years ago The left’s insurgency against the Democratic party establishment has hit its first serious bump in the road in Wisconsin.

Democratic socialist Francesca Hong entered Tuesday up by big margins in the polls, the huge betting favorite.

She left it just a few thousand votes short of the Democratic nomination.

What happened, and how, offers extremely important lessons for both the left and the Democratic establishment.

The first is that the party still matters.

Its institutions and leaders matter.

We saw that power in Democratic primaries in 2020.

After Bernie Sanders won the Nevada caucuses and emerged as the frontrunner, party leaders rapidly consolidated around Joe Biden.

Ben Davis works in political data in Washington DC.

He worked on the data team for the Bernie Sanders 2020 campaign and is an active member of the Democratic Socialists of America Continue reading...