Voting ends in Upper Midwest primaries

Democratic socialist Francesca Hong and moderate David Crowley were locked in a tighter-than-expected battle for Wisconsin's closely watched Democratic gubernatorial primary election on Tuesday, in a key test for the appeal of progressive candidates in the battleground state.



With 80% of the votes tallied, the race between Hong and Crowley was too close to call. According to U.S. media projections, Milwaukee County Executive Crowley carried a lead of just a few hundred votes over Hong, who is looking to become the first democratic socialist governor of Wisconsin.



The nominee will face the Republican's pick, U.S. Representative Tom Tiffany, in the November general election. Hong faced criticism for the reappearance of old tweets, including a November 2020 post, at the height of a COVID-19 wave in Wisconsin, in which she wrote, "Please DON'T gather for the colonizer holiday," and another when she said, "Cancel Thanksgiving. Should have done this in 1621."



In recent interviews, Hong has walked back those statements, saying that as a chef, she had fond memories of the Thanksgiving holiday, but that Thanksgiving is a time that is painful for many people. In another interview she said that she did not want to cancel Thanksgiving.