Wisconsin Democrats may be on the verge of nominating a socialist for governor — and her campaign just ran straight into a post she left behind. State Rep. Francesca Hong’s campaign accused Republican Rep. Tom Tiffany of inventing her position on abolishing the U.S. Senate. However, Hong posted the exact phrase “Abolish the Senate” on X in February 2021, and that post was still live when the campaign insisted Tiffany could not produce any such statement.

The contradiction was captured in a side-by-side comparison of the post and the campaign’s claims. The post was from Hong’s own campaign account.

The dispute began after Tiffany warned that Hong had backed abolishing police, prisons, and the Senate. Hong’s communications director responded by accusing him of lying and claimed he could not produce a single statement supporting the charge.

Initially, Hong’s campaign stated she had never called for abolishing the Senate. After Tiffany’s team pointed reporters to Hong’s February 13, 2021 post, the campaign said she did not remember writing it and argued that the statement no longer reflected her position.

The campaign explained that Hong posted the message one day after the U.S. Senate acquitted President Trump in his second impeachment trial (when 57 senators voted to convict, short of the two-thirds majority required), and described the post as a frustrated reaction to the outcome.

However, this explanation does not make the campaign’s initial denial true. Hong’s own account settled the matter before her campaign issued the denial: she admitted to writing the post but claimed it was outdated.

Hong’s campaign has also sought to downplay other positions. Her spokeswoman acknowledged that Hong previously discussed police and prison abolition as an aspirational goal, but stated she would not pursue either policy as governor. The campaign also said Hong does not support replacing the presidency or eliminating national borders and does not agree with every plank associated with the Democratic Socialists of America.

Hong is not endorsed by the national DSA organization, though her campaign website lists endorsements from DSA chapters in Madison, Milwaukee, and northeastern Wisconsin.

The campaign later reiterated that she did not recall writing the Senate post, it was written in frustration after Trump’s impeachment acquittal, and abolishing the Senate is not her current position.

This comes at a critical time for Wisconsin Democrats. Hong is leading their August 11 gubernatorial primary with 38 percent of Democratic primary voters according to a recent Marquette Law School Poll, giving her a commanding lead over rivals like former lieutenant governor Mandela Barnes (16 percent) and Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley (7 percent).

The survey found that 52 percent of Wisconsin voters believe the state Democratic Party is too liberal, with independents expressing even stronger concerns at 59 percent.

Hong is asking voters to believe that radical positions in her public record are either outdated, misunderstood, or no longer relevant. But the evidence shows she posted the statement on X in February 2021 and the campaign has since denied it exists — a contradiction that remains unresolved.

Wisconsin voters now have the post, the denial, and the retreat in front of them to decide which version they trust.