Francesca Hong’s Wisconsin gubernatorial campaign embraced the new era of campaigning for progressive candidates, from a social media-dominated bid to her democratic socialist-influenced policy platform.
But part of her razor-thin loss to David Crowley on Tuesday could be explained by the traditional, or a lack thereof: broadcast TV ad spending.
Despite leading the Democratic field by double-digit margins before the primary, Hong was the only active candidate to seek the governorship without running broadcast TV ads, according to ad-tracking service AdImpact.
Some strategists think the Hong campaign’s decision to focus on digital platform advertising ultimately led to its demise, costing her key parts of the electorate.
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“In a primary, voters are more persuadable,” Democratic strategist Jared Leopold told NOTUS. “Especially in a smaller primary, it’s a mistake to try to narrow cast too much because you actually do need to hit a wider swath of a primary electorate, because more people are likely to change their votes at the end than in a general election.”
The Democratic Socialist platform encourages disavowing certain large-dollar donors, meaning progressive candidates like Hong are working with a different set of funding than their opponents — even if rejecting corporate cash boosts them in the eyes of voters.
“This campaign is entirely people-funded: no corporate PACs,” the “About” section of her website says.
Hong’s opponents massively outspent her on advertising, regardless of the medium. Crowley — who briefly exited the race — reported $572,317 in media expenses, including $402,042 on TV ads, according to an analysis conducted by WisPolitics a week before the primary. He announced a six-figure TV buy when he reentered nine days later with the incumbent governor’s endorsement.
Republican Rep. Tom Tiffany, who Crowley will face in November, has already reported $7.6 million in media expenditures, including $3.9 million on TV.
Hong dedicated $150,200 to online ads, with nothing going to broadcast spots. Some of the only positive TV advertising for her campaign came from a super PAC tied to Republicans, which spent $2.2 million in an effort likely aimed at boosting her as an easier general election opponent for Tiffany — a common practice across both parties.
Her focus on digital spending tracks with the electorate of younger voters she was building, said Travis Ridout, co-director of the Wesleyan Media Project, which tracks national political ads. Hong opted for more casual and conversational digital ads than the flashier and highly edited political advertisements traditionally run on broadcast TV — perhaps in an attempt to capture voters from a “tuned out” portion of the electorate, Ridout said.
“When you’re running a very progressive campaign, I think you’re trying to find voters who might be disillusioned by the way things are going,” he told NOTUS.
“Those people might have dropped out of politics for a while, and thus you’re not necessarily going to be finding them watching the local news at 6 p.m. on broadcast television,” he added.
Neither campaign commented for this story.
Like fellow Democratic Socialist Zohran Mamdani, Hong focused her ad buys on digital platforms and streaming services. But a few months before the New York City mayoral primary, Mamdani too eventually started running TV ads.
Exit polls show Hong won several counties helmed by colleges and certain cities like Green Bay, while Crowley swept the majority of Wisconsin’s rural districts, as well as Milwaukee County and its suburbs. Hong, however, appeared to overperform in rural counties in the state’s northwest — including St. Croix and Douglas — which also happen to sit in Minnesota media markets that saw fewer political ads on linear broadcast channels.
Even so, Hong’s lack of broadcast ads likely cost her blocs like older voters who can drive turnout, strategists say.
“It’s a mistake to not communicate with a part of the electorate,” Leopold said. “There’s still a lot of people, particularly older people, who watch a lot of TV.”
Because people crave authenticity in politics, digital ads that connect voters with the candidate in a positive way can stand out in an advertising environment defined by attack ads, Ridout said. But especially in a statewide race, “integrated campaigns that combine social media, CTV and broadcast” can make all the difference for candidates, he said.
“You can have targeted messages that only go to individuals, but sometimes all a campaign needs is name recognition,” Ridout said, adding that a blitz of broadcast ads can boost a candidate that much more. “People don’t vote for candidates they’ve never heard of before.”
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