Socialist Governor Frontrunner Admits to Being Bipolar

Wisconsin’s leading Democratic candidate for governor once described, in her own words, a mental breakdown so severe it kept her from walking at her high school graduation.

Quick Take

A resurfaced 2023 interview shows State Rep. Francesca Hong describing a bipolar diagnosis, self-harm, and a week-long psychiatric hospitalization at age 18.
Hong made the comments herself in a Meal Magazine interview, not through a leak or third-party report.
Hong is the current frontrunner in Wisconsin’s Democratic primary for governor, running to replace retiring Gov. Tony Evers.
Her past calls to defund police and support for abolishing prisons have drawn separate scrutiny from Republicans.

The 2023 Interview Now Making National Headlines

In an interview published by Meal Magazine under the title “Soup Lefty,” Hong described a personal crisis at age 18. She said, “I had a mental breakdown… I had been hospitalized for a week at a child psychiatric hospital.” She added that she began self-harming, was diagnosed with bipolar disorder, took SSRIs, and later overdosed on lithium. The interview sat online for two years before conservative outlets picked it up in 2026.

The Post Millennial was among the first outlets to spotlight the remarks, framing bipolar disorder as a condition marked by manic and depressive episodes that can last days or weeks. The Gateway Pundit followed with a longer piece tying the disclosure to Hong’s status as the Democratic primary frontrunner in a state both parties view as a top battleground. Conservative commentators quickly amplified the story on social media, treating Hong’s own words as the central piece of evidence.

A Political Career Built on Progressive Policy

Hong has represented Wisconsin’s 76th Assembly district in Madison since 2021 and previously ran restaurants before entering politics. She jumped into the governor’s race after Evers announced he would not seek a third term, quickly becoming a leading contender in the Democratic field. Her platform leans further left than most statewide Democrats, drawing comparisons to democratic socialist figures in other states.

In 2020 social media posts, Hong called for defunding police “as a first step towards abolishing the police.” Under questioning from Fox News host Dana Perino, she said a governor cannot unilaterally defund police and insisted she would not do so in office. Still, Townhall reported that Hong has acknowledged she would sign legislation abolishing police and prisons if a Democrat-controlled legislature sent it to her desk, even while saying she cannot initiate that policy herself.

How the Campaign and Supporters Are Responding

Hong’s campaign has not issued a lengthy rebuttal disputing the content of the 2023 interview itself, since the quotes originated with her. Supporters and some commentators argue that mental health disclosures should be viewed through a lens of resilience rather than disqualification, noting that public figures across the political spectrum have discussed similar struggles openly in recent years. That framing sits alongside the harder-edged conservative critique that voters deserve full transparency before choosing a chief executive.

Wisconsin Right Now separately reported on a viral moment where Hong described feeling near an anxiety attack at a Culver’s restaurant surrounded by what she called “old white people,” again referencing her earlier bipolar diagnosis in the same piece. Critics say the pattern of disclosures, paired with her hardline stances on policing and immigration enforcement, raises legitimate questions about temperament and judgment for the state’s highest office.

Why This Race Matters Beyond Wisconsin

Wisconsin remains one of the tightest swing states in presidential politics, and its governor controls veto power over legislative redistricting and election administration bills. A democratic socialist winning the governor’s mansion there would send a signal to national Democrats about the direction of the party’s base. Republicans clearly see an opening, combining Hong’s personal disclosures with her policy record to paint her as too radical and, in their view, too unstable for the job.

Voters, not pundits, will ultimately decide whether Hong’s candor about her past belongs in the same conversation as her positions on policing, prisons, and immigration enforcement. What’s not in dispute is that she said what she said, on the record, in her own words. That fact alone guarantees this story follows her through the primary and, if she wins it, into a general election fight that both parties are already treating as a must-win.

Here is who each is, based on public records, their own statements, campaign materials, and reporting:
•Top left (Asian woman): Francesca Hong, Democratic state representative and leading candidate for Wisconsin governor in 2026. She is of Asian descent. In a 2023 interview she…

— 🇺🇸🇺🇸 Vance-Rubio ‘28 🇺🇸🇺🇸 (@idrcmJD) August 2, 2026

Wisconsin’s primary calendar leaves months for this story to develop further, and rival campaigns on both sides will likely keep the interview in circulation. For now, the facts are Hong’s own, first spoken in 2023 and now impossible for her campaign to walk back.