Republicans Allocate $2.2 Million to Boost Wisconsin Democrat Francesca Hong

A super PAC associated with Republicans is investing $2.2 million in television advertisements to support Francesca Hong, a Democratic candidate for governor in Wisconsin.

Several Democrats in Wisconsin are concerned that Ms. Hong, known for her unabashedly left-wing views, might win the primary in August. Her victory could potentially lead to the governorship going to Representative Tom Tiffany, the potential Republican nominee, in November.

Republicans seem to share this view. The PAC running the new ad, Right Direction Wisconsin, is connected to the Republican Governors Association. The 30-second ad is set to air starting Thursday in liberal areas such as Madison and Milwaukee. It criticizes Ms. Hong for being excessively liberal, seemingly attempting to increase her appeal among Democratic primary voters.

This year, both parties have engaged in such misleading tactics during opposing primaries nationwide, aiming to promote candidates they see as weak for general-election matchups.

Joe Zepecki, a Democratic strategist in Wisconsin who isn’t backing any primary candidate, condemned the Republican strategy as a “pathetic” move to mask the party’s own issues with state voters.

Zepecki stated, “Every Democratic campaign for governor — including Hong’s — should highlight this as a sneaky, underhanded, blatant attempt to interfere in the democratic process.”