A democratic socialist is trying to rise above the party establishment’s chosen candidate after another leading contender dropped out in Wisconsin’s chaotic primary race for governor on Tuesday.

The winner will advance to face Republican U.S. Rep. Tom Tiffany in November in an open race that could test the reach of progressive politics in a crucial battleground state where statewide elections are routinely decided by margins of less than a percentage point.

Democrats are hoping to take advantage of low approval ratings for President Donald Trump in a state he won in 2016 and 2024. Party leaders are trying to keep control of the governor’s office and flip both chambers of the Legislature, which would give them full control of Wisconsin state government for the first time since 2010 — a period during which Republicans used their majorities to draw legislative maps that courts later ruled were unconstitutionally gerrymandered. Newly redrawn district boundaries have made the legislative races more competitive than they have been in over a decade.

Elsewhere on the ballot, U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy’s 26-year-old son-in-law, Michael Alfonso, is competing in a five-way primary for Duffy’s former U.S. House seat. Democrat Rebecca Cooke is also seeking to emerge from the primary and force a rematch with Republican U.S. Rep. Derrick Van Orden in the state’s most closely watched and narrowly divided congressional district.

Francesca Hong, a single mother and former line cook, has drawn support from Democrats frustrated with the party’s mainstream wing and with Trump’s “Make America Great Again” movement. The 37-year-old democratic socialist, known for mixing profanity into her remarks and maintaining an edgy, sometimes humorous social media presence, has energized the party’s liberal base.

Hong has called for free childcare and healthcare, along with a moratorium on data center construction — a position that sets her apart in a state where local communities have debated the rapid expansion of power-hungry server facilities driven by the national boom in artificial intelligence infrastructure. But she has also had to address her past support for defunding the police. At the race’s only debate, she said she would not support cutting law enforcement funding.

She also faced criticism over older social media posts in which she called for canceling Thanksgiving because “we should stop celebrating colonialism” and described Valentine’s Day as “another day capitalism tells you how to show love.” Hong has since said those posts were jokes.

Hong supporter Dan Jakubek, 44, of Marshall, dismissed concerns about her past remarks and said her affordability message is resonating across generations.

“I’ve never seen so many young, out of high school, college students revved up for change,” he said.

Some establishment Democrats worry that a Hong victory would make November easier for Tiffany. They argue her platform would be a harder sell to moderate and independent voters, who are often decisive in a swing state known for razor-thin margins.

Gov. Tony Evers endorsed Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley, saying he offers the best chance to defeat Tiffany in November.

At a Sunday night rally, Crowley urged supporters to unite after the primary.

“Our ultimate goal is to make sure we don’t have a MAGA extremist occupying the governor’s office,” Crowley said.

Hong said Monday that she would welcome Evers’ support after the primary.

“We have to come together to beat Tom Tiffany,” she said.

Hong voter Kelly McClurg, 40, of Sun Prairie, rejected the argument that Hong cannot beat Tiffany.

“She can win if people let her,” McClurg said, referring to Democrats who raise electability concerns.

Crowley voter Susan Uraneck of Madison said she wished Evers had gotten involved earlier.

“I hope for the best,” she said. “As I say, it is what it is.”

Hong was the first Asian American elected to the Wisconsin state Assembly in 2020. She is now seeking to become the state’s first female governor and first Asian American governor. Crowley would become Wisconsin’s first Black governor if elected.

Evers’ decision not to seek a third term opened the race. Seven Democrats initially filed to run.

Lt. Gov. Sara Rodriguez had appeared to be consolidating mainstream Democratic support in July, but she dropped out in the middle of the month amid a campaign finance scandal. That prompted Crowley, who had dropped out a week earlier after endorsing Rodriguez, to re-enter the race with Evers’ backing.

Former Lt. Gov. Mandela Barnes, an early front-runner after nearly defeating Republican U.S. Sen. Ron Johnson in 2022, withdrew less than two weeks before the election amid questions about inappropriate behavior.

In Wisconsin’s 7th Congressional District, Alfonso is seeking to become the youngest member of Congress. The seat was held for nine years by his father-in-law before Duffy stepped down in 2019.

Alfonso won Trump’s endorsement, with Trump calling him a “MAGA warrior,” and that support has helped distinguish him from a field that also includes Kevin Hermening, a Trump supporter and longtime Republican operative in the district.

Trump joined a telephone rally for Alfonso on Monday night and called him “a fantastic young guy who’s going to be a star in Washington.” It was the second event Trump has hosted for Alfonso in the primary.

Alfonso’s candidacy has drawn criticism from some longtime Republican leaders in the district, who said he is too young and inexperienced for the job, especially when compared with Hermening.

Cooke, a former Democratic fundraiser and small business owner, faces former Eau Claire City Council President Emily Berge in Wisconsin’s 3rd Congressional District. Berge mounted an insurgent underdog campaign against Cooke, who was better known and better financed.

Cooke narrowly lost to Van Orden in 2024 and also ran in 2022, when she lost in the Democratic primary.

Van Orden is one of Trump’s strongest supporters, but he faces a difficult reelection bid in a closely divided district in a year when Trump’s approval ratings are weak in Wisconsin.

This story was originally featured on Fortune.com