Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez defended Wisconsin gubernatorial candidate Rep. Francesca Hong over her past remarks supporting defunding the police, saying “Woke 1 was crazy” while stopping short of endorsing her in the race.
Hong, a member of the Democratic Socialists of America, has built a commanding double-digit lead in the Wisconsin Democratic gubernatorial primary over Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley.
Republicans have been watching the Aug. 11 primary closely and are hoping Hong prevails, pointing to her previous calls to eliminate Thanksgiving, abolish the police and other positions they believe could be liabilities in a general election.
“My understanding is that Francesca Hong has made clear her present stances to her electorate,” Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) said Sunday on ABC News’ “This Week.”
“I have a local city councilman that has this saying, ‘Woke 1 was crazy,’” she continued, citing Councilmember Chi Ossé. “I think that what’s important is that we have to assess what a candidate is saying now.”
Ocasio-Cortez argued that “Woke 1” was shaped in part by the COVID-19 pandemic, adding that some of the debate during that period was “quite fruitful.” She said today’s discussion around criminal justice has shifted because of that earlier moment.
“I think that when we talk about crime today, it’s fundamentally different than the way that we talked about crime in bringing crime down, right?” she said.
“I think that during lockdown, of course, rhetoric in that time is not rhetoric that we would use today.”
Hong had been hesitant to break from her past inflammatory remarks.
Initially, when asked about whether she still wants to cancel Thanksgiving, something she raised in a 2021 interview, Hong told CNN last week that the holiday “is also a time that’s incredibly painful for many people in our communities.”
After facing backlash from that, she released a statement claiming that she isn’t interested in nixing the holiday.
Around that time, Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) indicated that he didn’t have plans to endorse in the Wisconsin gubernatorial primary. Ocasio-Cortez followed suit Sunday.
“I haven’t endorsed in that race. My focus has been in winning back the Congress, winning back the House, and positioning ourselves to have the best chance possible to win the Senate,” she told ABC’s “This Week.”
