11 AUG 26 SITREP

• Abdul El-Sayed, after winning the Michigan Democratic primary for U.S. Senate, was the subject of exclusively obtained audio in which he attributed the March 2023 Covenant School massacre in Nashville, Tennessee to Republican anti-trans legislation passed in Kentucky rather than to shooter Audrey Hale, who killed three children under age 9 and 3 adults including teachers and staff.
• El-Sayed stated in the audio that the epidemic of gun violence has nothing to do with trans people and everything to do with unfettered access to guns, and proposed replacing the 2nd Amendment right to bear arms with a constitutional right to healthcare.
• El-Sayed had previously stated at a town hall that as a U.S. senator he would apply a doctor’s empathy toward understanding the pain of terrorists, a position consistent with his audio blaming conservative legislators in Kentucky rather than Audrey Hale for the Covenant School killings.
• In addition to this, El-Sayed publicly appeared alongside Hasan Piker, who has made statements condoning violence, expressing support for Luigi Mangione, commenting glibly about the murder of Charlie Kirk, and making statements about 9/11 that blamed America; James Carville publicly stated he would not remain in any political party that included Hasan Piker.

• Francesca Hong, a card-carrying member of the Democratic Socialists of America and Wisconsin state assembly member, entered today’s primary as the dominant candidate in the Wisconsin Democratic gubernatorial primary, with her lead opponent Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley having polled 22 points behind her according to his own internal polling released the prior week.
• National Democrats, moving ahead of results, replaced Hong’s communications team and ground operation before votes were counted, a step interpreted as acknowledgment that Hong was the expected winner but too ideologically exposed for a general election in Wisconsin after old social media posts surfaced showing she wanted to abolish Thanksgiving, defund and abolish police, and had made statements about eliminating Trump.
• Hong’s prior record included co-signing legislation and making public statements aligned with DSA positions; neither Bernie Sanders nor Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez endorsed her, with analysts citing concern that a large general election loss would damage the broader democratic socialist brand nationally, and incumbent Democratic Governor Tony Evers threw his support behind Crowley in a last-minute effort to block Hong that failed to shift momentum.
• Republican Tom Tiffany’s betting odds surged to a 62 percent chance of winning the governorship after Hong became the presumptive nominee approximately one month before today, with analysts noting Hong’s candidacy was expected to mobilize Republican voters who historically do not turn out in non-presidential Wisconsin elections, given that socialism polls approximately 35 points underwater in the state.

• Michael Alfonso, a congressional candidate running in Wisconsin’s 7th District today, is the grandson of Cuban immigrants who fled communism, and framed his campaign as a direct ideological contrast to DSA candidates including Francesca Hong and Abdul El-Sayed, emphasizing traditional values, family formation, and economic opportunity over socialist policy platforms.
• Evita Duffy-Alfonso, Michael’s wife and campaign partner, roller skated in parades in negative 20 degree weather while 9 months pregnant and was back on the trail less than one week after giving birth to the couple’s newborn daughter, calling the campaign a family affair from day one.
• The Alfonsos conducted grassroots outreach across Wisconsin’s 7th District including attendance at parades, dairy breakfasts, and visits to local diners such as the Blue Willow in Osceola, Wisconsin, where voters expressed enthusiasm for turning out to support President Trump’s congressional agenda and counter DSA-aligned candidates.
• Michael Alfonso argued that winning Generation Z voters away from socialist candidates requires delivering on economic concerns including affordable homeownership and family-sustaining employment, and that candidates from families with direct experience of communism in Cuba and Spain are positioned to explain to young voters the real costs of socialist governance.