Is this the end for democratic socialism?
Issue #244 covers Francesca Hong’s concession, Chinese American community fears and the Trump administration’s latest move against DEI.
Today’s stories open in Wisconsin, where a few thousand votes ended an Asian American’s bid to become the nation’s first democratic socialist governor. We then move on to Southern California, where allegations of Chinese government influence in local politics are raising fears of community-wide suspicion.
Meanwhile, the Justice Department said Duke Law School turned away Asian and white applicants whose median LSAT scores topped those of admitted Black applicants. We close the issue with the Labor Department preparing to overhaul an education-career website whose demographic filters yield aid for AAPI students.
Featured
Democratic socialist Francesca Hong narrowly loses Wisconsin governor primary
Wisconsin state Rep. Francesca Hong finished just over 3,000 votes behind Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley in Tuesday’s Democratic primary, ending her bid to become the nation’s first openly democratic socialist governor.
Neither U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders nor U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez endorsed her, and some on the left point to that absence in explaining the result. Hong, the first Asian American to serve in the Wisconsin Legislature, says the “work isn’t done.”
What else we’re tracking
As FBI scrutiny widens, one worry echoes across SoCal’s Chinese American community
Two Southern California elected officials are targets of a federal investigation into alleged Chinese government influence that also touched a West Covina media company. No one has been arrested, and the warrants remain sealed. Chinese American leaders said the fallout is already reaching bystanders.
Duke Law rejected higher-scoring Asian, white applicants, DOJ finds
The Department of Justice said Duke Law School intentionally discriminated against Asian and white applicants, citing two cycles in which rejected applicants had higher median LSAT scores than admitted Black applicants. One North Carolina group said the case makes Asian Americans a wedge.
Trump admin to purge scholarship site of awards for minority groups
The Department of Labor plans to take over and overhaul a federally funded site that sorts scholarships by race and sex. Its listings include aid for LGBTQ+ Asian and Pacific Islander students, which could get harder to find if those filters are narrowed or removed.
Why read Issue #244?
In this issue, we see how the Justice Department’s findings cast Asian Americans as a wronged class, while influence inquiries cast Chinese Americans as a risk. These suggest Asian American political identity, without anybody’s choosing, is set by institutions.
On the other hand, the website overhaul makes no claim about AAPIs. But help for members of the community becomes much harder to find if its intentions are carried out.
Hong’s campaign was the one instance where Asian Americans set their own terms, though it ended 3,000 votes short of November. Did it actually set back the democratic socialist movement? Time will tell.
Check out Issue #244 now, because really, none of these fights is finished.
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