Wisconsin Muslim Civic Alliance released its endorsements for the Aug. 11 primary, with Rep. Francesca Hong (D-Madison) at the top of the ticket—the Democratic nominee for governor.
WMCA is the state’s only Muslim-led civic advocacy group, an organization that endorses candidates, advocates for Wisconsin’s 70,000 Muslims and builds political power for Wisconsin’s Muslim community.
“The Wisconsin Muslim Civic Alliance is doing essential work defending civil rights and civil liberties, standing with immigrant and refugee families, and building new civic leaders across Wisconsin’s diverse communities. I am deeply honored to earn their endorsement,” Hong said to the Wisconsin Muslim Journal.
“We are building the broadest, most diverse coalition in this race, and it means something that communities whose voices have been too long underrepresented in government are placing their trust in this campaign,” she said. “That trust tells me we are doing something right. This is the coalition Democrats need to win in November, and it’s the coalition that will continue to reshape the future of this party.”
“Francesca Hong is aligned with our community,” said WMCA executive director Fauzia Qureshi. “From her answers to our questionnaire and questions at our gubernatorial forum to her presence at rallies, we know she values civil liberties that are important to us.”
Rep. Francesca Hong (D-Madison) wins WMCA’s endorsement for governor.
For the important governor position, WMCA added steps to its already rigorous endorsement evaluation process, Qureshi said. In addition to asking candidates to complete a questionnaire on civil rights and civil liberties, immigrant and refugee policy, economic opportunity, funding for education and healthcare, equity, support for working families and other issues, it held a forum so the audience could see how they responded firsthand. It also reviewed their records.
It’s not just a matter of alignment, Qureshi emphasized. “We looked at what candidates have actually done.
“For example, staffing is important,” she said. “How much staff diversity do you have in your campaign? Francesca is the first state representative in Wisconsin to have a Muslim serve as chief of staff—something very big. Nada Elmikashfi is a Muslim, first-generation American, born in Sudan.
“Rep. Hong didn’t decide to run for governor, then come to ask for our vote. She has supported our community for years. She has supported our organization. At our 2025 iftar (a dinner breaking the Ramadan fast), we honored her with our Advocacy Champion Award, ‘for supporting our community and committing to recognize Muslim contributions through legislation.’
“In a year with so much at stake, who sits in the governor’s office matters enormously to us,” Qureshi said. “We care about the veto power over legislation affecting Muslim immigrants, refugee communities and all of us; and about executive control over the state agencies that investigate and prosecute hate crimes, and about how immigrant refugees are administered at the state level.
“The governor really sets the state’s public tone on issues like IHRA and anti-BDS legislation. The governor sets the budget, determining funding priorities. The position holds a lot of power.”
Gov. Tony Evers signed legislation that made the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance’s definition of antisemitism state law. WMCA and other critics of the law have said it undermines free speech because it equates criticism of Israel with antisemitism. WMCA lobbied aggressively against that legislation.
“A lot of community members understood the importance of the governorship during the time when we were trying to make sure that the IHRA definition of antisemitism was vetoed,” Qureshi said. “Coincidence or not, we know Brother Salah (Sarsour)was taken a few days after the IHRA definition was signed into law. The governor had the ability to veto that legislation, legislation that could have a harmful impact.” Sarsour was taken by Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers on March 30 in what The New York Times reported “appears to be the latest case in which the administration has sought to deport someone who was active in pro-Palestinian causes.”
Endorsements for Senate and Assembly
WMCA endorsed Corrine Hendrickson for State Senate, District 17.
WMCA endorsed candidates only for races contested in the Aug. 11 primary, which will determine which candidates run in the general elections on Nov. 3. It will release another set of endorsements before the midterm elections in November.
The 2026 November general election will be the first since 2010 in which all three top executive and legislative offices in Wisconsin will change hands at the same time. Incumbents Gov. Tony Evers, Senate Majority Leader Devin LeMahieu (R-Oostburg) and Assembly Speaker Robin Vos (R-Rochester) have all announced they will not seek re-election.
Corrine Hendrickson won WMCA’s endorsement for the Wisconsin Senate, District 17.
In other contested primary races, WMCA endorsed nine candidates for state Assembly seats:
Ismael Luna, District 8
Amy Zimmerman, District 13
Brian Bock, District 61
Priscilla Prado, District 9
Ryan Clancy, District 19
Dina Nina Martinez-Rutherford, District 76
Jordan Roman, District 12
David Liners, District 21
Juliana Bennet, District 76
WMCA urges Muslims to vote Aug. 11
“It’s extremely important to vote in the primary on Aug. 11,” Qureshi added. “This will determine who is in place to make things happen.
“We need to understand that everything is political—the price of food, our right to practice our faith, our right to free speech. All of it is shaped by who’s in office.”
