Socialists in state governor mansions would hold far more unchecked executive power than any single member of Congress.

A democratic socialist is trying to rise above the incumbent governor’s endorsed candidate in Wisconsin’s chaotic primary race for governor.

The next battles over the Democratic Party’s ideological direction come Tuesday in a slate of primaries that includes showdowns in two upper Midwestern political battlegrounds.

Wisconsin’s Democratic governor primary puts Francesca Hong’s rise and the growing influence of socialists to a major battleground test.