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Madison Protests: 52% of Democrats Back Socialism, Only 17% of Independents | Jul 27, 2026

Published: July 27, 2026
Network: The Vicki McKenna Show
Analysis: Conservative Caucus President Jim Pfaff

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The Madison protests put activists carrying Communist Party of Milwaukee signage behind the podium at the Madison police chief’s own press conference — and the chief thanked the man who took it over. Jim Pfaff, President of The Conservative Caucus, joined Vicki McKenna on The Vicki McKenna Show to break down who these protests are really for, what the polling on socialism says about their reach, and why Republican governor candidate Tom Tiffany’s silence is a political mistake in a race for Wisconsin’s top law enforcement job.

Topics Covered

• Madison Protests: A Police Podium Handed to the Communist Party of Milwaukee
• 52% of Democrats, 17% of Independents: The Socialism Numbers
• Stirring Up Violence to Win Elections
• This Whole Thing Is for Francesca Hong
• Tom Tiffany and the Tools in the Governor’s Mansion
• Key Takeaways

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Madison Protests: A Police Podium Handed to the Communist Party of Milwaukee

McKenna opened the segment with the scene that made national news: the old BLM band getting back together in Madison, and a police chief letting a man who carried a sign calling for his death take over his own press conference. Pfaff pointed to what the takeover revealed. The signage was branded the Communist Party of Milwaukee, and the first speaker started railing about Zionism and colonialism. That is not a protest movement hiding its politics — it is the DSA showing exactly what it is.

“you want to highlight this if you are Tom Tiffany’s campaign, you want to try to hide this if you are the, the, the chairman of the Democratic Party of Wisconsin.”
— Jim Pfaff, President, The Conservative Caucus

McKenna added the detail that turns the Madison protests from a spectacle into a rule-of-law story: the police on the ground knew a woman shoving a megaphone into a man’s face was a criminal offense that should have brought an arrest and prosecution. Leadership told them to stand down. That is the same pattern Madison ratified at the ballot box — McKenna put the city at 87% liberal, with the remaining 13% never showing up at city council meetings, county board meetings, or the Republican Party.

52% of Democrats, 17% of Independents: The Socialism Numbers

Pfaff was not ready to declare that the Madison protests will carry to November. His reason was polling, not wishful thinking.

“I saw a poll recently that— it’s a poll that showed that 52% of Democrat voters support socialism, communism, or whatever, and the DSA. But only 17% of independents.”
— Jim Pfaff, President, The Conservative Caucus

Pfaff called that 35-point gap between Democrat voters and independents “a pretty significant thing.” He noted the DSA runs about +18 with 18-to-34-year-olds — but that group has to actually turn out, and in an off-year election that turnout is at most as much of a trend as the party out of the White House taking Congress, the trend Pfaff says he is most concerned about. Because schools have been promoting socialism and communism and indoctrinating young people, the DSA has a base. But a large portion of the electorate was never fully indoctrinated, and only 17% of independents are with the DSA.

Stirring Up Violence to Win Elections

Pfaff placed the Madison protests in a pattern. The same thing happened in Maine after Graham Plattner was removed — or removed himself, Pfaff noted — from the Senate race: an ICE incident followed, closely resembling the one in Minneapolis where an ICE officer’s life was threatened, someone was shot and killed, and activists hounded and chased the officers. When these people know they need a boost to win an election, Pfaff said, this is the sort of thing they do.

“I think they know that this is their mantra, their modus operandi, to stir up violence to win elections.”
— Jim Pfaff, President, The Conservative Caucus

That’s why Pfaff thinks the ick factor around the DSA is going to settle in over time — though he said plainly he can’t fully detect the actual result yet. After the violence of 2025 and the violence this year, he thinks the American people are growing weary of violent, revolutionary, anti-American activity — they don’t always respond right away, because they’re living their lives, but they get it in the long run. The Madison protests follow the same playbook we documented in our analysis of ICE raids and Democrat obstruction: when Democrats need an electoral boost, they stir up a confrontation with law enforcement.

This Whole Thing Is for Francesca Hong

Who benefits from the Madison protests? McKenna named her: Francesca Hong, the DSA member who was at the protest with a bullhorn, accusing cops of executing a career criminal who had slashed a police officer with a six-to-eight-inch knife. Pfaff tied it to the Democrats’ primary problem — the party is trying to shoehorn in a handpicked candidate not named Francesca Hong, so the street theater is her counter-move. In Pfaff’s words, this whole thing is for her.

The cover-up is part of the story. McKenna clarified that the viral megaphone image did not come from the Milwaukee paper — it came from a Milwaukee paper parody account, and the image was generated by Andrew Mercado of Mercado Media, who films ICE protests. Milwaukee media has tried to hide the story, which means working-class Democrats in Kenosha and Milwaukee — the voters Pfaff says don’t necessarily see a bunch of white liberal rich kids as a good thing — get no coverage of what Madison is becoming.

Tom Tiffany and the Tools in the Governor’s Mansion

Both host and guest turned the segment into a direct message for Wisconsin’s Republican governor candidate. McKenna’s version was blunt:

“if you’re a candidate for governor, I’m a talk show host. If I’m candidate for governor, I’m putting Madison front and center because the Democrats want Madison for the whole state.”
— Vicki McKenna, Host, The Vicki McKenna Show

Pfaff’s case was structural. Yes, municipalities have authority over their own policing — but the governor is the chief law enforcement officer of the state, and Tiffany is running to be exactly that. Tiffany has little name ID south of Wausau, and there are a lot of independent and definitely a lot of Republican voters in earshot of Milwaukee and the Waukesha counties who want a leader. That dynamic, Pfaff said, is one of the big reasons Republicans ever win statewide — if Tiffany will only tap into it.

“there are tools in the governor’s mansion to deal with bad policing in local areas.”
— Jim Pfaff, President, The Conservative Caucus

McKenna named the biggest tool: the National Guard. If Madison police refuse to act, the governor can force law and order back into the capital city — a capital that, in her words, has “a Chazz” sitting downtown. Pfaff gave attorney general candidate Eric Toney more credit for actually calling out the sitting attorney general, and McKenna asked where Governor Tony Evers has been. Against that backdrop, seven posts about rubber chicken picnics is not a response.

“he’s got to take leadership on this because it’s a leadership position that he’s running for.”
— Jim Pfaff, President, The Conservative Caucus

Pfaff’s closing standard for Tiffany: speak for the state now, including almost pretending he is already governor. McKenna agreed — pretend like you’re already governor, and respond accordingly.

Key Takeaways

1. The Madison protests are the DSA unmasked – Activists took over the police chief’s press conference carrying Communist Party of Milwaukee signage, and the first speaker railed about Zionism and colonialism.
2. The polling gap is 35 points – 52% of Democrat voters support socialism, communism, or the DSA; only 17% of independents do. The +18 advantage with 18-to-34-year-olds only matters if they turn out.
3. The Madison protests are an election tactic – Pfaff pointed to Maine after Graham Plattner and the Minneapolis ICE incident: when Democrats need a boost, they stir up violence — and Pfaff thinks the American people have pretty much grown wise to it.
4. The unrest is for Francesca Hong – The DSA member worked the protest with a bullhorn while party leaders try to shoehorn in a handpicked candidate not named Francesca Hong, and Milwaukee media hides the story from working-class voters.
5. Tiffany must act like the chief law enforcement officer – The governor has tools, including the National Guard, to force law and order back into the capital city. Pfaff says Tiffany has to take leadership now — almost as if he were already governor.

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About The Conservative Caucus:
The Conservative Caucus is a grassroots public policy action organization, formed in 1974. Headed by President Jim Pfaff, the Caucus is committed to advancing free enterprise, limited government, and traditional values.

Originally broadcast Jul 27, 2026 on The Vicki McKenna Show.