From Canceling Thanksgiving To Calling It Her Favorite Holiday

State Rep. Francesca Hong speaks at a governor candidate forum Wednesday, Jan. 21, 2026, at the Cooperage in Milwaukee, Wis. Angela Major/WPR

While she has mocked Republicans for focusing on her old social media posts, Madison state Rep. Francesca Hong backed away from some of her past comments this week, including one where she said it was time to “Cancel Thanksgiving.”

Hong, a democratic socialist who’s the frontrunner in Wisconsin’s Democratic primary for governor, has long been known for her outspoken style, particularly on the social media site now known as X.

Screenshots of Hong posts dating back to 2019 have been widely shared by conservative-leaning outlets. Some show her stating support for defunding the police as a first step toward abolishing them, and abolishing ICE.

Hong’s call to “Cancel Thanksgiving,” which has since been deleted, came on Nov. 16, 2020 after she was elected to the state Assembly.

“Should have done this in 1621,” said Hong in the post. “If it takes a worldwide pandemic for us to realize we should stop celebrating colonialism and the original superspreader even that killed Indegenous folx and women so be it.”

The nearly seven-year-old post made national news, and Republican U.S. Rep. Tom Tiffany, who would likely face Hong in the general election, has responded with social media posts of his own. On Tuesday, Tiffany posted a drawing of a cooked turkey on a platter above the words “COME AND TAKE IT.”

How Hong addressed the post has evolved. During an interview on CNN Monday, Hong said “bringing folks around the table to share conversation and build community is always a good thing.”

“But,” she added, “Thanksgiving is also a time that’s incredibly painful for many people in our communities.”

In another interview Wednesday, however, Hong told Politico that Thanksgiving is her “favorite holiday.”

“I don’t want to cancel it,” said Hong. “I actually love it.”

Hong has also distanced herself, somewhat, from prior calls to defund or abolish police, prisons and the U.S. Senate. During the only televised Democratic primary debate, she said she doesn’t support defunding the police, abolishing prisons or abolishing the Senate. Instead, she talked about differences between aspirational goals and the realities of what a governor can do in office.

Hong told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel her tweets have been public for years.

“If Tom Tiffany and Republicans want to spend their time manufacturing outrage about jokes tweeted seven years ago, that’s their choice on how they spend their time and energy,” said Hong.

Mordecai Lee, an emeritus professor of political science at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, said Wisconsin voters “insist on being unpredictable” but he assumes some voters won’t like Hong’s past rhetoric. He said Hong’s campaign has benefited greatly from social media, but “we’re seeing the downside of social media, especially if one has a long record of commentary.”

“I suppose it’s an element of social media that to grab attention, one has to be ever so slightly provocative, or unusual, or out of left field, and that can draw an audience,” said Lee. “But at the same time, it might be a negative in terms of elections.”

Hong’s attempts to create distance between her current campaign and her past comments haven’t stopped her critics from talking about the uproar.

During a Thursday interview alongside Crowley at the Wisconsin State Fair, Gov. Tony Evers, who endorsed Crowley, said Hong is in a “tough place.” He told reporters she’s been spending time dealing with “what’s on the Twitter” as opposed to issues facing voters.

“She was talking about Thanksgiving,” said Evers. “And yeah, she really likes it, but she doesn’t like it. Come on.”

Gov. Tony Evers speaks to students Monday, May 11, 2026, in Barneveld, Wis. Angela Major/WPR

Still, Hong has surged in polling among Democratic primary voters. A Marquette University Law School survey released July 29 found 38 percent of primary voters said they’d vote for Hong, while only 7 percent said they’d vote for Crowley. State Sen. Kelda Roys, D-Madison, and former Department of Administration Secretary Joel Brennan each received 2 percent in the survey.

With Evers and other establishment Democrats trying to rally behind Crowley and stop Hong from winning the Aug. 11 primary, Lee said he doesn’t see the logic behind Republicans’ attacking her tweets now.

“I think they’re making a tactical mistake,” said Lee. “If Republicans believe that she would be easier to defeat than Crowley, then the last thing they want to do is tear her down before the primary.”

Lee said Republicans who think Hong has the primary locked down based on polling should look to Tuesday’s U.S. Senate primary in Michigan. There, Abdul El-Sayed, the progressive candidate, defeated Democratic U.S. Rep. Haley Stevens by around 1 percentage point, though polling had showed him leading by double digits.

Hong’s standing among Democratic voters in perennially purple Wisconsin has once again put the state front and center in national politics. Tuesday’s primary is being framed as a test of whether a democratic socialist can win a swing state, after they prevailed in Democratic primaries elsewhere.

Hong backtracks from past social media statements was originally published by Wisconsin Public Radio.