Wisconsin Democrat Francesca Hong is navigating a political firestorm ahead of the August 11 gubernatorial primary, forced to clarify her stance on Thanksgiving after comments made during an August 3 CNN interview sparked national controversy. The 37-year-old state legislator, who identifies as a democratic socialist, currently leads a crowded field in the swing state, marking a significant test for the progressive movement within the 2026 Democratic primaries.
Addressing the backlash, Hong, a professional chef, sought to pivot the narrative during an August 7 interview with. “There’s nothing more magical than being in a cranberry marsh, and cranberry stuffing is one of my absolute favorite dishes to make,” she stated. Regarding the viral clip that suggested she might support canceling the holiday, she clarified: “I’m not going to cancel Thanksgiving.”
Despite her attempts to move past the controversy, Hong’s campaign faces ongoing scrutiny regarding her past social media activity. Critics have unearthed posts in which she expressed disdain for Valentine’s Day, shared discomfort around White people, and advocated for the abolition of the police. While she has since deleted the post criticizing Thanksgiving, other controversial statements remain visible online, fueling attacks from both sides of the aisle.
Democratic rival David Crowley, who is also competing for the nomination, has used these missteps to question her viability. “She’s not ready for prime time, and the fact that she’s been asked very simple questions and the way that she’s responding to those questions makes the news even more should cause all of us to pause,” Crowley remarked. Other establishment Democrats have echoed these concerns, suggesting that her unpolished messaging could alienate moderate voters essential for a general election victory.
Republican leaders are closely monitoring the primary, viewing Hong’s potential candidacy as an opportunity to frame the election as a battle between competing ideologies. Rep. Derrick Van Orden, R-Wisconsin, who is currently seeking reelection in a toss-up district, said that Hong’s platform simplifies the political landscape. “It makes it easier to contrast [because] we’re not right versus left or Republican versus Democrat, we’re literally capitalist versus communist ‒ and that’s terrifying,” Van Orden said.
In a 25-minute interview with, Hong defended her platform, arguing that voters are hungry for a “new type of politics” driven by frustration over economic instability. She suggested that the return of Donald Trump to power and his aggressive use of executive authority have galvanized progressive voters, creating a sense of urgency regarding how quickly the political climate can shift. “Progressives have presented not only an alternative, but the fact that hey, maybe it’s time we do something different,” she noted.
The controversy has also highlighted the challenges of the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) platform, of which Hong is a member. The platform includes calls for abolishing prisons and law enforcement, positions that have drawn sharp rebukes from national figures. Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, weighed in on the discourse in a July 27 post on X, stating, “These people are insane,” in response to a segment on Fox News regarding the DSA agenda.
Hong has attempted to distance herself from the more extreme elements of the DSA platform. During recent discussions, she has disavowed calls to abolish prisons, instead emphasizing a focus on community safety. “I think when someone is unsafe for community, that removing them from community is a practical and sensible approach,” she explained, while maintaining that her primary goal as governor would be to deliver policies that tangibly improve the lives of Wisconsin residents.
Voter sentiment remains divided. Blake Vanniel, a 28-year-old from Madison, expressed support for Hong, characterizing his vote as a rejection of the political establishment. “The primary season is for when you’re supposed to duke it out with your inner party and have those fights, but I think it’s pretty clear what voters want,” Vanniel said. He suggested that the Democratic Party is in need of a generational shift in leadership.
Conversely, other voters are prioritizing electability over ideological alignment. Tom Kapper, 61, of Madison, noted that while he leans progressive, he is concerned about the general election. “I think the mainstream candidates have a better chance of beating Republicans,” Kapper said. “I personally am more progressive and lean that direction, but I think, in the current climate, they would have a hard time coming in the general election.”
The scrutiny surrounding Hong’s candidacy reflects a broader trend for democratic socialists, who have seen their profile rise following victories in liberal strongholds like New York City, Denver, and Washington, D.C. However, as these candidates move into the national spotlight, they face heightened pressure to defend controversial stances that often conflict with mainstream party platforms. Experts suggest that Hong’s ability to navigate these cultural minefields will determine whether she can translate her primary momentum into a successful bid for the governor’s mansion.
As the August 11 primary approaches, the focus remains on whether Hong can successfully pivot from the culture war debates to a substantive policy discussion. Her campaign maintains that her focus on economic issues and a “new type of politics” will resonate with voters, even as opponents continue to highlight her past social media posts and ideological affiliations. The outcome of the primary will serve as a bellwether for the influence of the progressive wing within the Democratic Party in the 2026 cycle.
11 gubernatorial primary after leaving the door open to canceling Thanksgiving in an Aug.
Republicans are salivating at Hong being on the November ballot, where she will likely run against Republican Tom Tiffany, who is facing nominal opposition on the GOP side.
Amid President Donald Trump ‘s growing unpopularity, Republican candidates on the Badger State ballot say that a controversial Democratic nominee at the top of the other side of the ticket would give the GOP a helpful boost.
In a roughly 25-minute interview with, Hong said Americans are looking for a “new type of politics” and that her campaign’s success in the polls is related to a larger frustration with the country’s current economic woes.
14, 2022, post on X, Hong said she missed working in a restaurant every day, “except on VDay,” before launching into a criticism of the holiday’s capitalist underpinnings.
“As if we weren’t invisible enough to those who don’t recognize the emotional [and] physical labor of service work, the worst of humanity comes out from folks ‘celebrating’ on another day capitalism tells you how to show love,” she said.
Hong described being “on the verge of a anxiety attack” at a restaurant in a July 2, 2019, social media post due to the number of “old white people who didn’t think we spoke English.”
Senate ‒ is receiving sharper scrutiny.
Among the calls for “building a new society from the ground up,” were expanding voting rights to include all permanent residents, publicly financing elections and expanding access to social services such as Medicare.
Senate, which Republicans have spotlighted as too radical for average Americans.
Megan Novak, state director for Americans for Prosperity, a conservative-leaning advocacy group, said Wisconsin’s race for governor will be close no matter the contenders.
She said Hong has trekked off a political cliff in the state, which Trump won by less than one percentage point in 2024.
“People are concerned about the future for their kids, and if we have a candidate who now has spent what four or five days flip-flopping on whether or not she likes Thanksgiving, it just shows that voters are not going to be able to trust her on the issues that they care most deeply about,” Novak said.
Conservative activists were already pummeling Hong by attacking her own plans, which include upending the nation’s first taxpayer-funded private school voucher program that began in Milwaukee in 1990.
Roughly 30,000 students are currently enrolled in schools using a voucher, according to state officials, a system both Crowley and Tiffany oppose changing.
“That’s tens of thousands of children across the state, especially in Milwaukee where thousands of mostly Black and Hispanic children would be ripped out of their school overnight,” Novak said.
Peter Dreier, a political science professor at Occidental College, who is considered one of the foremost experts on socialism said Hong is being thrust onto a much larger stage and she’s made some “rookie errors” in presenting herself.
“There’s a difference between movements and campaigns,” he said.
“Sometimes those two things are in conflict,” he added.
“The movement part gets people excited, enthusiastic…
In general, democratic socialism is defined as a belief that the economy should be democratically run for the benefit of the public.
But opponents commonly connect it to communism, an authoritarian system associated with brutal regimes such as the Soviet Union and Cuba that believes the working class should take control through violent revolution.
On its website DSA describes it as a “system where ordinary people have a real voice” in workplaces and neighborhoods.
But a July Reuters/Ipsos poll found just 23% of Americans said they understand the policies and positions of democratic socialists extremely or very well.
Only 21% of Democrats and Democratic leaning voters said the same.
He said it appears Hong is “running to be famous,” and that she isn’t as politically gifted as other contenders, such as El-Sayed, running in 2026.
“They’re on a learning curve when it comes to messaging, but also that curve is on the side of a mountain because it’s out of the mainstream,” Sellers, a South Carolina native, told.
“We’re talking about healthcare and we’re talking about affordability,” he added.
For Democrats concerned that Hong will cough up the Badger State’s gubernatorial seat their gaze is turning toward Crowley, Milwaukee County’s first Black executive, who is considered her most viable foe.
Crowley re-entered the race last month with a powerful ally — term-limited Gov.
He said part of the reason for jumping back in the race was Hong’s stumbles.
He has minimized policy differences with Hong, instead focusing on how too much is at stake in this election to be “caught up in distractions and talking about past Twitter statements.”
The 40-year-old former state lawmaker has raked in union endorsements while pushing back against characterizations that he’s part of the party establishment, calling that description “a slur” in recent interviews.
“When I hear that term, it frustrates me because I have worked my entire life not to be placed in a box and continue to protect those who grew up in the same circumstances as me,” Crowley, whose parents struggled with substance abuse, told.
Hong has held a double-digit lead in statewide polling of the field but a sizable 34% of Democratic voters remained undecided in the most recent Marquette University Law School poll.
The Crowley campaign is sprinting across the state making appeals to Democrats still on the fence, and they’ve mocked Hong’s previous comments about Thanksgiving, saying in an Aug.
6 statement that she “cannot talk turkey without reversing herself” in interviews.
At a busy early voting site on the north side of Madison, Wisconsin, even some of Hong’s supporters bristled at some of her controversial positions.
“I do wish she would tone it down a little bit, but I’m not opposed to the things she says,” Chad Norquist, 48, a maintenance mechanic from Madison, Wisconsin, told the Network.
Hong’s lead appears all but insurmountable, according to the Marquette poll and an internal survey released this week by Crowley’s campaign that showed Hong leading by 20 percentage points.
Among the voters polled, those over age 60 were less likely to support Hong, whose most passionate supporters are younger, between the ages of 18 and 29.
Blake Vanniel, 28, of Madison, said that’s in part because he has a negative view of the Democratic Party, which he suggested needs a fresh generation of contenders.
“They want politicians that are actually going to fight for the working people and not be beholden to the same corporate interests that fund the other side and fund all the horrible stuff.”
Most voters interviewed by the Network heading into the Aug.
Some described many of the more radical DSA ideas as unrealistic or ideological tests.
