Francesca Hong says she regrets CNN interview about Thanksgiving

Francesca Hong, a former democratic socialist candidate in the Wisconsin gubernatorial race, said Friday she regrets her controversial CNN interview where she stated she wanted to “cancel Thanksgiving.”

In an interview with WISN , a local ABC affiliate, anchor Matt Smith reflected on Hong’s time on the campaign trail and asked if there was anything she would have done differently in the lead up to Wisconsin’s gubernatorial primaries in August.

“I was never going to cancel Thanksgiving. Actually, love to celebrate the holidays,” Hong said.

Ahead of the state’s Democratic primary, Hong’s past social media posts where she called for an end to Thanksgiving, where she stated that it “should have done this in 1621,” resurfaced. Backlash surrounding the democratic socialist grew when she defended her comments during a CNN interview in the week leading up to the primaries.

“I think there I wanted to make sure that people understood that there are multiple views, but views can evolve,” she said at the time.

Days later, in an interview with Politico, Hong walked back her take on Thanksgiving — telling the outlet she “actually loves” the holiday. Around the same time, she told The Hill that her original comments “could” have been made in jest.

When asked if she regretted the CNN interview and if she saw it as defining moment for her campaign in the lead up to the primaries, Hong responded, “It was a regrettable moment.”

“And I do regret that interview,” she concluded.

Hong added that she wished she would have leaned further into her Wisconsin roots during the campaign trail.

“I’m a daughter of Wisconsin, born and raised in this state. There’s nothing I love more than Packer games, Culvers and making sure that my community has the things that they need,” she said.

“We needed to reach more people with that message,” Hong added. “I’m incredibly proud of the movement that we built, the enthusiasm that is still there.”

Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley narrowly beat Hong in be the Democratic candidate in the race to replace retiring Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers (D). Despite polling from July placing Hong nearly 25 points ahead of Crowley, she lost to him by more than 3,000 votes when the race was called by Decision Desk HQ .

The loss marked a significant hit to the growing democratic socialist movement and gave moderate Democrats a much-needed boost ahead of the 2026 midterm elections.