DSA Candidate in Wisconsin Governor's Race Faces Controversy Over 'Abolish Thanksgiving' Remarks

Francesca Hong, a Democratic candidate in the Wisconsin gubernatorial race and a frontrunner backed by the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA), is the favorite to win the party's nomination ahead of the August 11 primary.

Past social media posts in which she called for 'canceling Thanksgiving' have surfaced. In the posts, Hong described the holiday as 'colonialism' and denounced it as the 'first bioterrorist event,' drawing parallels to the spread of smallpox that decimated Indigenous people and women.

As these remarks resurfaced, conservative figures, including former White House deputy press secretary Alex Conant, criticized Hong—including mocking her use of the gender-inclusive term 'Folx'—with online criticism regarding her primary candidacy spreading rapidly.