As we stated over 10 years ago, as Donald Trump was coming on the scene as a presidential candidate, “democratic socialism” is not a political party in the US but rather a political and activist system held by an organization, the Democratic Socialists of America. Among their goals is “a system where ordinary people have a real voice in our workplaces, neighborhoods, and society…. We want a democracy that creates space for us all to flourish not just survive.” 
In addition, the DSA supports “single-payer Medicare for All, defunding the police/refunding communities, [and] the Green New Deal…. We want a democracy powered by everyday people.”
In recent months, a number of candidates throughout the country who identify with democratic socialism, the DSA or many of its precepts have been winning elections. As of May 2026, the following elections involve DSA candidates.
- Pennsylvania. Chris Rabb defeated an establishment-backed opponent in the May primary for US House and is now on the November ballot. He supports initiatives to abolish ICE and free Palestine and supports Medicare for All.
- Kentucky. In Louisville, Robert LeVertis Bell is on the November ballot for the US House, and Andrea Parr is running for Louisville Metro Council District 9. These examples show how DSA policies and candidates are not just grabbing attention in blue districts or large cities.
- Georgia. Gabriel Sanchez, the first Democratic Socialist elected to the Georgia General Assembly, won the primary race for Georgia State House District 42. Also, Mathewos Samson will be on the November ballot for Georgia House District 58. In Athens, DSA member Tim Denson advanced to the runoff for Athens-Clarke Mayor, although subsequently lost to the first Black mayor of Athens, Dexter Fisher.
- Arizona. Bobby Nichols, a public interest lawyer, was elected to the Tempe City Council as an At-Large member. Earlier, in 2025, democratic socialist Miranda Schubert won a seat on the Tucson City Council.
- Oregon. Tammy Carpenter, MD, is on the November ballot for a seat in the Oregon House of Representatives, District 27.
The DSA momentum has been growing for a number of years. In 2025, more than 250 DSA members were holding elected public office in 40 states, almost all of them elected since 2019. Among these are Mayor Zohran Mamdani of New York City and Seattle mayor Katie Wilson (elected in 2025); Janeese Lewis George is the Democratic candidate for mayor of Washington, DC, this November. Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) can be said to have led the charge decades ago. More recently, New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-MI) were both elected in 2018. In July 2026, Melat Kiros, 29, won the Democratic nomination over incumbent Rep. Diana DeGette in Colorado’s 1st Congressional District and will face Republican Christy Peterson in November.
Many American Jews are very alarmed at the rise of democratic socialism, primarily because of fears that “DSA chapters and many of their political allies have justified Hamas’s brutality, denied our right to self-determination, and helped create an environment in which many Jews no longer feel safe.” 
Jews’ fears about these trends are understandable, and the published statements by DSA chapters and individuals advocating violence have been denounced by other DSA affiliates. A middle ground and coming together in areas where values and goals overlap are most likely where the majority of Americans would prefer to be.
Capitalism is another flash point in this discussion. The DSA believes that “[c]apitalism is a system designed by the owning class to exploit the rest of us for their own profit…. The capitalist class tells us we are powerless, but together we can take back control.” Let us note clearly that several prominent Democrats who have contributed greatly to our country identify as capitalists (though not as DSA members). These include Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) and former Labor Secretary, Robert Reich. The Young Democratic Socialists of America (YDSA) applauded Warren’s legislative initiatives around public higher education access, although the group criticizes her on other grounds.
It must be stressed that, despite right-wing rhetoric, democratic socialism is practiced under different names throughout the world. “Social capitalism” is found in Europe, Canada, Australia, Iceland and other developed nations and, in order to be a member of the European Union (now consisting of 27 nations with a population of approximately 450 million people), a country must have a market economy. For nearly 80 years, many of these “sister nations” of ours have enjoyed significant benefits – and have not succumbed to Soviet-style communism.
Despite (or because of) the popularity of DSA and other left-leaning goals in the US, many officials and candidates in this camp have been victims of political violence and have met with fierce opposition, even death threats. The evidence shows that political violence on the part of people on the right far exceeds the reverse: those on the left are far more apt to be victims of violence than perpetrators – again contrary to the inflammatory rhetoric of Trump and his cronies.
In Pennsylvania in May, for example, a 42-year-old man was charged with making terroristic threats. He is accused of having a “hit list” against Democratic state lawmakers, whom he threatened in online posts. Among his accusations, he referred to four officials as “gun grabbing communists” and advised conservatives to “learn the law and know when it’s your God given right to kill your authorities.” 
Before Trump’s “love-fest” with Mamdani after he was elected mayor, Trump called Mamdani “a communist who hates police and Jewish people.” Trump has also railed against AOC (and other female elected officials of color), calling her stupid, “one of the ‘dumbest’ people in Congress,” and a “mouse.”
In a related and alarming development over the past few years, election officials – our fellow citizens and neighbors who help keep our elections free and fair – have experienced an increased amount of harassment, abuse, or threats. These have been directly related to the rhetoric of Trump and his supporters against Democrats, liberals, progressives and other left-leaning officials and candidates and occur more frequently against people of color who hold important roles in our elections.
Violence, threats, harassment and other anti-democratic assaults on people who hold beliefs and promote certain goals that our authoritarian leaders constantly demean through their powerful rhetoric do not reflect how most of us want to live. We must admire the determination and courage of the dedicated public servants who endure such animosity. Among these individuals are those associated with Democratic Socialists of America. From news reports, interviews with voters, and various analyses, we begin to understand why their stances, and the candidates running as DSA members, have been so successful.
Takeaways for the Democracy Coalition
The success of DSA candidates across the country – in blue, red and purple states and communities – should for the most part be good news, despite individual drawbacks and challenges. Members of the Democracy Coalition – Democrats, allied Republicans, Independents and non-affiliates – should grasp the encouraging potential of the movement. We should ignore, disregard and fight off the wrong-headed criticisms (lies, actually) that paint democratic socialists as communists and “left-wing radicals.”
If all the millions of voters who have chosen DSA and similar candidates, the Democratic “establishment” should embrace most of the policies that they are promoting:
- A single-payer healthcare system (fixing our healthcare system would solve any number of other ills in our country)
- Sensible criminal justice reform
- Care for the environment and combatting climate change
- Strengthening public education and making higher education affordable
- Protections for workers
- A “social capitalism” system, similar to what is found in our sister nations, that makes the economy work for everyone, not just the very wealthy
- Fighting voter suppression
- Supporting Jews worldwide while criticizing Netanyahu and the hard-right, belligerent Israeli government. While advocating justice for Palestinians, Americans must not “turn the Jewish state – and Jews – into convenient scapegoats for much broader societal grievances.” And those of us who call ourselves Christians must always remember that Jesus, Mary, St. Paul and the disciples were Jewish; antisemitism should be anathema to all Christians.
We must begin to see that many of the initiatives advocated by the DSA and others on the progressive left – vehemently opposed and unfairly smeared by the right for nearly 50 years – are not “far left” as compared to most of the rest of the world. Rather, they are considered “common sense” and middle-of-the-road in almost all other Western democracies. When is the US going to get on board with these workable programs and policies that serve the common good? If the emergence and success of the DSA helps us to get there, that is reason for hope.
Resources
Hill, Steven. Europe’s Promise: Why the European Way is the Best Hope in an Insecure Age. Berkeley and Los Angeles, CA: University of California Press, 2010.
Reich, Robert B. Saving Capitalism: For the Many, Not the Few. New York: Vintage Books, 2015.